My philosophy in life has always been simple: you have power over nothing but yourself.
The stars will fall, the sun will set, and it WILL rain on your wedding day, but the most liberating freedom of all is the power to overcome your trials. Life is stoic; neither good nor bad. Waves of opportunity, happiness, sadness and depression will come and go like the tides, but it is easiest to be content.
There is a distinct divide between wishes and dreams. Wishes are fantasies, things we would like, but probably will never get. Dreams are goals; they are our ambitions and they are worth waking up to. Wishes are worth dreaming, but dreams are worth chasing. If you only dream of change but remain in bed, change will never come.
Destiny is pre-scripted impromptu. This is probably my most abstract philosophy, but I think it is also very relieving. The choices you make everyday will guide you to where you ought to be. Your fate is written in the choices you make, but fate is infinite in its pathways.
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My teaching philosophies are a little more down to earth.
As a general rule a teacher should approach every student assuming that the student is, in blatant terms, a rock; a clean slate. A teacher should assume very little other than that the students know nothing of the subject to be taught. Assuming any more than this will leave some students behind.
Teachers must be scholarly guides for their most ambitious students. Especially in music education, if a student shows particular interest in playing or teaching, the teacher should help the student by providing support first and foremost. The teacher should also refer the student to other people, other resources, or personally take on the student for more in depth studying.
I think that it is the teachers role to be the core of the classroom, not just the head of it. The teacher needs to provide the environment and inspiration to foster a students interests in the subject. Especially in music, a teachers own passion is what drives the learning experience.