Running head: EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY PAPER 1

Educational Philosophy Paper

Antonia L. Mapson-Thompson
University of West Georgia
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Philosophy Paper

When I began teaching four years ago I was very eager for all the things to come. While

matriculating through college I had several assignments where I had to write my philosophy for

education and teaching. Since then my educational philosophy has changed just a little bit. I believe

this is so because I’ve had more hands on experiences with students in the classroom and education

in general. The purpose of education is for students to study and explore real world issues as well

as issues from the past making them apart of history. I think that it is impossible to know where

you are going if you don’t know where you came from. There must be a relationship between the

teacher, student, parent, and community in order for our students to be successful. Additionally, to

ensure that students are college and career ready they must experience technology and know what

it is. Based on the definition that (Sadker & Zittleman, 2012) gave, a student centered philosophy

is focused on student needs and preparing them for the future which is related to my philosophy. I

believe that all children can learn given the resources, opportunity, and provided with a risk free

environment. Education is like a triangle, and partnership forming; without all the sides it won’t

work or form a complete triangle at all. The teacher, students, family, and community all must

work together in order for students to reach their highest potential.

As educators teachers have multiple roles within the classroom and outside of the

classroom. As an educator myself it is most important to ensure that learning takes place within

the classroom which can be done by ensuring that everything is prepared for teaching. When proper

planning takes place and student’s misconceptions are thought out prior to entering the lesson the

teacher is able to provide better support and instruction. A teacher’s role is also to develop and

deliver lesson plans on common core state standards. Next teachers are required to review and

analyze data from test scores to confirm that students are gaining knowledge and accomplishing
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standards. “Teachers are encouraged to really tune into how each individual student learns, and try

to really challenge and inspire them to learn” (Cox, 2017). In short, a teacher’s role is to facilitate

learning in the classroom for students and provide those connections to real world situation where

they can make connections themselves.

Students have many roles in education. The students are a piece to the triangle. Without

the students our revolving triangle would not be complete. As a student progresses and

matriculates through education their responsibilities grow larger. One major role for me is that

students be critical thinkers and have critical thinking skills in learning. There are classroom and

school rules that must follow at all times to ensure safety. According to Flecter, the role of students

also include but are not limited to being learners, organizers, facilitators, and researchers (Flecter,

2017). Starting as early as grade 3 students are required to conduct research for class projects as

well as small group tasks. Teaching students that their work area should always be clean and

organized helps them to keep items and assignments neat at all times. Holding students accountable

for misplacing items and not turning in homework also aids them in potentially becoming great

organizers. Another contribution to student roles in there learning requires them to be good

listeners.

Parental involvement has been identified as an essential ingredient to improved student

behavior and academic achievement in schools (Hill & Taylor, 2004). Again, just like the teacher

and students, without parent involvement our triangle would not be able to be complete. It would

remain broken. As parents, they should not wait until the teachers reaches out to them to see how

students are doing. Research shows that students with parents who are involved in their school

tend to have less behavioral problems and improved academic performance, and are more

prospective to complete high school than students whose parents are not involved in their school
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(Henderson & Berla, 1994). Research also shows that “parents are most likely to attend school

meetings, events or volunteer in their child’s school when their children are in primary school”

(Hill & Taylor, 2004). In order for these things to take place parents must have a good working

relationship with their child’s teacher. It helps if parental involvement expectations and needs are

explained early on in the beginning of the year. If this information isn’t communicated to parents

then they won’t know what the school or teachers expectations are. I also think it is vital for parents

to know who their child’s teacher is. In some cases, parents go the entire year and don’t know

whose class their child is in. Asking questions and attending meetings are also roles of the parent

and/or family. It is also the role of family’s to inform the school and teacher when any contact

information is changed. If concepts are being reinforced at home with parents that students go over

in class then students have no choice in being successful, that means that they have been provided

with all the resources and opportunities to achieve academic goals.

Within every school there are partnerships with community organizations. For example

Chik-fila, Walmart, and Publix. These community partnerships can sometimes help teachers get

supplies for students, organize a spirit night for: student, parents, and teachers, and offer donations

to the school. Sometimes there is a designated person that goes out and looks for companies to

form community partnerships with. Doing so creates a family feel and reinforces a sense of

working together to accomplish a common goal as a community.

There are many ways to effectively engage students in the classroom through the use of

technology. At the school that I work at it is being stressed more and more that we must integrate

technology into our lessons. Teachers sometimes do this by showing a video as a lesson opener or

lesson closer. Playing interactive learning games during small group instruction and taking quizzes

on the turning point learning system is another way to teachers can integrate technology into the
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classroom. Creating assessments for students to complete. Teachers also use technology to stay in

contact with parents using websites like Remind or ClassDojo. Technology can also be used for

students to: share online projects, complete class assignments (Edmodo), take ticket out the door

assignments, working on a group project, using virtual manipulatives (Guido, 2017), provide

online activities for early finishers (Guido, 2017), participate in web quest and setting up a student

blog (Guido, 2017) just to name a few. The list is endless with possibility and activities that

students can safely participate in during class as well as at home.

Overall the purpose of education has many parts in order to be complete. In order for the

purpose of education to reach its highest potential there must be a relationship between the teacher,

students, parents, and community partners. Insuring that students are college are career ready can

be done by integrating technology into all lessons and across all content areas. It is helpful to think

of education like a triangle, forming a partnership and without all the sides it won’t work or form

a complete triangle at all. The teacher, students, family, and community all must work together in

order for students to reach their highest potential which are the sides and corners of a triangle.
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References

Child Trends. (2013). Parental involvement in schools. Retrieved on October 02, 2017, from

https://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=parental-involvement-in-schools

Cox, J. (2017, March 13). What Exactly is the Role of a Teacher? Retrieved October 08, 2017,

from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-role-of-a-teacher-2081511

Fletcher, A. (2017, September 20). Roles for Students throughout the Education System. Retrieved

October 01, 2017, from https://soundout.org/roles-for-students-throughout-the-education-

system/

Guido, M. (2017, June 21). 25 Easy Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom | Prodigy. Retrieved

September 25, 2017, from https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/ways-to-use-technology-

in-the-classroom/

Henderson, A. T., and Berla, N. (1994). A new generation of evidence: The family is critical to

student achievement. Washington, DC: National Committee for Citizens in Education.

Hill, Nancy & Taylor, Lorraine. (2004). Parental School Involvement and Children's Academic

Achievement: Pragmatics and Issues. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 13. .

10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00298.x.

Sadker, D. M., & Zittleman, K. M. (2012). Teachers, Schools, and Society. 10th edition. McGraw-

Hill.