ABSTRACT
Philosophy or belief statements are a genre of discourse familiar to teacher educators. Many methods instructors ask their students to create philosophy statements at various times during a semester and even at intervals during students’ university education. Crafting a thoughtful philosophy statement is seen as an important part of developing a personal pedagogy and a useful teacher identity. The theory is that without a well-thought-out philosophy of teaching, a new teacher will be unable to implement pedagogical strategies effectively. Although I also believe in the importance of developing critically reflective philosophies of teaching, I am skeptical of the value of such statements if they do not exhibit characteristics of transformative discourse or evidence of critical interrogation and reflection.
