Philosophy of Education

Through my time as an educator, I have adapted my philosophy of education to truly

encapsulate who I am as a teacher. I believe education should be a welcoming and positive
experience for all students and teachers involved that allows growth in professional and personal
ways. Education should be a tool to improve one's life outside of school in the present and a way
to create opportunities for the future. Through my philosophy of education, I have outlined what
conditions would allow for the best school all the way to the best learner.
The School.
The school should be an adaptive and inclusive entity. The school should show a positive
contribution to the surrounding community and families should be involved in the events and
changes of the school. Like opportunities within the classroom, opportunities within the school
should have applications outside the academic field. There should be activities available that
allow children to build stronger relationships and skills through athletic, artistic, and alternative
means. By offering these non-academic opportunities, students are able to develop skills that will
enhance their overall abilities within their post-academic lives. Through the teachings of John
Dewey (1938, p. 5), we understand that education should prepare students to become
contributing members of their society through several different methods.
The Curriculum.
The curriculum should be fluid between teachers and grades so students will smoothly
transition through material and concepts. The curriculum should stay current by adapting to
modern circumstances such as technology, scientific discovery, and cultural inclusivity. The
curriculum should address skills that are and will be necessary within the professional and
personal spheres. Concepts should be reviewed and increase in complexity each year to ensure

that students are familiar with essential knowledge and are able to apply it. Cross-curricular
integration should be encouraged because it allows students to apply their knowledge in an
interesting and relevant way that makes learning meaningful. This, once again, follows the
philosophy of Dewey (1938, p. 5), where educators hope to create a well-rounded adult with
useful information for the real world.
Learning.
Teaching practices should involve diverse instructional methods to accommodate
different learners. Enforcing new concepts and assessing the degree to which information is
understood must be done through diverse group arrangements and mediums. My theory of
learning connects with that of Benjamin Bloom's work which supports multiple processes and
levels of thinking (Bloom, 1956, p. 10). Knowledge should be understood at a basic semantic
level as well as repurposed into a larger concept for the creation of new ideas. To ensure that
knowledge is properly understood, it must be built on or enhance previously learned concepts.
Students must be able to connect new concepts with real world applications and situations. The
basic and proper use of technology should be taught in schools so students understand how to use
modern resources to further their learning in and outside the classroom.
The Learner.
I would like to work with elementary students who require guidance not only in their
academic career, but also in their moral development. I feel that these students show a great need
for cognitive as well as affective growth. I believe I would be able to find a balance between
these two domains and intertwine their essential teachings. Students at this age have a great deal
of independence in psychomotor tasks and in many cognitive tasks that involve extending known
concepts. It is essential to properly monitor progress of cognitive based activities as well as

extend students' knowledge on the circumstance that influence our affective behaviors. In the
vein of Rousseau's teachings (Doyle, 2013), we understand that affective growth is equally, if not
more, important than academic growth during the elementary period because students will
maintain many of their emotional tendencies developed during this time for the rest of their lives.
Students will have the responsibility of adapting to diverse class activities geared toward
inclusivity
Assessment.
Assessment should be a formative as well as a summative process. Teachers must observe
children even when completing daily activities to ensure they are up to date on their
comprehension of the material. Assessment must be deemed valid; it must properly reflect the
knowledge and abilities of a child based on the material they have learned. Summative
assessment should not be solely in paper and test formats. Social learners should be
accommodated through alternative methods such as the use of group assignments and oral
presentations. Similar to the teaching of Howard Gardner (2013), I know that assessment, like
instruction, must be diversified so all students are offered a chance to exhibit their understanding.
This will also help all learners become adaptive to unconventional circumstances. Assessment
will be used to direct further learning and possible re-teaching if necessary. Valid assessment
based on material will reveal if classroom information has been properly understood and if
students are able to apply it. Based on the number of students missing key points of information,
either full lessons will be reviewed, or individual students will be offered supplementary work
that will clarify essential knowledge.

Classroom Management.
Students should be shown a great deal of respect and independence in the classroom to be
coupled with a sense of responsibility. Self-motivated learning and practices will improve
knowledge retention and application. It is essential that students grow to have an intrinsic
motivation to achieve an education. By providing real world applications of knowledge within
the class, students will see that their learning will have value in the future. An inclusive and
positive classroom with regular intervals for feedback will assist students in speaking up for their
personal needs and improve the learning environment.
The Teacher.
Teachers should show not only an understanding of current teaching practices and
methodologies, but also current social factors that greatly impact the learning environment.
Teachers should be adaptive to new ideas from colleagues or society at large and be willing to
test their relevance within the classroom. Educators must also exhibit a great deal of patience
with their students. This can often be overlooked but teachers must understand the relevance of
every teaching moment with a student and how deeply a bit of extra time can affect their process
of comprehension.