My Educational Philosophy

Kaci Philpot
UNC
My future classroom will be student driven with assignments and goals that are relevant
to the academic standards and to what each student wants to achieve in the future. Students
and team members will feel emotionally safe and feel a strong sense of accountability in my
future classroom. Teaching and guided learning opportunities will be integrated and adapted to
the unique and individual learning styles of each individual student. My classroom will set
students up to reach their maximum potential and highest level of independence possible.
In our structured and language-rich classroom, students will be a valued member of his
IEP team and will be an active participant in measuring his growth and progress towards
academic and life goals. The classroom will be designed to recreate real-life settings and events
to maximize the opportunity for teachable moments around independence and adaptive skills.
In addition to incorporating forms of expression such as music and art into individualized
curriculum, healthy choices will be a central and ongoing theme in our classroom. Our
classroom will provide opportunities for students to learn to make healthy choices in the
following areas; peer pressure, sexuality, nutrition, hygiene, exercise, hobbies, and self-calming.
I will be an essential presence in my students learning journey. I will hold my students
to high standards and provide guidance when they are pushed outside of their comfort zone.
My students will find themselves reflecting and building upon their strengths each day. I will
reflect with my students about their progress and my teaching while collaborating with
students as partners. These moments of reflection will help me to adapt my instruction to
better meet the individual needs of my students. Throughout integrated lessons, brain breaks
will manifest themselves as guided meditation or self-calming strategies and sharing personal
interests.
Students will feel empowered in my classroom and through the IEP processes. I will
teach and encourage the use of self-advocacy skills. Students will practice these skills when
they evaluate progress on goals and provide their input on the least restrictive environment.
Parents and students both will share their goals and visions for the future. I will ensure the IEP
team values said visions when writing academic, vocational, and life-skills goals. Students will
be provided frequent opportunities for choice in demonstrating learning and when appropriate,
topic areas to explore.
I will prepare students for the world outside of school while integrating relevant
academics and forms of expression. I will adapt to the various learning styles and unique needs
of students as individuals. My hope for the students I teach is that they leave my program well-
rounded in that they have the self-awareness and basic skills to maintain a healthy mind, body,
and spirit in their pursuit of happiness.