Educational Philosophy

12/10/2017

Brittany Arnold
S.Saladino
EDU 201
Philosophy of Education

As a future educator, it is my duty to become, and remain a lifelong learner. Doing so, means that
I will constantly evaluate my practice and improve it in any way that I can. I am currently employed
as a Kindergarten Teaching Assistant in a charter school in Las Vegas, Nevada. I learn more
about my practice everyday through experience with children, mentoring from other educators,
and the information I read in my college classes. In this paper, I will discuss my philosophy of
education, and the views that I have on my practice in this point of my life.

I would say that the profession of teaching chose me rather than saying I chose it. I have been
compassionate about helping others since I was very young. I am one of ten children, through
marriage and other life plot twists, and can honestly say that my siblings inspire me to help other
children grow. I have always helped them to learn and shape them into better people because as
one of the oldest, that was my job. I also spent time as a comic book shop clerk, and was a
pokemon gym leader. I had a group of 26 kids who I would see twice a week, and cans ay that
that job pushed me to become an early childhood educator. It was through that experience that I
realized I would absolutely love to be a kindergarten teacher. Also, being a teaching assistant in
that class has already changed me for the better. In just the 67 school days that have been in
session, my patience has grown immensely. I look forward to seeing my students everyday. My
mentor helps me in more ways than she can imagine, and has showed me styles of teaching that I
had no idea even existed. I have learned that the school atmosphere is extremely complex, and
there is more to learn everyday. Whether it is parental involvement, IEP students, or
administration and standards influence, the school life is ever changing, and a lot of work.

I believe that I have a very Humanist philosophy of teaching. I believe that children should be
treated kindly, and taught according to their stages in life. Students should not be rushed, as they
have their own educational timeline, and there shouldn’t be an aggressive push for children to
grasp ideas. I don’t think Kindergarteners should be drilled on sight words, but rather incorporate
these in their everyday education so that they can grow on these ideas gradually. I think that
knowing that there is a philosophy so close to my own makes me more comfortable in my practice.
I am not alone in my beliefs, and there are many others who feel the same way that I do. My
knowledge of historical education events will help me to form decisions later in my practice and
give me the tools I need to be successful and to help my students be successful.

I find that is important to factor children’s learning stages into my practice. I need to keep in my
that my students are 5 to 6 years old and should be treated so accordingly. A five year old should
not be yelled at for doing something wrong, they should be taught that what they did was wrong
and enforce how important it is to be kind to one another. I will keep my instruction simple, and
fast paced, as to not distract or overload them with stimulation. I will keep them moving, as it is so
hard for them to sit still. I will incorporate arts and crafts as often as I can in my instruction, as I
want them to be able to explore their creativity in math and in science. I will use kagan structures,
and kagan seating in hand with alternative seating so that children will experience time with all of
their peers, and see how diverse other students are. I think is important to stress that
assessments are just snapshots in time when it comes to Kindergarten. It is hard to tell parents
that their student was very great with certain sight words and letter sounds but this should not
discourage them. An assessment in October does not mean as much as one does later in the
school year.

As a future Kindergarten teacher I need to be able to communicate a student’s needs effectively

with their parents. I believe parents play the biggest role in a child’s education at this age, and that
they can influence them to do better. I will strive to work with other teachers at this level, so that I
can learn from their experiences. There is so much for me to learn, and I find that I can learn those
things from people who have more hands on knowledge than I do. I will also read books, attend
staff developments and seek to take classes on my own to achieve my goals of being a great
educator.