My Philosophy of Education

As Mortimer Adler stated, “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our

bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.” Within the field of education, teachers and

students are engaging in the process of growth. This growth relates to more than just academics.

As a future elementary school teacher, I am tasked with cultivating the academic, social, and

emotional growth of my students. I believe instilling education goes beyond just teaching

academics to fostering personal, holistic growth in students.

To cultivate growth in my students, I must recognize that I am capable and in need of

continual growth. Just as I encourage my students to “be ready to learn,” I myself must enter into

the field of education with a teachable spirit. My lessons will not always run perfectly. My

students will not always understand my initial instruction. My school day will not always run

exactly as planned. Rather than viewing these inevitable events as obstacles, I must view them as

opportunities to learn, improve, and ultimately, grow to be a more effective educator. During my

student teaching experience at Riverside Elementary, I communicated to my Kindergarten

students that they were helping me become a better teacher. On my last day in the classroom,

while saying goodbye to my students, one student named Razmey hugged me and said, “Miss

Marcisz, we helped you become an awesome teacher!” Her words resonated with me when

considering the importance of growth as an educator. With the support of my students and my

cooperating teacher, I did grow significantly as a teacher this semester. Yet my growth to

become an effective educator is far from being over. In the profession of teaching, there is

always more ways in which I can grow and learn to better serve my students. The more willing

and eager I am to learn from my experience and learn from others, the more I will cultivate a

love for learning and growing among my students.

 When teaching my future students, I must view them as individuals capable of growth

and deserving of support. Beyond the responsibility to teach academics, I have a responsibility to

respect, support the needs, and celebrate the strengths of my students. Every student learns and

processes information differently. While this is the great challenge of teaching, the diversity

within a classroom should be celebrated just as much as being addressed through differentiated

instruction. Within my future classroom, my students will represent a wide variety of strengths

and skills. While some skills may relate directly to academics, others may fall outside the realm

of the classroom. For those students whose skills may not naturally help them in the classroom,

they should be reminded of their worth and incredible ability to grow as a student and as a

person. The bottom line of viewing my students as individuals capable of growth is to facilitate

the support that allows each and every child within my classroom to succeed. Inevitably, there

will be students who grasp and succeed in academics more than others. Yet a child should never

feel incapable of being able to learn and grow. I am a firm believer in hard work. Even if

students are not interested in or struggle to understand academics, they are capable of trying their

best. Throughout my teaching career, I hope to always encourage students to work hard and

provide the support needed for them to grow. This growth, academically, socially, and

emotionally, will occur at different rates in each child. Yet the amount of growth in a student is

not a reflection of the value of that child. Whether I witness an immense amount or small amount

of growth in a student, I am confident that child is capable of continually growing.

Just as Mortimer Adler explained, our minds will continue to grow throughout the rest of

our lives. Even after my students leave my classroom and progress through their education, the

seeds I plant may continue to be cultivated and grow into something incredible, long after my

interactions with them. This is the beautiful and worthwhile reward of teaching. I am about to
engage in a career that focuses on equipping students to succeed in the future. Although teaching

can be known as a profession that leads to burn out, I believe keeping the end goal in mind helps

bring daily meaning to teaching. The seeds of learning that I plant in a student’s life today

contributes to building their foundation to succeed in the future. This is my philosophy of

education – that the effort I put into teaching and supporting my students is not in vain but

contributes to their growth and development throughout life.

Just as I hope to encourage growth in my students, I hope to continue to grow as a

teacher. While this is my philosophy and attitude towards teaching now, I imagine that it will

continue to deepen and develop more as I pursue my career in teaching. Regardless of the path I

take as a teacher, I am confident it will be filled with growth, both in myself and in my students.