My Educational Philosophy

 When forming a personal educational philosophy, there are many elements to consider.  My educational philosophy is based on what I believe about teachers, students, parents, and learning.
According to the philosophic inventory, I am a mix of progressivism, reconstructionism, and existentialism.  I think that I agree the most with progressivism because students should be able to study what they are interested in, but that should not be all they study.  I like reconstructionism because it’s important to know what’s going on in the world.  Existentialism goes along with my belief that students should be able to associate lessons with life. I probably disagree the most with the perennialism way of thinking because our society changes so much.  I don’t think it would be a good idea to stick to the old ways all the time.
 Children are the most important things to me when I think about teaching. I do believe that every child has the ability to learn. Sometimes it takes a special person to get through to a child.  The best learning environment is one in which the child can have fun, be around friends, and feel safe. Learning should be fun and a first-hand experience for all children. This is progressivism.  School should be a fun place to be and children should want to be there.
 I think that it’s extremely important to have parental involvement.  A teacher should have good communication with parents. I think it’s good for the children to have that parent/teacher communication. They can be very intimidating but you’ll have a better relationship with parents if you just talk to them.  Parents always want to know how their child is doing in school and they’ll have good things to say about you if they know you better.
 In the classroom, several things are important to me. Obviously, teaching the material is important, but a teacher’s role is so much more than that.  Teachers are also friends, counselors, and support systems to students who need it. It’s important to understand your students and respect them as well. You can motivate them to learn for internal reasons and improve their basic skills. Students interacting with each other, one on one attention and safety (well being) of all students are all very important to me. I want to prepare my students for the future to become productive citizens.
I think desks in a classroom should be arranged so that the students can interact with each other but should not be in straight rows or groups all the time. I think rearranging them every once in a while is a good idea. I want my classroom environment to be a very comfortable one. I would like to have a lot of learning centers in my classroom and a huge classroom library. I hope to have lots of color around the room as well no matter what grade I teach.
 Differentiating instruction is so important to teaching to children on different levels. I was afraid of this idea when I first heard about it but now I know that I have learned how to do this. I am excited about the idea now because I know that I will reach all students, and that is my ultimate goal.  For example, I am very excited about having literature circles in my classroom. I will be able to provide a book for each level of reading. I’m looking forward to helping lower readers improve their reading skills as well.  Literature circles are a great discussion piece and give the children opportunities to learn from each other. The text chosen could also be used to teach life lessons, which is an example of existentialism.
 Teaching to different types of learners presents a challenge, but a fun one. I want to make sure that my children are learning, whether they are an auditory, visual, or hands on learner. It is up to the teacher to know his or her children in the classroom and accommodate their instructional needs and learning styles. Teaching to Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences presents challenges as well.  There are many activities that a teacher can do to target each intelligence. I think this is something to consider when planning lessons.
 My entire teaching philosophy includes more concepts, ideas, and strategies than I know and can possibly think of. It is everything in this paper and then some. I know that it will change over time as I learn new techniques and strategies and as I gain more experience through teaching.