Professional Documents
Culture Documents
My Educational Philosophy
Keta’ K. McCaskill
“People won't care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
MY EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 2
My Educational Philosophy
Educational Philosophy is what teachers believe “ought to be” about how humans learn and grow
and should learn to live a good life; which is education. Philosophy is a theory or attitude held
that acts as a guiding principle for behavior. I believe religion arrive at these truths based on
The short answer is, “I am still discovering it.” While I have never actually taught a classroom
of very young people outside of children’s church, I believe I can make a difference in the lives
of America’s youngest citizens because I served in the Air Force for 24 years, I see them as
Philosophy comes from the Greeks meaning love of wisdom. Philosophy explains what
teaching is, the importance of it and how that teaching affects the students and the society.
Philosophy clarifies roles of beliefs through life experiences, and ethics in the classroom
showing that all students are different and all students can learn, just not the same. Philosophy
provides guidelines of teacher expectation and what is to be striven for when teaching.
I want to become a Kindergarten teacher to serve and make a difference in the lives of the
youngest citizens in America. They deserve the best educational start available because America
prides itself on being the best. I grew up playing school during summer breaks; I even brought
home text books for my students (the dolls I owned). And I loved it. Although not fully
for a continuous adaptation of my Educational Philosophy for the sake of the children that will
those years on foreign soil. I retired as a United States Air Force Master Sergeant. I taught
Airman a way of life that promotes all things learning. I took them from the most basic concepts
to more complex analyses. I understood and appreciated the hard work and determination
required to get us there too. It was a joy to see the Airman “get it.” And yet a little frustrating
when they didn’t. It motivated me though to dig deeper in order to show those Airman where
they had come from, where they were presently and the possible future to be obtained just ahead.
I believe Kindergarten teachers have the most important job in the world. It’s an
opportunity to impact very young people’s lives with instruction that will carry them throughout
their academic careers and life. Very young people help teachers to experience learning all over
again every day because they see things differently. They still believe anything is possible.
The Air Force slogan when I enlisted was “Aim High.” Aiming high meant continuously
learning ways to convey what I had learned to others. It is not just the bachelor’s degree, state
certification or the knowledge of the subjects that I would be teaching to be highly qualified
teacher. It is also knowing who I am and what I bring to the classroom, knowing my students
(the successes, challenges, and frustrations) and their families, knowing what works or doesn’t in
the classroom, and what I’ve learned about teaching from not only my teaching style but others
as well.
I believe teachers can see students as smart. They must ask smart for what and in what
though. As for me, I found from a Multiple Intelligence assessment that my smartness starts with
MY EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 4
and naturalist intelligence respectively. And knowing this, I can better identify with my students
and help them to identify with their own learning intelligence. I do not want my students’
potential wasted. I will challenge them and watch them grow to their full potential. I will use
preventive and supportive behavior strategies that comes from smiles more so than corrective
strategies.
A smile says come right in, sit down for a while, and enjoy yourself. A smile says no
matter what it looks or feel like, it’s going to be okay. A smile in general is gentle and inviting,
not hostile. But a smile can also say we have rules and consequences. Lastly, a smile definitely
says I believe in you. I want my students to feel that I understand and can relate and therefore
they can choose to learn from me and I can learn from them. It is my expectation that my culture
will foster a classroom of trust that reaches from me to the student and vice versa. The bottom-
line is that the entire classroom must stay watching and educated to the unseen just around the
corner.
I read the book Savage Inequalities: Child in America’s Schools and it really affected
me. In the book, Dr. Lillian Parks, the superintendent of the East St Louis schools, is cited to
have said, “Gifted children are everywhere in East St. Louis, but their gifts are lost to poverty
and turmoil and the damage done by knowing they are written off by their society. They have no
feeling of belonging to America (Kozol, 1991, p.41).” The theme of the book was summed up
by President Obama when he once said, “Now, as a nation, we don't promise equal outcomes, but
we were founded on the idea everybody should have an equal opportunity to succeed. No matter
who you are, what you look like, where you come from, you can make it. That's an essential
promise of America. Where you start should not determine where you end up.”
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I believe the fulfillment of that promise begins with me. President Obama said at the
National Teacher of the Year ceremony held at the White House on April 29, 2015, “They
(Teachers) are not just teaching formulas or phonetics -- they’re selling hope, sparking
imagination, opening up minds, giving people -- young people -- a sense of their own
power. They teach students to challenge themselves and dream beyond their circumstances, and
imagine different futures. And then they work as hard as they can to help those young people
make their dreams real.” That is me. Like the song “Opportunity” from the movie Annie (2014),
Now look at me
My big opportunity
I won't waste it
I guarantee.
I was taught “Pillars of Wellness” in the Air Force as a way of life. These pillars are the
foundation from which I teach and they include: (1) emotional, (2) physical, (3) spiritual, and (4)
social wellness which includes the five C’s (caring, committing, communicating, connecting and
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celebrating). By working holistically with each individual young person to address these needs, I
can give every young person the opportunity to become a responsible, fulfilled, and giving adult.
This is my passion, my mission and my goal; to minister personally to the specific needs of each
young person I serve. Indeed, while I have never actually taught in a classroom outside of
children’s church, I believe given the opportunity I can make a difference in the lives of
References
Parkay, F.W. (2013). Becoming a Teacher 9th Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Kozol, J. (1991). Savage Inequalities Children in America’s Schools. New York: Broadway
Paperbacks.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sia/opportunity.html
The White House Office of the Press Secretary (2014, Dec 4). Remarks by the President at
office/2014/12/04/remarks-president-college-opportunity-summit
The White House Office of the Press Secretary (2015, Apr 29). Remarks by the President
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/29/remarks-president-celebrating-
2015-national-teacher-year
AMC officials announce results of Comprehensive Airman Fitness survey (2010 Sept 15).