RUNNING HEAD: Education Philosophy 1

Education Philosophy

Katie McDowell

Carson-Newman University

EDUC 204

November 13, 2017

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The dictionary defines education as the action or process of educating or of

being educated; also :a stage of such a process (Merriam-Webster's dictionary, 1999).

The definition of education and schooling are often confused. Schooling is defined as the place

where the education happens. I, however, define education as a way to better students not only

in understanding of the topic that I am teaching but also bettering them as people overall. The

overall bettering of my students has quickly become my motivation for teaching. I want to be a

role model for my students and I want my classroom to be a safe space where children feel loved

because I know that not all of my student will be able to feel that way at home.

When I become a teacher, I plan to teach from the progressivism prospective. I believe

that it is the best way to reach students. Progressivist perspective believes that education should

focus on the whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher. This educational philosophy

stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is rooted in the

questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world. Through the progressivist

perspective, students are actively learning. The students interact with one another and develop

social qualities such as cooperation and tolerance for different points of view. (Theodore, 2017)

My licensure area is Prekindergarten - 3rd grade and it has been proven that the progressivist

perspective is how children at this age learn best. They are learning about the world through

make believe play and from interacting with each other. It is important that I provide them with

multiple opportunities for them to have those interactions with each other and further their

learning.

In democratic societies, we place a major emphasis on schooling. We believe that it is

the only way to have a good life and be successful when that is not always the case. In other

cultures, education as we define it is useless. But education, whether it is math and science or
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hunting and caretaking, is important in all cultures. Along with differences in education, there

are differences learning styles within students themselves. Although we place a high value on

education, we hardly recognize that everyone learns in a different way. It is our role as educators

to reach as many students as we possibly can by offering different materials for our students. If

not, students become disengaged and lose interest in school all together. To avoid his I will

utilize the Universal Design for Learning guidelines, specifically Principle 2: Provide multiple

means of action and expression. This guideline states:

Learners differ in the ways that they can navigate a learning environment and express

what they know. It should also be recognized that action and expression require a great

deal of strategy, practice, and organization, and this is another area in which learners can

differ. In reality, there is not one means of action and expression that will be optimal for

all learners; providing options for action and expression is essential. (Learning, 2013)

Standardized testing, in my opinion, proves nothing. It does not show how well a student

knows about the subject and teaches children to be good at tests. Now that we view standardized

tests as the most important, we fail to really teach our student and allow them to gain deeper

meaning of the subject.

Educators often forget the role that they play in the classroom. The classroom and

lessons need to be student centered in order to keep students engaged. When we create student

centered lessons and classrooms, we are keeping the students engaged by presenting them with

materials that are interesting to them. When I become a teacher, I will make sure that there are

different opportunities for students to learn. I want to have different materials for the different

learning styles that they may have. When I was a student in school, I often felt that my learning

styles were not met and it was hard for me to stay engaged in the lesson because the material was
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not present in a way that was useful for me. I want my students to feel that their needs are met

both in learning and emotional needs.

As a teacher, I want to be a role model for my students. I plan to teach in public schools

and I understand that their homes lives will not always be like the one that I grew up in. Neglect

is the most common form of child abuse in America and I want my classroom to be a place

where my students can feel safe and a place where they can feel comfortable. I also want to have

a relationship with my students. I feel like it is important to build a relationship my students so I

can relate the lesson to what they are going through. I would like to be able to show them how

they can apply it to their life in order to keep them engaged.

When it comes to teaching, I feel that I have a lot of strengths. I am creative and I have a

lot of patience. For my licensure area, it is important for the teachers to be able to creatively

present the lesson material in order to keep the student engaged. It is equally important to have

patience with the children because they are just starting to develop the ability to hold their

attention for an extended period of time. As teachers, especially in elementary, it is important

that we make our material developmentally appropriate for our students. In a contrasting

manner, I know that there are areas where I can learn to improve in order to grow as an aspiring

educator. I havent had many education classes or practicums to find out more of my

weaknesses, but at the moment I find that Im struggling to create lesson plans where they grow

their knowledge instead of practicing skills that they already have. I know that eventually I will

find more of my weaknesses as I continue with education classes I will find many more areas

where I need to improve and I am excited to find those areas so I can become the best teacher

that I can be.

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References

CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA: Author

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle2

Education. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/education

Progressivism. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from

http://www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/progressivism.html