Running Head: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1

Personal Philosophy of Education

Chelsea Johnston

National University

ITL 600: Becoming a Teacher

Kimberly Butler

Learner Autobiography and Philosophy of Education

October 5, 2018
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Personal Philosophy of Education

Introduction

A philosophy of teaching is an important guide for the decision’s educators make

throughout their career. These philosophies derive from the learning experiences we have

encountered, the courses we attended, and the reflection of our classroom interaction. Currently,

my philosophy of education is to challenge each student to their personal level of potential,

encourage individuality and creativity, inspire them to question the norm, and never exhibit

limitations.

Autobiographical Information

The biggest impact on an aspiring teacher is their learning experiences they encountered.

These positive and negative experiences create the structure of the mold that future educators

build for themselves. We use these experiences to help us determine the way we want to reach

our learners. The positive experiences I encountered are by educators who were attentive to our

learning needs, they were respectful to us as learners, and used positive and negative

reinforcements to help motivate us and to demonstrate the way society works. Appealing to

various learning styles aided me in my development because it added perspective. It also

benefited the entire class when new material was taught. I, for example, am a visual learner,

while my neighbor may gain more from verbal instruction. This helped bridge the gap between

our academic success. Being respected in the learning environment also encouraged me to try

more. When I felt as though my teacher respected my input and thoughts, I felt like we were

working more as team to accomplish our academic goals and was inspired to do my best.

Authenticity is key to building trust and respect for “being genuine and modeling trust can

significantly help establish a successful [and healthy] learning environment” (Moore, 2015).
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Some of the negative experiences I had were by educators who relied on silent textbook reading,

videos, and an autocracy ran classroom. I can honestly say that I did not retain much information

from classes like these. Educators should be willing to go above and beyond and should tackle

various learning approaches to ensure that the majority of their students are gaining the best

education possible. These negative experiences shined light on what to stray away from.

The teacher that inspired me the most was my fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Shanks. He was

the first teacher that I remember admiring the way he conducted his class. He was the first

teacher I had that I felt altered his instruction to fit the needs of every student. He worked on a

positive reinforcement system the motivated me to work harder and better. To this day, I still

incorporate ideas I gained from his classroom to those that I will incorporate in my own.

I have chosen to become an educator now because I want to inspire young learners to be

their best! I want to teach them to believe in themselves and make learning fun. I plan to

challenge them in their subject of strength and encourage them to overcome their obstacles.

Education should never be addressed as a black and white concept, and my goal is to blur that

line and meet the needs of every child in my classroom.

Survey Results

After completing the philosophy of education survey, my results indicate that I am

primarily a progressivist. This means that I believe that “education should be student-centered,

focused on active participation, questioning, and experimentation” (Sadker, 1997, pp. 403-405).

Characteristics of this philosophy are fairly similar to what I want to incorporate in the

classroom, such as, “shared decision making about curriculum, democratic process [in the

classroom], and academic freedom,” so I not at all surprised by the results (Sadker, 1997). I find
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it refreshing that the results of this survey corelate so well with how I envisioned myself as an

educator.

Implications of my Future Teaching Practice

Through my personal experiences and my philosophy of education, I can clearly envision

a path in with I will take my teaching practices. I plan on “creating a learning environment that

nurtures to fulfillment the potential of all students” by tending to their personal/social

development as well as their curriculum needs (Association of American Educators, 2018). My

strategy is to appeal to all learning types for each subject through learning centers and request for

constant feedback from students, parents, and fellow educators.

Conclusion

A philosophy of teaching is an important guide for the decision’s educators make

throughout their career. There are various philosophies and each of them bring something

different to the realm of education. We all have our own philosophies that come from

experiences we have encountered, the courses we attended, and the reflection of our classroom

interaction. The diverseness of each philosophy is what make education beautiful, for no way is

better than the other. We just must stay true to what we believe is our best approach, for then we

get the best results.

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References

Association of American Educators. (2018, October 5). Code of Ethics for Educators. Retrieved

from Association of American Educators: https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/about-

us/aae-code-of-ethics

Moore, E. T. (2015, August 7). My Educational Philosophy. Retrieved from Faculty Focus:

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/philosophy-of-teaching/my-educational-

philosophy/

Sadker, M. &. (1997). Teachers, Schools and Society. New York: McGraw Hill.