Philosophy of Education I am not a blank slate or Tabula Rasa as some would prefer to say.

From the moment that I and every other human being was born, on this earth, she has been written upon and molded into the person that she is the moment that she walks into my classroom. My purpose as an educator is to continue to help each student write her story and equip them with the tools to make that story the most fulfilling one possible. This is my philosophy of education; this is what I believe the role of myself as an educator is and what the purpose of the education process, that I have the privilege to take part in, is. My philosophy comes from my own personal history as not only a student but as a human being. My Christian faith has influenced me to believe that a strong community is essential for a person to grow. My love for literature, classic and contemporary, drives the notion that everything needs strong roots to build off. Then an infatuation with philosophy shapes my understanding that inquiry is the primary driving device behind all learning. These values and beliefs of mine are pivotal in the methodology behind my instruction. My strong sense of community is something that I will wish to instil in my students so I will have lots of group work integrated into my curriculum in order to not only increase my students intrapersonal skills but also their sense of belonging to the classroom. This community does not end once my students leave the classroom, however. Bringing Elders of the towns community can show the students history while also giving them a sense of how they can fit into the current social structure where they live. People of other cultures could also be brought in to show students how they not only fit into their own culture but also the culture that is the world. These actions develop an all-encompassing community of learners that is not limited to those of Student teacher but also parent, grandparent, neighbor and friends. As many have said before it

takes a community to raise a child, and the larger the community of caring individuals the betterrounded a student can be. The structure that I have valued will be reflected in the systematic nature of my material my students will need to crawl before they walk and eventually run. Each step will need to be precise, but that does not mean that every one cannot be fun. I ascribe to a more traditional methodology of learning to read, write, and do arithmetic. Phonics are under-emphasized in todays schools due to the notion that they cannot be enjoyable. I disagree and believe that choice on the students part of how they learn phonics, with instruction of course, can make the subject extremely enjoyable. This is where my philosophy of learning through inquiry is reflected truly shines. Students do not learn things effectively unless they are actively engaged with the material that they are presented with. This poses a problem for many instructors. How does one actively engage all of her or his students and still keep everyone on track? An old Chinese proverb says There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same. This is my philosophy about how to address this issue. If the goal is the same how does it matter which means a student gets to the top of the mountain. I personally ascribe to the idea that people have multiple learning styles and my many paths approach adheres well to this model of learning. By incorporating musical elements, visuals, such charts, maps or even movies, verbal ideas such as stories, logical notions like statistics, kinesthetic activities relative to a time period, or story, and naturalistic by simply experiencing nature and seeing how it works All of this would bring up the topic of my views on assessment however. I do believe in the power of traditional tests and the importance of it in our modern society. Many students do

not show their knowledge through traditional testing though, therefore projects, activities, writing, and other means of assessment are all needed in order to properly tell if a student understands the material. Knowing how you best come to a place of understanding on topics then is the ultimate goal of every students education. To reach this goal one has to have an understanding of who they are and whom they want to become. If through my philosophy I accomplish this goal I will see myself as a successful educator.