French 1

Philosophy

All educators have a firm foundation of knowledge on how a classroom should be based

off the philosophies of education; these philosophies are what educators base the structure of

their classrooms on. Granted that every educator has a different set of beliefs and will certainly

educate others based on what philosophies they feel most strong about, ultimately, they will

produce the same results in their students. For years, educators across the world have

implemented different philosophies in the classroom and they have discovered that some work

better than others. However, all the philosophies in education have a great deal of importance

because without them we wouldn’t be advancing and learning new techniques that will grant

students the success they deserve. Truly, it will all come down to what level you are teaching,

and this will determine what type of educator you are. For instance, an elementary school teacher

will use different philosophies than that of a secondary school teacher. Many times, this will

result in educators having to be open to new beliefs so that their students will succeed. It’s

important early on in your career of teaching to know how you will build the foundations of your

classroom.

As an elementary education major and through my field placement observations in

elementary school settings, I will mainly implement the philosophy of constructivism. Along

with that I will have a clear understanding of my goals as a teacher and goals I want my students

to achieve by using formative and summative approaches. I will also educate myself as the years

go by and tweak anything in my classroom to ensure the success of every student that walks

through my classroom door.

Constructivism stresses the importance of students using their prior knowledge so that

they can apply that information to participate in hands-on activities. Not only does this
French 2

philosophy require that the students must be hands-on, but the students are set up to challenge

their thoughts when their teacher asks them a question, this will ensure that they will be involved

in the discussion. The main goal of a constructivist teacher is to produce active, collaborative,

creative learners. You can watch constructivism take place in many aspects of the classroom like

when students have stations when learning topics in science or physical education or acting out

something from a novel that they are reading and even when you use blocks to explain fractions.

All of this requires prior knowledge.

I think the most important thing all educators can do is to set goals for themselves and the

students. If we don’t set goals, how will we be motivated to learn all the curriculum set in place

for that year? Not only can you set goals academically, but you can show your students how to

set goals outside of your class. This can be a lifelong lesson of personal achievement. As a future

educator, some goals that are important to me as the teacher are creating effective lesson plans,

promoting transformational learning and providing rich, hands-on learning experiences. I truly

believe that your class cannot run efficiently without effective lesson plans because everything

you teach should be meaningful and important in order to keep students interested. Promoting

transformational learning is extremely important for critical thinking. You really want to ask

open ended questions because this will help students brainstorm ideas and be able to give a

meaningful answer. As for providing hands-on experiences, this is essential because I do not

think any students learns well without being given the opportunity to experience what you are

teaching. That’s why when you eventually go to college or trade school you must be out getting

exposure in that field for you to succeed. Student goals are just as important as goals I have for

myself. I would like for my students to become better problem solvers, critical thinkers and
French 3

master state standards. Challenging your students to goals like these will give them a chance to

push themselves in the classroom and these goals will help for their whole lifetime.

When monitoring my students, I will use both formative and summative approaches

because they are both extremely important to me and can give different feedback. I will use

formative assessment when observing, doing exit tickets and group activities. Formative

assessment will help me understand where students are with learning when they aren’t put under

pressure. This also gives them opportunity to brainstorm with you or the whole class when doing

group activities. When using summative assessment, I can give graded tests or even standardized

test, and this will show me exactly where a student is on paper and if they have recalled

information over time.

As an educator you must be willing to adapt over time. Education is consistently

changing and that has been extremely evident over the past two years with the Coronavirus

pandemic. You must prepare yourself for all obstacles, so your students don’t suffer at your

hand. I plan to reflect of my teaching daily, go to trainings for professional development and

collaborate with teachers in my focus. I feel strongly that this will ensure the success of me and

my students in the future.