Artifact #3 - Philosophy of Education

Britnee Madrigal

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 201

Intro to Elementary Education

Susan Bridges

November 20, 2022

need to guide, protect, and educate them. I have always felt this since I was a young child taking

care of my younger brothers and cousins. I am a huge kid at heart and highly energetic, and I

love that as a teacher I get the opportunity be youthful. The main experience that inspired me to

want to become a teacher was the birth of my son. He was born with spina bifida and requires a

great deal of different therapies, and most recently he has started school. I was told he was not

going to be able to do many of the things he has already achieved, and it is so incredibly

inspiring. He doesn’t see the restrictions that our society has placed on him and works towards

his goals with no fear, that it brought me to the realization that I needed to do the same. My time

around his therapist, doctors, and teachers, and getting to witness how big of an impact they have

made in his life and countless other children’s lives, made me realize I too wanted to make this

impact on children’s lives. I also have desire to help and support children that don’t necessarily

have that support at home. The personal skill set that will benefit me is my experience with

children and my experience with all the different therapist and teachers that I currently

experience. I am constantly surrounded by children with many different disabilities and from all

different backgrounds. I also feel like I am extremely patient and understanding with children,

and this will help me tremendously. My field observation helped me understand the teaching

environment so much more and further solidified my choice to want to become a teacher. I felt

so at home and had an amazing teacher that made it an experience I will never forget. She was

very clear about any problems that were in the classroom and that helped me understand and

relate to her and the classroom so much more. I was able to witness and relate to modern day

teaching and the technologies in the classroom that I had not been exposed to before.

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The educational philosophies and psychological orientation that most closely fit my

beliefs about education are perennialism, essentialism and behavioristic psychology.

Perennialism and essentialism most fits my beliefs about philosophy because I believe that

knowledge is power. I want to be able to teach students information they will also need in the

real world. Behaviorism most fits my psychological orientation because I believe in structure. I

believe in being firm yet fair and think that if too lenient with a child they will step all over you,

but if too harsh they will fear you so finding that fine in between is a goal of mine. I do also

know I will incorporate other philosophical and psychological orientations as needed, and

according to the student. The historical events that set the stage for how I will think about

children and schools are really with my experiences. The exposure to the teachers in my life and

feeling the lifelong impact that some of them left on me. I also believe that although not

historical, the current state of education and witnessing the support that teachers need now more

than ever will set the stage with how I perceive schools.

The instructional strategies that I will implement in the classroom will be theory into

practice, but I also believe I will have a combination of several depending on the subject. I

believe it is important to have an explicit curriculum that will show exactly what is expected

from the student, and by when. It is important to listen to students but to also give a general idea

about what is expected from them. I will approach student learning, diversity, variability, and

assessment by being patient, open and supportive of my students. I know that all students have

the capability to be great, some just need that extra push that I cannot wait to offer. I want to set

up my students to succeed and never feel that their background can keep them from their dreams.

As a child to immigrants, I can relate to many students, and this will give me the ability to do just

that.

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The characteristics and skills that are important for me to have to continue with this

career are to be kind but firm and fair. To have the ability to be able to understand the life and

perspective of a child but also be able to guide them in the right direction and teach them the

much-needed educational values to get them through life. As a leader I believe showing a student

how to navigate through both intellectual and emotional experiences is extremely important. I

aspire to leave a positive impact on my students and for them to look back to their elementary

school years and always remember being told they can do anything and believing it. The steps I

plan to take to achieve my goal of becoming a teacher are to continue my path at CSN and

receive my AA in Elementary Education, transfer to UNLV and receive my Bachelor of Science

in Elementary Education. I will then start my career as an elementary teacher and would like to

teach kindergarten through the 3rd grade. I will then continue my higher education journey and

get my Master of Education in Special Education. Having a disabled child has completely

changed my life and my views on Special Education and how incredibly important it is. I believe

having that experience will benefit me in the field of Special Education. I would also like to

eventually get into a leadership role, after years of dedication to teaching, and it is a goal of mine

to obtain a Master of Education in Educational Policy and Leadership. I believe my time as a

teacher and my relatable experiences will give me the much-needed insight that Educational

Leadership requires. Working in the public school system is important to me because so many

things can and need to be improved, and although I may not be able to change it overnight, I

would not be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try. I will dedicate my time and volunteer

with a program like the Boys and Girls Club that helps at risk youth by promoting education. I

would also like to volunteer with disabled youth and the many organizations that support them.

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In conclusion, I am so incredibly excited and passionate about my future as a teacher. I

believe it is my calling to nurture, lead, and educate the future generation and I hope to make a

positive impact. I believe perennialism and essentialism, along with behavioristic psychology,

most fit my beliefs on teaching. The events that will have an impact on how I view schools and

children are the current events happening within our education system. The instructional strategy

that resonates most with me is theory into practice with an explicit curriculum. I will approach

the many different student needs with patience and support. The characteristics that are important

for me to retain are to be understanding but structured. The steps I will be taking to obtain the

goal of becoming a teacher are to focus on furthering my education, and volunteering time

outside of the classroom with at risk and disabled youth.