Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 1

Philosophy of Education Statement

Taylor Studds

University of Maryland University College

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 2

Philosophy of Education Statement

Socrates once said that “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel”

(Sandhu, 2014, p. 149). ​Every student has a smoldering flame within them, a dormant desire to

learn and continue learning throughout life. It is an innate aspect of humanity that is evident most

in our infancy but nevertheless is present throughout our lives. During infancy, a great deal of

emphasis is placed on the state of a child’s environment to shape physical and intellectual

development. Pediatricians will screen the blood-lead levels of children in under-privileged cities

at both the one and two-year marks as a means of ascertaining environmental safety ​ (State of

New York Department of Health, 2010)​. Mothers are implored to breastfeed during the first year

of life to ensure the child is provided its most basic needs ​(Ben-Joseph, 2018)​. Researchers

encourage parents to provide their infants with cognitive enrichment in the form of sensory

objects, music, and literature ​ (Lucich, 2002)​. However, what happens after infancy? The

learning process does not end; however, the conversation regarding the impact of a child’s

environment on their ability to learn becomes of secondary concern compared to content and

rigor. To me, however, education is more than the content of a classroom. It is the unseen

brickwork of environments, supports, skills, and personalities that lie at the very foundation of a

process to foster life-long growth and learning.

It is my firm belief that, at its core, the success of one’s education lies not in a diploma,

but in the success of educators’ abilities to foster a desire for life-long learning and exploration

within their students. Therefore, my duty as an educator goes beyond simply relaying content

and creating meaningful lesson plans. I must create the environments and implement the

strategies necessary to not only encourage learning but to build the confidence within my
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 3

students to start and continue throughout their lives. Accomplishing this goal requires me to not

only be open to the experiences and identities of my students but to be capable of utilizing this

knowledge to construct a student-centric environment that students will remember not only as a

place they enjoyed learning in but that inspired them to pursue knowledge post-graduation.

One of the most fundamental elements in building a conducive environment for learning

and encouragement is the physical layout. As a firm believer in the power of belonging, I do not

want to separate my students. Additionally, I believe that building a comforting and supportive

environment is better done by fostering small, intimate group relationships rather than larger,

less intimate ones. In turn, I intend to group my students into tables of 4-5 called Houses. By

utilizing the Houses system as the primary facilitator of learning activities, and having students

engage in short icebreakers at the outset of each week, I hope to get students communicating,

building a sense of camaraderie, and establishing a sense of belonging that extends outside of the

classroom. I want students to feel comfortable talking to their Housemates, reaching out to them,

or being willing to provide support without being asked. Moreover, I want students to feel

empowered by their actions and acknowledged for their efforts, even if the desired outcome is

not what they hoped. As a means of encouraging these attributes, Houses will be awarded points

that can be redeemed for prizes based on behavior, particularly demonstrations of

social-emotional awareness, and academic effort. With this system, I believe I can lay the

groundwork for building positive life skills such as perseverance, social-emotional awareness,

and empathy that will ultimately play a crucial role in encouraging a life-long pursuit of

knowledge and learning.

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 4

While placing students in Houses helps build community, the configuration of students

within these groups also plays a vital role in building an equitable classroom environment. As

inclusive classrooms become more commonplace within the world of public education, being

able to create environments capable of serving all students is pivotal in fostering lifelong

learning. This means that classrooms must be structured in such a way that all students,

regardless of learning style, are provided the accommodations and adaptations necessary to not

only facilitate learning but to challenge those learners as well. One way in which the Houses

system will assist in building this sense of equity is by building teams consisting of both strong

and struggling learners of a single learning style. Doing so will provide struggling learners with a

small group of peers who they not only connect with personally but in terms of learning style

("New Teacher," 2011)​. Having this sense of comfort and commonality will help foster a

peer-peer academic support system within each house that will not only provide struggling

learners an extra resource for help but will offer advanced learners the opportunity to reflect on

their own understanding through peer-to-peer tutoring. As a result, not only will the Houses

system accommodate struggling students or students with disabilities but also students who need

an extra challenge in their studies.

Getting to know one’s students, and helping the students get to know one another, is

pivotal in building a supportive and inspirational learning environment. Taking this into

consideration, I plan to open each school year with a handful of carefully chosen icebreakers and

activities geared to both help students become acquainted and to inform me of each child’s

interests, needs, and concerns. The core of these activities will be “I Wish My Teacher Knew”

and “Houses Poster.” “I Wish My Teacher Knew” is explicitly meant for me to get to know each
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 5

student personally in a comfortable manner ​(McClure, 2015)​. Students fill out index cards with

something they think is important for me to understand about them and their learning. Each card

is read privately and placed into a jar on my desk as a reminder to myself of who is in my

classroom, and a reminder to my students that I am always considering them. “Houses Poster” is

a creative activity and something to be displayed around the room that will help the class, and

myself, get to know one another. Each group decides on a house name and designs a banner and

house motto that embodies the 4-5 members of their group. In engaging with students in both

activities, not only can I gauge who is in my room, but I can utilize the collected data to make

informed decisions about assessment accommodations and classroom groupings in order to

develop a more equitable environment that serves the needs of all learners. Moreover, with this

data, I can begin building a supportive, team-based environment in which students are

encouraged to both express themselves and engage with one another.

When my students walk into my room, I want them to know and have daily reminders,

that their voice is essential. Following our opening activities, once my students have grown more

comfortable with one another, I want to engage in an activity wherein we, as a class, construct

our class norms. Using a Venn-Diagram, I will ask my students to brainstorm what are some

important norms or rules the class should follow. Following a period of deliberation within their

groups, students will engage in a class discussion at which time the most represented norms will

be written on the board. After a list has been constructed and any arguments have been made for

new norms, the students will then vote anonymously to ratify the list and have them displayed on

the wall. While this is just one step in ensuring student voice is heard, I feel that it is vital that

students feel they are a part of their education and that they have a say in the experience. Without
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 6

this sense of ownership, it is easy to stymie any desire students may have to pursue knowledge

both in class and in their future.

To encourage student voice and involvement year-round, I intend to implement a

suggestion box in my classroom where students can write notes about how they feel the class is

going, what they would like to see change or things they want to see more of. In creating this

box, students can take ownership of their learning experience and feel as though the class and its

content is centered on them rather than what I think is best. Moreover, these suggestions will

help me gauge my perceptions of the course and make modifications as necessary. This way, I

know I am catering to the needs of my students specifically and not assumptions I may be

making based on data or subjective observations.

In addition to emphasizing student voice and academic ownership, I also believe in

creating rigorous yet balanced lesson plans that both reinforce content and positively challenge

students to push their understanding. These lessons involve a variety of activities meant to gauge

critical thinking, reading comprehension, author’s craft, and analysis skills. Moreover, each

lesson will be presented in a multi-sensory format that utilizes UDL teaching strategies capable

of disseminating information in a way that is more readily accessible and understood by a range

of student learners ​(CAST, 2018)​. Additionally, rather than emphasizing the use of traditional

exams, I intend to utilize an inquiry-based assessment model that centers on quarter-long projects

as a means of discerning unit understanding. Students will be allowed to choose a topic from a

previous quarter that relates to one of the chapters covered. Students will then decide how they

wish to present their topic whether it be a paper, video, art project, or play, and will have

dedicated dates throughout the quarter when they will have to check in so I can evaluate progress
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 7

and where they may need help. Utilizing this method, I believe I can not only teach essential

skills such as time management, research, and creativity but I can also encourage students to

engage further in their learning beyond what is directly presented and help to reinforce major

themes and connect them to broader topics and events ​("The Surprising," 2017)​. It is my belief

that, in building this kind of academic environment, I can create a norm in the lives of my

students that emphasizes the joy of continual learning and the pride felt from engaging in

increasingly rigorous forms of knowledge acquisition.

“Kids don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are”​("What

Is Student," 2019).​ This quote by Jim Henson defines the very core of my educational

philosophy. It is the idea that education is so much more than the content of a classroom. A truly

successful education is not one that results in an Ivy League diploma, but one that awakens

within the learner the confidence, desire, comfort, and capability to continue the learning process

upon graduation. By creating an adaptive, reciprocal learning environment and demonstrating a

sense of value for the voices, identities, and needs of my students, I believe I can lay that

groundwork. To me, it is less about the content, and more about the environment we build to

ensure not only the transfer of knowledge but the awakening of a natural thirst, that matters most.

Young learners, especially, need to feel that their environment supports them and gives them a

reason to thrive. They need to know that the people in whose care they are left are as invested in

their education as they are. Moreover, they need the confidence to try and keep trying, to take

risks, be open, and to try to see the world in new ways. Students need educators who are invested

in more than their schooling; they need educators who are invested in their education even after

they have gone. They need someone to kindle their flame, and that is precisely what I hope to be.
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 8

References

Ben-Joseph, E. P. (Ed.). (2018, June). Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding. Retrieved September

29, 2019, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/breast-bottle-feeding.html

CAST. (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved

December 1, 2019, from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/

Lucich, M. (2002, November). ​Building Baby's Intelligence: Why Infant Stimulation Is So

Important​. Retrieved from California Childcare Health Program website:

https://cchp.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra181/f/buildbabyinten081803_adr.pdf

McClure, S. (2015, December 7). ​I Wish My Teacher Knew​ [Video file]. Retrieved

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k1-KExA9p8

New Teacher Guide: Differentiating Instruction. (2011). Retrieved from

https://www.teachingchannel.org/video/differentiating-instruction?fd=1.

Sandhu, D. (2014). Educational leadership – the power to problem solve in healthcare. ​FDJ,​

5​(4), 146-151. https://doi.org/10.1308/204268514X14096686726085

State of New York Department of Health. (2010, April). What Your Child's Blood Lead Test

Means. Retrieved September 29, 2019, from

https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2526/

The surprising ways teaching is changing in the 21st century. (2017, November

14). Retrieved September 13, 2019, from https://www.teach.org/articles/

surprising-ways-teaching-changing-21st-century

What is Student Teaching? (2019). Retrieved September 29, 2019, from

https://www.early-childhood-education-degrees.com/what-is-student-teaching/
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION STATEMENT 9