Statement of Teaching Philosophy - Nick Francis



Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Nick Francis

I am writing as an applicant for a college level teaching position within your Justice Studies program. In this statement, I will cite my teaching philosophy as well as what I think I can provide to your program.

My first passion is the field of law enforcement, and I work hard every day that I put on my uniform. I have a rather large family; I am the youngest of 11 children. I have many hobbies including hunting, fishing, and golf. I am a very happy, outgoing and active person. I strongly believe that the life of a criminal justice officer needs to be well balanced with hard work and constructive down time. I think officers that experience life and engage in activities outside of criminal justice are very stable and often bring new philosophies to this challenging profession. As a teacher, I think it’s important to encourage students to balance their lives before they enter a profession. By doing so, they will be better prepared for the rigors that a criminal justice job produces.

While teaching, I think it’s important that I set a good example for students. Being a criminal justice practitioner, I will have the opportunity to share professional goals with students in hopes that they develop their own goals early on in their career. My professional goals are simple. When I retire, I want to be remembered as a very professional, hardworking, and knowledgeable police officer. I think it is important to mention that I don’t have a specific rank that I have set my sights on. When I look back, I want to be confident that I gave everything I could to this profession, and that I impacted others I worked with. I feel that all of us can do this at the rank of Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, or Chief. By taking this same philosophy and applying it to teaching, I think I will have a positive impact on students and their ability to find their own success. Be it the worst in the class, top of the class, middle-man, teacher, or administrator. If we give 100%, we will get the results we deserve.

In the criminal justice field, there are a lot more gray areas than there are black and white. In certain classes, there will be right and wrong answers, while in other classes; there will be a lot more theory involved with decision making. I see criminal justice teachers as facilitators: They take ideas from the text, personal experience, or from student examples, and they use those to encourage the entire class to explore ideas and solutions to problems. In my opinion, the best teachers are those who understand their subject matter so much that they can let students expound on ideas and only interject when the class is headed in the wrong direction.

In my classroom, I will not expect every student to agree with everything their fellow students believe, or everything I believe for that matter. I do however; expect every student to respect the opinions and beliefs of others. I think this is what turns lectures into discussions, this is what turns good classes into great classes, and this is what makes a teacher a facilitator.

If given the opportunity to teach for Rasmussen, I promise that I will work hard to expand the knowledge of others, respect those that I am working with and working for, and provide each and every student with an un-matched opportunity to learn. Thank you for your time.

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