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Philosophyofeducation

Natalie believes that the classroom environment she creates is most important, and that students will react to whether the teacher is stressed or happy. She will make her classroom a safe space that puts the outside world on hold. As a special education teacher, she believes that all children are different but that diversity is a gift, and that misbehavior stems from relationships. Her curriculum prioritizes students over standards, and she will choose handling behavior over staying on schedule. Academically she follows a perennialist philosophy, teaching traditional subjects like math, reading, and writing without calculators or homework. She views herself as a nurturing teacher who acts on instinct to help struggling students.

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98 views3 pages

Philosophyofeducation

Natalie believes that the classroom environment she creates is most important, and that students will react to whether the teacher is stressed or happy. She will make her classroom a safe space that puts the outside world on hold. As a special education teacher, she believes that all children are different but that diversity is a gift, and that misbehavior stems from relationships. Her curriculum prioritizes students over standards, and she will choose handling behavior over staying on schedule. Academically she follows a perennialist philosophy, teaching traditional subjects like math, reading, and writing without calculators or homework. She views herself as a nurturing teacher who acts on instinct to help struggling students.

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api-489151742
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Running head: PHILOSOPHY !

Philosophy of Education

Natalie Rose

Paris Junior College

EDUC 1301.440

Dr. Marian Ellis, Instructor


PHILOSOPHY !2

Philosophy of Education

I believe that as a teacher I will decide what the atmosphere of my classroom is. If I am

stressed, my students will react to that. If I am happy and calm, it is more likely that they will

feel safe and loved. I do not mean that I can be perfect. I mean that I will be as consistent as I

possibly can be to put the outside world on hold while children are in my classroom. By caring

for the environment of my room first of all, my remaining academic responsibilities will more

easily be fulfilled.

As an aspiring special education teacher, I fully believe that every child is different. I

know that the diversity in my classroom will often be a challenge, whether that diversity be due

to different cultures, a physical impairment, or mental/emotional trauma. However, that diversity

is never a problem; it is always a gift. I believe that children behave (or misbehave) based on the

quality of the relationships in their lives. Children have a fundamental need to be known and

loved, and if that need is not met, those children will act out. Because I believe that children do

nothing except in response to what is happening inside them, I am able to have patience and

compassion for them. I know that there are no bad kids, just kids who make bad choices.

My curriculum is shaped first by students, and second by standards. I believe that more

important than filling in bubbles is the heart of the child holding the pencil. For that reason, if my

choice is ever between handling the behavior of a child or staying “on schedule” I will abandon

the schedule every time. To me, learning healthy behaviors is not a secondary goal of proper

schooling, but the primary goal of a good education. I want my students to learn to accurately

identify their emotions, as well as express them in a constructive way.


PHILOSOPHY !3

Academically, my philosophy is most readily characterized by perennialism. I will teach

my students traditional subjects, including math, reading, and writing. (By no means are those

three the only subjects I will teach.) I will teach them the hard, long way to do math (without

calculators) because I want them to master the basics before they are taught “tricks”.

Additionally, because reading and writing have been imperative to humanity for thousands of

years, I tend to place a special emphasis on those subjects. I will teach my students to write and

speak traditional, proper English. Because I observe that people who know cursive typically have

neater handwriting, I will teach them cursive, as well.

My students will rarely receive homework from me. When a child is in my classroom, it

is my job to teach them. I refuse to send them home with work to do without me beside them,

available if they struggle. If I cannot accomplish everything I need to with my students while

they are in my class—I view that as me unable to do my job.

That being said, assessments and testing do look different in my classroom. On the rare

occasion that my students take a typical pencil/paper test (because it is necessary that they learn

how to take a test), my tests will not be administered in order for the student to know where they

are in relation to other students. Tests are for me as the teacher to know what I need to review or

re-teach, not for the students to know what they need to “re-learn”.

At my most basic level I am a nurturing teacher who acts largely on instinct. I believe

that teaching special education is what I was created to do, and because of that, my heart quite

naturally knows how to do it, with only a smidgen of intervention from my mind. Give me the

struggling student who cries “too much” or is known throughout the school as the “problem

child”. For them my heart reserves its deepest love and most creative strategies.

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