In contemplating my educational philosophy and the reasons why I want to be an elementary school teacher, I thought about my own values and personal beliefs.  I feel that through examination of my values, I can come to discover my purpose for teaching.  I value my relationship and closeness to my family; I value hard work, organization, and responsibility; I value my educational experiences; I value my religion; I value genuine kindness and sincerity; I value helping others; I value respect; I value humor; I value play and relaxation.  I hope to incorporate my values into my classroom and into the manner in which I teach.  I feel that through expression of my own personality, I will be able to create a learning environment that is comfortable for my students and myself.  Thus, by focusing on the “spirit and motivation for how curriculum is presented,” I will be more likely to teach in a manner that inspires students, while, at the same time, fostering a positive classroom environment and climate (Borich 59).

    I believe that all people should have access to public education and be offered equal learning opportunities.  I want to instill in the children I teach, the love of learning that was awakened in me as a young student.  As a child, I loved school and played school frequently with my younger sisters.  My father, who was then an elementary school principal, and is now a high school principal, would bring home to me old teaching manuals and discarded books.  I found this material fascinating and would use the opportunity to play teacher.  As the teacher of my younger sisters, I would dress in appropriate teaching attire, which included white, high-heeled shoes, and then I would gather my materials, which included my prized wooden pointer.  I had my sisters copy spelling words, complete math problems, read, and take tests, and when they were tired of playing school, I would teach my dolls and stuffed animals.  In another incidence, which occurred on the last day of second grade, I enthusiastically played school out in the hallway while my mother, who had come to pick me up, talked with my teacher about the school year.  When they discovered me performing as a teacher on the final day of the school year, they laughed and commented that I was definitely going to become teacher.  Therefore, from an early age, school was interesting, satisfying, and fun for me, and I wanted the job of my teachers, which I thought was the best in the world.  Overall, I feel that elementary school should be a place where students want to come to discover new ideas, build friendships, and begin a life of learning.

    When thinking about how I make choices and base actions, I discovered that I usually listen to my heart, feelings, or gut reactions.  Although this method of decision-making has served to get me into trouble at times, I feel that I can positively use this aspect of my personality in teaching.  For example, the decision-making that I must engage in as a teacher cannot be outlined or taught to me.  Therefore, I will have to make my own decisions on how I set up my classroom, how I teach certain lessons, how I punish students, how I reward students, and how I motivate students.  These decisions will have to be made according to what I feel is best for the betterment of my students, my school, and myself.

    The assumptions that I have made about learning as it relates to students, parents, communities, and societies are relatively simple.  Students, teachers, parents, and communities are all life-long learners in a society that is ever changing.  Thus, I assume that most people are innately curious about certain objects or ideas in our world and want to discover more about them.  Therefore, I view learning as a cycle that is constantly moving, and in which we are all discovering answers to questions we pose for ourselves.  I also assume that most adults want for children to have positive, valuable learning experiences, and, therefore, will support and encourage education of youngsters.

    In contemplating the best learning environment for children, I feel that elementary classrooms should be warm, inviting, and friendly.  I want to teach second grade; therefore, I would like for most students to be seated at tables.  The students who present behavior problems would be moved to single desks interspersed throughout the room.  I feel a classroom should be full of bright colors, soothing music, and different centers, such as reading, math, science, and creative writing.  An encouraging learning environment would also include numerous samples of student work, book baskets from which students could freely select books, a word wall, posted rules, and a discipline chart of some sort.  Furthermore, I feel that classroom bulletin boards should display themes on which learning is focused, and student artwork should be used to show the creativity and imagination of students, while enhancing the appearance of the room.  Finally, I would like to incorporate the idea of giucco into my classroom environment.  Giucco means, “extension of the lesson,” and refers to the, “serious play involved in learning” (Kohl 143).  I would like to use this style of teaching because it fosters active learning through hands-on projects, which prompts students to learn and grow.  I feel that giucco is, in a sense, teaching children to learn through their own experiences and would fit well into the classroom environment I would like to create.

    According to the philosophic inventory, I was classified as having a progressive educational philosophy.  I found this evaluation to be consistent with my own personal beliefs and values.  For example, progressivism is defined as being based on the belief that “education should be child-centered rather than focused on the teacher or content area,” and I agree that students should be able to take an active role in what and how they learn (Leahy).  In addition, progressivism includes teaching children personal and social values, and a passionate teacher is one who portrays the “quality of caring about ideas and values of others,” as well as, “being fascinated with the potential for growth within people” (Fried 17).  Thus, I feel strongly about teaching my students values such as responsibility, fairness, respect, persistence, honesty, and kindness because integration of these values into their lives will aid them in becoming more valuable members of society.  Cooperative work in groups is another aspect of learning that is included in progressive ideals, and I want my students to work together on certain projects and discuss what they have learned with each other.  I feel this type of activity is integral in the process of learning.  According to progressive ideas, I, as the teacher, would serve as a guide, facilitator, and supporter for student learning and growth.  I support this teacher role, of “acting in partners in learning,” and I feel it allows children a certain degree of freedom to become competent and autonomous learners (Fried 23).  Finally, the progressive teacher is one who truly cares about his/her students and desires to establish relationships with them while, at the same time, nurturing their growth.  According to Herbert Kohl in the book Growing Minds On Becoming A Teacher, a good teacher is one who hold a “love of nurturing and observing growth in others” (Kohl 5).  I believe I would fit this role well because I am a caring, social person who enjoys helping others.  Furthermore, I believe that by witnessing the evolution of my students over the course of the school year, I will feel satisfied and fulfilled.  These ideals merge with the progressive educational philosophy, which promotes that teachers should encourage and support growth in students’ academic and social lives.

    My own learning experiences as well as my involvement with children have assisted me in developing a progressive philosophy.  In my senior year of high school, my AP English teacher, Jackie McSwain, modeled progressivism beautifully.  She was my favorite teacher and taught in a way that encouraged student freedom, interest, and reflection.  Since our class consisted of only about eight students, we were able to transform into a small family.  We all sat at one round table, which enhanced discussion and cooperative work, and eventually we became comfortable enough with each other to share ideas, suggestions, and criticisms freely.  Mrs. McSwain had a warm smile and gentle voice; however, she worked hard and expected us to do the same.  During discussions of books we were studying, she would prompt us to begin, and then let us develop the conservation.  Thus, we were able to learn from the ideas and perceptions of others, which may have been different from our own beliefs.  I feel I benefited greatly by being a part of her class.  Therefore, I would like to create a similar environment in which I incorporate progressive teaching methods.  In addition to my own learning experiences, I worked as a teacher assistant in a second grade classroom at Davenport Elementary School for the 2000-2001 school year.  This experience aided me in discovering my philosophy as well as increased my desire to become an elementary school teacher.  A great for-character education program was implemented at Davenport, and I supported the idea of a principal’s reception that honored students for the good values they exhibited at school.  For example, each month a different value, such as responsibility or honesty, was focused on, and two students from each class who most exemplified that value were chosen to attend the reception with their parents.  The development of students’ moral and personal values is a goal of mine as a teacher, and it is also a principle of progressivism.  This character education program at Davenport coincided with my educational philosophy, and I found it to be valuable for students as well.  Another idea to which I was exposed at Davenport was the integration of classroom curriculum with art, drama, music, computer, and physical education programs.  Davenport is an At school, which means it places strong emphasis on the arts and, in particular, on combining the arts with material being taught in the classroom.  For example, if second graders were learning about shapes in math, then an art project involving the creation of images by arranging shapes might be undertaken by the art teacher.  Or, if students were studying poetry in the classroom, they may act out poems in drama or type their favorite poems in computer.  I found this idea to be fascinating and illustrative of the progressive idea of teaching the whole child.  Overall, I feel that my educational career as well as my experiences at Davenport have enabled me to merge my educational philosophy of progressivism with my personal purpose for teaching.  Thus, my purpose for teaching is, “more than the task of presenting content, grading, and managing the classroom,” it is to help students progress, especially in the areas of reading and creative writing, as well as develop social values that will assist them in being successful members of society (Borich 54).

Borich, Gary, “The Power of Purpose,” Clearly Outstanding Making Each Day Count In  Your Classroom, 1993.  Allyn and Bacon.  54, 55, 59.

Fried, Robert L., “Passionate Teaching,” The Passionate Teacher:  A Practical Guide,
 1995.  Beacon Press. 17,23.

Kohl, Herbert.  Growing Minds On Becoming A Teacher, 1984.  Harper Torchbooks.
 5, 143.

Leahy, Robert, Becoming A Teacher:  Accepting The Challenge Of A Profession,
 1995. 4.