I've Got My Philosophy

Is a philosophy something that can be written in a sentence? Two? A paragraph? I feel as though it is something that has been formed of a lifetime of experiences, educational and other, and will continue to change, grow, develop, mold, as life goes on. Teaching is about life, and life is never still. Up until this point, I would say that so much of me, my personality, experiences, interests, pains, problems all contribute to my life philosophy, and therefore my teaching philosophy. Educationally speaking, my philosophy has been formed through my experiences, both good and bad, painful and engaging, in thirteen years of school (including kindergarten!).
MSU and the College of Ed have both been integral in shaping my philosophy of education through the classes I have taken, as well as the intense promotion of diversity that saturates the university. Until college I had not really been concerned with diversity, I have always thought that everybody is different in their own way, and that was just fine with me as long as they weren't hurting themselves or me at all. Diversity has definitely achieved a new and much more complex definition after arriving here.
Now I feel much more well equipped to deal with situations of diversity and teach diversity to my students, hopefully in a light of social justice and equality. I want everyone to feel welcome into my classroom, to promote peace among all people, and work hard to establish principles of equality in my students, my classroom, and my community (ie. the world). Pretty ambitious, to say the least. But I think that's all part of my philosophy. To make a difference. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Live peacefully and simply. Love. I hope to take all of these qualities, ideals, ideas and promote them in the classroom. It is a goal of mine to teach life skills, to empower students to be the best person they can be, to be themselves, believe in themselves, and make a difference. Go and change the world. I'll be right there with you.
So this is kind of an unrefined, scattered, wild attempt at gathering thoughts for my personal philosophy. Hopefully by the end of this year I will be able to create something refined and eloquent, something that I can carry with me through my years of teaching and life.