Joshua Harke’s
Teaching Philosophy
Introduction
In 2019, I decided
to go back to Central Piedmont Community College to get a transfer degree so I
could return to UNC Charlotte as a pre-teaching student. I chose teaching
because my marketing associate degree wasn’t cutting it as a career. I want to
be a teacher because I want to give back to the community and be an advocate
for the voiceless. I decided that I would like to become a teacher, in high
school. I wanted to be a history teacher or a physical therapist and those are
very different professions. I was a teacher aid for the PE teacher for 2nd
and 3rd graders and 7th and 8th graders. I was
a natural with the elementary kids.
My family has an
abundance of teachers in the lines of the Harke’s and Hughson’s. My mom was a
teacher/administrator of a preschool up in Syracuse, New York called Little
Lamb. She would read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess, and they would serve
green eggs and ham to the kids that day. I was allowed to go to school with mom
that day, dad tells me. Reading and education was highly important in our
house. When my little brother, Jasper was alive we had teachers and therapists
in and out of our house like it was just an everyday thing. It was normal for
me to be around teachers, and they were special education teachers. Jasper was
the most specialist important person to me on the face of the planet. He is my
catalyst for my charity organization, The Jasper Tree, hence named after him. His
teachers were phenomenal, and they made him work and he was a stinker and they
loved him, but they had to put in work with him. He was so smart while being
nonverbal, they had to use methods and electronic tools to help him
communicate. He inspired me to volunteer with Horse-N-Around TRC in Lancaster,
SC where I worked with therapists and special needs kids while they rode
horses.
Conceptualization
of Learning
Students with
special needs face the obstacles that are very different from other
non-disabled students. Students with EBD get distracted, emotionally beat
themselves up, have a higher chance to be bullied and be a bully or easily
frustrated with the homework than other students. I relate one hundred percent.
I want to be an advocate for mental health among students non-disabled and
disabled. Many students don’t have a voice and I would like to help them
advocate for themselves.
Conceptualization
of Teaching
I’ve
always romanticized Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, in that I would have
my special education students ripping out pages from Percy Jackson and the
Lightning Thief on the first day of class. I know that’s not realistic, and my
students are not going to call me their captain. My teaching style is hands on.
In my lesson plan I didn’t get to finish it through the whole way, but I felt
effective because I was able to adapt and change things as I saw that the
worksheet wasn’t working the way I had designed it. I had them writing out the
context clue when it could have been much simpler by underlining and circling
subject matter. I think that being an adaptive teacher is what will make me
effective. I ran into this problem with my student that fell behind everyone
and was very frustrated. I kept the lesson plan rolling but I went to her desk and
tried to modify the lesson on the roll based on her. I didn’t want anyone to
feel like that they couldn’t do it, when I knew they were capable.
Relationships
with Families and Students
I
cannot wait to meet the families of my students. If I’m an elementary teacher I
will eat up the school’s social media letting the parents know how proud I am
of their student. Parents need to know all the good their student is doing
along with the problematic spots that happen. I want to have parents come to
visit my classroom and give me some input on their student and what home life
is like for them. If I get placed in a middle school, I want to have that same
clear communication line as before. I believe that Teacher/Parent/Student is
the communication chain. Outside of the education realm, I’m willing to let
them see my life. I want to share that I’m like them, make myself human and
relatable to the parents and my students.
Professional
Growth Plan
In
the future, I see myself going back to UNCC to masters in Trauma studies to
help students. I want to do that while I’m teaching. I never thought I’d have a
BA so having positive peer pressure and support I have been able to see myself
doing that as well. I see myself being on the board of education representing the
Exceptional Children’s department in the County. I want to advocate for the
parents and their students. I want to get us the funding that we need to
operate at an optimal efficiency. Building networks through my charity
organization is how I’m going to get there. With my charity organization I want
to build foundations in Charlotte and surrounding areas that help special needs
families get every resource that will help them thrive.