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Artifact #1, Education Philosophy, Educational Background

Kristine Morales

EDU 202 – 1001

Professor Connie Christensen

04/05/2019

Philosophy of Education

Every career choice has its unique experience, but as an education major student, the

experiences I have experienced is one to remember. This profession requires a lot of hard work,

determination, perseverance, and passion because it is not an easy job. So far, over this education

course, I have learned a lot of things. One of them is learning about what education means to me,

and what are the obstacles I have to overcome to reach my goal to become a teacher. This is why

it is really important for me to have my own philosophy of education.

Since I was a little kid, I've always said to myself that I will be a teacher someday.

Growing up, as I learned more about the world and its reality, I started second guessing this

profession. I changed my mind and said that I wanted to be a flight attendant. However, one day,

I met my U.S. History teacher from my junior year of high school. That's when the "spark" of

becoming a teacher popped up. He truly inspired me to become a teacher again. He loved

teaching so much that his blindness didn't stop him from being a teacher. He would always give

good lectures, and lectures are usually boring, but he found ways to make it more enjoyable in

class. He truly inspired a lot of students and motivated them to do better in school and to pursue

their dreams. That is one thing that I want to give; I want to give help, hope, inspiration, and

motivation to other people and mostly to younger students. This is something not new to me

because I volunteered at a hospital, and it's not new to my nature to give help, hope, inspiration,
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and motivation to other people who are going through some rough time in their lives. As a future

educator, my job is not only to give knowledge to students, but I also like to see this profession

as students counselors and mentors. I want to guide them to the right path, and make sure that

they can achieve whatever they want to achieve in life.

My field observation experience has served me some good ideas on how a classroom

works, especially in a secondary school classroom. My first field observation was in an

elementary school, and that experience made me realize that working with younger students

might have not been for me. It is not because I don’t like working with younger students, but

because I learned that younger students need lots more attention than older students in high

school; I only want the best for students, and I think that with younger students, I might not be

able to give all the attention they are going to need from me. Now, observing in a high school

environment, I could actually see myself being comfortable working with the students. I could

actually say that I am looking forward on working with them.

Students have different techniques on how they can learn better in school, and teachers

have different styles of teaching and different ways on how they can promote effective learning

in their classroom. Knowing my philosophical orientation while I'm still a student is very helpful

because I can learn more about it throughout the years that I am learning about this profession. It

is important as a teacher to know what teaching styles work best for me, so that my future

students would know what to expect from me, and so, my students would have a better

understanding on what I am trying to teach. Also, it is important that I adjust some of my

teaching styles according to my students. Because as a teacher it is part of my job to set the

overall environment atmosphere in my classroom. Learning the educational philosophy and

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psychological orientations, I learned that I fall into the essentialism and progressivism categories.

Just like essentialism, I believe that students should be taught discipline, hard work, and respect

of authority. We should emphasize intellectual and moral standards that should be transmitted by

the schools. Furthermore, like those who believe in progressivism, I also believe that students'

interest and personal growth from their learning experiences are important. With the belief that

they have that the society is always changing, new ideas are also important to make sure that the

future is better than the past.

Talking about the past, the historical event that set the stage for how I view children and

schools is the Education for All Handicapped Children Act that's passed by the Congress in

1975. It's because I believe that even disabled students have the rights to learn or have the rights

to go to school. Everyone is capable of learning, and this opportunity should not be taken from

anyone. Just like my former U.S. History teacher, he became blind when he was in high school,

but he still wanted to continue learning.

Instructional strategies differ because it all depends on the teachers, students,

administrators, and many other factors. An instructional strategy that I implement is the use of

computers in my classroom or any different technology device. I believe that this allows students

to become more excited in their classwork or activities in class. From my previous field

observation experience with elementary students, I noticed that students really enjoyed computer

time because they get to go to the computers, and they get to play educational games software

that the school offers. As a young student, I remember being so excited when we got to go to the

computer lab because I felt like that was just free time for us, but really, we are playing and

learning at the same time. With this being said, especially now in our modern society, where
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technology is a common thing for younger children, and so I believe that implementing the use

of computers in my classroom can enhance student learning. As someone who wants to be a

math teacher, I would like to use a website like My Math Lab and ALEKS in my classroom. This

is where I would put my students’ assignments or homework. I would also use Google

Classroom for some group activities in my classroom like projects or any group assignments.

To approach student diversity and variability in my classroom, it is important to have a

brief talk with my students to explain to them about each other's differences. We all know that all

the "-ism" (racism, sexism, etc.) is hard to remove from this world, and if any racism, sexism, or

bullying occurs in my classroom, my students will know that I will not tolerate this kind of

behavior. We should all accept each other's differences, put that aside, and look at the similarities

that we all have together. With this, I can create a safe environment for all of my students

because this is very important. With a safe environment for my students, this could enhance the

student learning in the classroom.

As I learned from this course, I know I have a lot more to accomplish and possess to

continue in this career. I need to have the skill in communicating to other people and being

confident to talk in front of a lot of people, because as a teacher, I would always be the person

that these young students look up to. I also need to be approachable and understanding because

these are the things that younger students need from their teachers. They need a lot of attention,

and I really need to listen to each and every one of them. As a secondary education major, I

would need to earn a bachelor's degree in secondary education. I know that throughout my

college experience I'm going to experience a lot of field observation assignments, and at some

point, I'm going to be a student teacher for a few months. I need to learn how to be organized, to
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manage my time wisely, I need to learn how to make lesson plans, I need to learn how to

communicate with students' parents, and many more. Lastly, to be called a highly qualified

teacher, I need to pass all the standardized tests, like Praxis. I would also need a lot of

experience. Overall, I just need to be ready to anything that this profession throws at me.

Writing this philosophy of education paper helped me understand and learned more about

myself and this profession. Just while I'm writing I realized the history of why I chose this

profession, and all the things that I still have to do to get there. I know it's going to be a wild

roller coaster ride, but I don’t mind because I am passionate about this profession. I just

remember being at school when I was in high school, and all the things I had to go through just

to get my diploma, that one was a crazy ride. I couldn’t wait to graduate! Now, I feel the same

way. I know I'm going to face a lot of challenges or obstacles until I graduate, and to finally call

myself a teacher, but I know it'll be worth it at the end. Just like high school, I can’t wait to

graduate to do what I've always wanted to do in life. That is to educate and make a difference in

this world.