Stephanie Castro

Professor Macias
LBS 400
4 May 2019
Philosophy of Education

As a future educator I believe the purpose of education in American society is to help

children determine a career path that will benefit not only themselves but the social and

economic community. I will do this by providing a student centered learning environment,

execute social justice in the curriculum and lastly provide a stimulating and secure atmosphere

for children to learn and flourish through my philosophy of education:

Purpose
Hackman states “Social justice education encourages students to take an active role in

their own education and supports teachers in creating empowering, democratic, and critical

education environments (2005 p.1)”. The purpose of education is to help students obtain the

knowledge and skills they will need once they are out in the real world. As a future educator I

have the opportunity to instill knowledge and help guide students to determine a career path.

Learning environment

Students learn the most in student centered environments because everything is based on

the student's needs and how they learn. The main goal of a student centered environment is to

develop students who are self-sufficient and take responsibility of their learning (Hackman

2005). Brian Mooney (2015) illustrates how he provided a student centered environment for his

students with the content he was teaching about a novel written in the 1970’s and then related a
song from a famous hip hop artist to engage the student in the content. The students used their

curiosity to explore how a famous hip hop artist wrote lyrics on very important issues such as

rape, hope, and justice while still making his song a major hit in the music industry. When

students are having fun learning what is being taught and also feel safe, students are able to let

go of all the worries that might go on outside of the classroom and engage in the material that is

being presented to them.

Social Justice

Heather W. Hackman (2005), explains and defines social justice education and how

teachers can apply it to their classrooms and content. Social justice education has five essential

components: content mastery, critical analysis, social change, personal reflection and awareness

of multicultural group dynamics (Hackman 2005). Anyone of these components can help both

the students and the teacher; for example, if a teacher has a classroom made up of mostly

caucasian students, does it mean that there is no need to teach about race and racism? Absolutely

not, race and racism must to be taught no matter what race or ethnic group dominates the

classroom. Social justice is served within a student, when students feel safe to voice their opinion

inside and outside, because their teacher has provided the proper tools and knowledge.

Curriculum

My ultimate goal is to teach my future students all the state standard subjects in a way

that they enjoy learning and also keeps them coming back wanting to learn more. To achieve this

the first thing is to get to know my students well and also be conscious of how they work

individually as well as in groups. This will help provide a student centered environment for the

students. The main objective is to make sure that at the end of a lesson students are able to
understand the material to the point where they are able to practice what they learned without

guidance.

Great Teachers

Effective teachers continually learn, whether it be in school or outside of school. As

educators we must show students to be responsible for themselves and for their education.

Teaching others provides me with the opportunity to be a part of a symbiotic relationship with

my students where we both learn and grow together. Life is a continuous journey of learning and

growing and I would love to be a part of a students success in their academics and future life

goals. I hope to share my desire for learning and transfuse a thirst for learning in my students as

well as learn from my students. This will allow me to extend my knowledge as well as develop

personally and professionally.

 References

Hackman, Heather. (2005). Five Essential Components for Social Justice Education. Equity &

Excellence in Education. 38. 103-109.