Philosophy of Education

Melissa Rodriguez
LBS 400, T. Abbott
March 14, 2016

My passion for teaching has grown more and more through the years. The first time I
stated I wanted to become a teacher was in Kindergarten. Since then I have always admired and
looked up to teachers as role models, they do a lot for the society and they are not treated as
such. I was a swim instructor for almost three years, and it proved that I was put in this world to
do what I can do best, which is to teach.
The purpose of education is to prepare students to be fully capable of developing skills
for their future jobs. Oakes and Lipton (2003, p.90) mention that A Nation at Risk blamed
schools for the countrys economy and other problems and implemented rules to academically
develop students to be competitive. Throughout centuries, the United States has strived to
become a highly competitive nation and if we want to achieve that goal we have to start by better
educating our society. We need a population who is productive in a society that has new bright

ideas to better our society. This will be achieved by teaching the required material and educating
in a productive and effective way.
The best learning environment for students is well organized, safe and welcoming to
every student. American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, suggests a positive and supportive
climate for learning that should be established and maintained in the classroom. Students should
feel comfortable in the room, where he or she is okay with making mistakes, where he or she
feels like the classroom is a family and it is ok to make mistakes around his peers. Therefore,
students should be seated in groups, where they can share ideas, versus just sitting in the
classroom absorbing the information given by the teacher. In order for students to be successful
they should be provided with an environment that promotes learning to be fun.
In order to promote social justice in my classroom, I need to be aware of the many levels
and backgrounds of all of my students. Living in the United States our communities are
multicultural, all students have different background history and different levels of knowledge.
My goals are to make all students feel equally treated, sharing all the cultures among the
classroom. Hackman (2005), states Creating a student-centered learning environment is lauded
as an essential element of good teaching (p.108). Nowadays it is more often to see a
multicultural classroom, some teachers find it hard to touch the feared topic of racism among this
diverse group of children. Yet, I believe that it is important for teachers to address the topic
impartially and let the children create their own thoughts and opinions about that topic. We as
teachers have to leave our beliefs away from the classrooms, the children are free to express their
opinions and our personal beliefs do not have to interfere with what we are teaching.

The ideal curriculum to teach in a classroom would include teaching fewer topics, but
cover such topics in depth. The fewer topics covered in class, the more in depth learning students
will be able to learn more. In the article from the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance
Management at ETS, they mention that teachers will have to address fewer topics but
demanding much deeper understanding , mastery of more challenging texts , and more
sophisticated problem-solving and writing skills(5). Also American psychologist, Jerome
Bruner, states that instruction should be adjusted to accommodate learner differences. All
students should be given the same opportunity to learn. Teaching should be fun for students, but
for teachers as well. If the teacher is not interested in what he/she is teaching, students will not be
interested either. Student engagement is very important to students learning, and a teacher
should be able to do so in order to give students the best tools to succeed in our society.
To be an excellent teacher, I need to be patient, passionate and self-reflective. I want to be
a role model for my students; I want them to feel comfortable enough to come to me whenever
they need help. In the article teachers were asked their experience about teaching and I remember
to a teacher who said, I teach because I love the look on the students faces when (the light
comes on) they actually get the concept that I am teaching (p.1).I used to teach students how to
swim, and when I corrected them about something they would say, You were right, by doing
this I did do better or went faster. Their happiness was in finding why things happened or why
things worked. Teachers find all the little things, like reading, spelling, writing; its like when
you listen to your childs first words and footsteps.
Teaching has been my vocation, since young, I believe I am very passionate about this
career. I will strive for all my future students to learn how to function in this democratic society
we live in. I know that year after year I will gain experience and create an environment where

learning will be fun and effective. I want my students to happily wake up in the morning and
come to school ready for finding out new things.

References:
Center for K-12 Assessment and Performance Management at ETS.(2013).Seeing the Future.
Hackman, W., H. (2005).
Five essential components for social justice education. University of How the common
core will affect mathematics and language arts in grades 3-12 across America.
Lisa Hutton , Teacher Reflection Worksheet
Massachusetts Amherst School of Education: Equity & Excellence in Education
Oakes, J. , M.(2003).Teaching to change the world.
Terri Abbot , Principles of Effective Instruction Worksheet