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Philosophy of Education
Within this paper, I will discuss my beliefs regarding the role of an educator, as well as
my ethical responsibility towards students, families, colleagues, and community members, my
belief in the role of family involvement, how I will integrate family involvement within the
classroom, and finally, I will explain how I believe students learn and how assessment can be
incorporated within my future classroom.
I believe my role as an educator is to provide opportunities for students to explore their
surroundings and learn new things. As an educator, it is my responsibility to make sure all
students feel safe, loved, and cared for. I will wear many different hats. To some students, I may
be the only consistent person in their lives. When students are given the proper tools and
materials, a large amount of learning is taking place, even if it does not seem so. Carol Mooney
(2000) explains, Teachers can use Deweys criteria to make sure the experiences they plan for
children are not only fun but also build childrens learning (p. 27). John Dewey believes when a
classroom or lesson is planned well, it will provide endless opportunities for the students.
(Mooney, 2000) I, too, believe this statement. When well prepared for a lesson or learning
opportunity, students will learn so much. A lesson does not always have to be structured; rather,
creating open-ended activities allows for exploration and discovery.
As an educator, it is my responsibility to provide opportunities for students to learn,
grow, and excel both developmentally and in life. I believe I need to provide experiences that are
worthwhile and crucial to childrens overall development. With so little time in the course of a
school day, every minute is valuable. Using time wisely and allowing for open-ended
opportunities will create a positive learning environment and will help foster a relationship of
trust and compassion towards building relationships.
With taking on the role of an educator, ethical responsibilities are often over-looked, yet
very crucial. I believe maintaining individuality and seeing the potential in all students is a large
ethical responsibility towards being an educator. According to the National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (2011), an ethical responsibility to students is [t]o
recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child (p. 2). As an
educator, it is my responsibility to provide uniqueness within my classroom, which will allow
students to grow developmentally, in all developmental areas. I believe students are capable of
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doing the unthinkable. I also believe students have unlimited amounts of potential in a wide
variety of tasks.
I not only have ethical responsibilities to students, I also have ethical responsibilities to
their families. I am a firm believer in creating relationships with people who I want and need to
trust me. The NAEYC (2011) explains one ethical responsibility, [t]o develop relationships of
mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve (p. 3). As someone who will
educate young minds, it is key to develop a relationship of trust and respect towards families
because it allows me to easily communicate with them and provide encouragement and
collaboration among households. I believe my ethical responsibility towards my colleagues is to
develop relationships of trust and collaboration. I want to create an environment that I feel like I
can ask questions, provide feedback, and collaborate with individuals who may have the same
questions I have, or who can answer my questions. I also believe I have an ethical responsibility
towards my community. I am an advocates to the profession. I promote and share knowledge
about early childhood and young students, to educate the community about their youth. I have
ethical responsibilities towards my students families, but families also play a crucial role in my
classroom.
I believe the role of families is to provide encouragement and support for their students.
When families stand behind their students, they are more likely to do well in school. They have a
higher chance of succeeding because they have someone who is supportive. Students need
encouragement, love, and appreciate being reminded that they are making someone proud. If
students see they are being supported, they will want to work hard. When I integrate families into
my classroom, I want my students to feel as though they are being supported. By allowing
families to be involved in the classroom, the families and the students can feel a sense of
community, a sense of connectedness and a sense of support. When my students see families
around them, those families are acting as models towards each and every one of them.
Not only do families have an impact on students learning, but students also have a
variety of learning styles. I believe students learn a variety of ways. No one person is the same as
the other, therefore no two students can learn the exact same way. Families provide an insight
and advice that will help when creating teaching materials for students.
I think the beauty of teaching comes from using a creative mind to create lesson plans for
students. Students learn through both nature and nurture because their genetics as well as
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environment have a direct impact on them. A lesson plan can be taught using several different
intelligences. Students learn best when given the proper tools to succeed. Students learn best
when I teach them how they learn best. Howard Gardner believes in the Theory of Multiple
Intelligences. Laura Berk (2012) explains that Gardner [d]ismisses the idea of general
intelligences, Gardner proposes at least eight independent intelligences (p. 456). These eight
intelligences are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist,
interpersonal, and intrapersonal. (Berk, 2012) Students learn in so many different ways. By
understanding these differences, I can teach students better. Knowing and comprehending
Gardners theory helps me teach to every intelligence. While I am teaching to every intelligence,
I need to be assessing my students to document what they can or can not do.
I believe assessment plays a crucial role in early childhood education. Assessment allows
future teaching ideas, strategies, and students to be evaluated. There is a wide variety of
assessments that can be used in order to observe, document, and reflect on students progressions
or lack thereof.
In my classroom, I want to use a range of assessments. By doing so, it will allow me to
see progress from a variety of perspectives. Allowing families to participate in home visits, helps
me better understand the background of all students and it also allows an easier transition into the
classroom on the first day of school. During the day, I will keep anecdotal records throughout the
day, take pictures, and make observations that I think could be beneficial towards the students
progress. Throughout the year I will partake in both formative and summative assessment
because it helps me understand where my students are when understanding comprehension of my
students knowledge bases. I also would utilize portfolios as an assessment tool. Though time
consuming, I could review how the students developed and grew throughout the school year.
Finally, using a checklist would be a quick way to make observations and note what students are
able to do or not able to do. Sometimes, educators do not have the help or resources to go as in
depth in assessments, but a checklist is a simple way to recognize all students strengths and
weaknesses. Assessment is crucial in a classroom because it helps educators better understand
their students and how they learn, and it shows educators where students are at developmentally.
Throughout this paper, I established my beliefs regarding the role of an educator and
what I believe my ethical responsibility, as an educator, entails. I described my personal belief
when discussing the role of family involvement within a classroom, and I explained how I
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believe students learn. Lastly, I enlightened the reader about how I believe assessment can be
incorporated in my future classroom and how assessment can strengthen my classroom.
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References
Berk, L. E. (2012). Infants, children, and adolescents. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Mooney, C.G. (2000). Theories of development: An introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson,
Piaget, and Vygotsky. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
NAEYC. (2011, May). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Ethics%20Position%20Statement2011.pd
f. (p. 2-3).