Gallegos Zarate 1

Aurora Gallegos Zarate

Professor Christensen

Edu. 201

17 November 2016

My Personal Philosophy of Education

The first time I said I wanted to be a teacher was during my kindergarten graduation. The

principal asked each student the most common question of all “What do you want to be when

you grow up?” Without hesitation I responded the first thing that came to mind: a teacher. At the

moment, who knew that was exactly what I wanted to be. Growing older, I realized the idea of

becoming a teacher was not just an idea, but, rather my actual goal and desire. There were a few

experiences and people in my life that made me choose to be an elementary teacher.

I was inspired by two teachers. One was my third grade teacher named Mrs. Jackson; my

memories of her are always pleasant. She was the kind of teacher who smiled at everyone and

listened, actually listened, not brushing off what a student said no matter how insignificant it

was. When I was in elementary, I was very shy girl, who kept to herself and did not have many

friends. Even though I did not have many people to talk to, I never felt alone. The energy she

gave was positive and friendly; she talked to us not just as an educator but as a friend. Mrs.

Jackson made everyone feel safe and excited to learn by having fun activities and group projects,

making me admire her. Her classroom made me think teaching was a piece of cake, yet my

fourth grade teacher made me realize it was not.

My fourth grade teacher had a very different style of teaching. Her name was Mrs.

Brooke. She did not smile as often, yet she was always in front of the classroom trying her best. I

personally learned a lot from her. She taught well and made sure all her students got the concept,
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however, my classmates where extremely mean to her. I never understood why Mrs. Brooke was

treated so poorly; nevertheless, she never gave up whenever troubled students needed her. She

would not deny her attention. In fact, she would smile and patiently explain again. It amazed me

how kind she was, even if others did not see it. I was very fond of her; for some reason I felt

comfortable learning from her. I remember one day a student threw a piece of paper at her when

she was writing on the white board; she turned around demanding for the student to speak up, for

anyone to speak up, but the room remained silent. I constantly recall that day because it was the

day she cried in front of us. I saw how tired and angry she was; oddly enough, the next day she

came into the classroom with a smile on her face and ready to try again. She never gave up and

tried her best. She motivated me to hopefully one day become a teacher as strong as she, with the

dedication she gave to her career. Even seeing how cruel my peers could be, the way she handled

them made me see how teaching was not as easy as I thought. It is hard work yet I still I do not

lose my love for teaching. I am thankful to Mrs. Brooke, since she taught me at an early age

teaching has its ups and downs, but if that is your dream, it is worth it.

As I kept growing up being followed with the same question: “What do you want to be

when you grow up?” I gave the same answer: an elementary teacher. People questioned my

response, asking me if I was sure or telling me how I should be this or that instead, but I never

listened. On the other hand, I had other people cheering me on, telling me how I was good with

kids, which were mostly my siblings, since I took care of their children. Their support and I

seeing for myself that I could handle taking care of my nieces and nephews encouraged me a lot.

Currently, I am enrolled in my first education class: Edu 201, and have completed my

field observation. These experiences have reassured me more than anything of my career choice.

My professor, Professor Christensen, has been teaching me many valuable lessons and has
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introduced me to aspects of teaching I had not thought of much, such as how our careers define

us, how we are not just teachers the time we are in the classroom, but throughout our lives. She

has taught me we are not just educators but friends, counselors, coaches, nurses, and more, how

we at times could be the only person that is looking out for our students. She taught me that we

have to be prepared for anything and that things are going to happen where we have no control

over perhaps a student getting hurt or getting yelled at by a parent. Listening to all the advice and

the experiences she has gone through makes me a bit nervous, but I am still eager to continue my

journey.

My field observation has been very helpful to me as well. My cooperating teacher was

Mrs. Satras, a second grade teacher at Parson Elementary, who was very kind to me. I was able

to see firsthand how students behave with their teacher and peers. She confirmed all I have been

learning in my education class, like how lesson planning can take up to three hours. She showed

me her own lesson plans and proved to me how much detail you have to put into it. She allowed

me to test a couple of students reading levels, and I was able to witness the difference in each

student. After I was done, she told me that the difference in kids learning levels is a problem

teacher’s face, having to adjust their lessons in a certain ways for all students. She told me she

did not want to scare me off, but that I had to realize teaching was not just being up in a nice

puffy cloud where everything is perfect, but, rather it was hard work and to be sure I was up for

it.

From what I have learned throughout the years, I believe I would be a good teacher

because I have had experiences being around children for long periods of time. I have learned

how to deal with children when they are throwing tantrums and when they are not. Also, I think

me being fluent in Spanish and English will help many students who have Spanish as their first
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language. I could let them know what we are doing in the classroom and what is expected of

them, instead of me trying to point at stuff and hope they understand what I am saying. Being

able to speak two languages benefits me and my educational philosophy.

In my class: Intro to Elementary Education I was assigned to read a chapter in our

textbook named Becoming A Teacher, in which I discovered there are five philosophical

orientations: Perennialism, Essentialism, Existentialism, Social Reconstruction, and

Progressivism. After taking a small quiz it informed me that I fall under Progressivism, meaning

the aim of the educator is to educate based on the needs and interests of the student. This style of

teaching focuses more on the child than the subject matter. This style of teaching certainly fits

well with me because even before talking the quiz, as I was reading, I knew which one I was. I

knew which one I was because I know what kind of teacher I want to be. I want to be the kind of

teacher whom students are able to talk to for whatever reason, without having to feel like they

are going to be judged. I want to have a classroom where all students are involved, and are not

afraid to be who they are. I would want to have a classroom where students speak up when they

do not understand what I am teaching, so I can help them. I want to have a classroom full of

curiosity where students are not told what to think but think for themselves. An educational

philosophy that I believe fits more closely to my beliefs is Metaphysics, which is concerned with

explaining, as rationally and comprehensively as possible the nature of reality. They do not

question knowledge but rather the world itself, where they try to expand their minds, which I

find admirable because before schools were very different.

Today children are encouraged to learn and go to school; however, education was not

always that way. Throughout the years education has changed drastically. During the 1620s-

1750s, girls were not allowed to go to school and schools were extremely focused on religion. In
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the year 1779, Thomas Jefferson proposed to the Virginia Legislature his bill for the general

diffusion of knowledge, attempting to make elementary schools free. Also, in the year 1855,

Margarthe Schure opened the first kindergarten. Seeing how things slowly changed law after law

makes me value education even more, understanding how distinct education was before and how

it is now demonstrates the amount of work people put into changing the lives of children. How

much work teachers put in every day to teach students the best they can.

My cooperating field observation teacher, Mrs. Satras, advised me to make sure I have

class management skills, telling me how important it is in a classroom. She told me “If students

get even the slightest sense you are afraid of them they will eat you alive.” After hearing that it

got me thinking, how I would manage my classroom? To give instructions I would make sure all

the students are quiet and have their full attention and start to explain what we have to do. If

someone does not understand it, I would go to them individually and ask what part they do not

get and explain again. I always keep in mind that all students learn differently so I will

demonstrate instructions not just one way but auditory and visually. I would need to see how

each learns and assess them in a way that works for them. Trying to see how everyone is

different I will constantly remind them that different is okay. Every class is diverse and I would

make sure everyone would feel comfortable and be able to feel proud of their culture. Since I

know how it feels being put down because of your ethnicity, I will remind them to respect each

other. I would make it very clear that kind of behavior is unacceptable in my classroom.

However it will still be a while until I have my own classroom.

I am extremely excited for my life as a teacher, although I am not quite there yet. As of

now, I still need to get my associates degree and after, study hard for my praxis one. During that

time, I want to have a job which allows me to focus on school and is close to home. While
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working towards my bachelors I will keep my mind refreshed of all the knowledge I have

learned throughout the years, so when it comes for me to take my praxis two, I will pass. Before

taking the states test to receive my teacher licensure I want to make sure I have everything in

order personally and financially. When I have everything in order I can move on to one of the

most important parts of my life.

I know that to be able to be a good teacher I need to be patient, understanding, a good

problem solver, open minded, dedicated, have good management skills and much more. Many

people do not realize all the things teachers do and how much weight they carry on their

shoulders from students, staff, and parents, to be the best role models they can be. I can only

hope that one day I will be half as good as all my educators I have had the pleasure of learning

from. The only thing I have to say now is the day that I myself become an educator will be one

of the proudest days of my life.