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Mariana Gallardo

Saladino

EDU 201

28 April 2019

Philosophy of Education

There is a time in life when you have to decide what you want to do for the rest of your

life, something that suits your taste so you can give yourself to your profession without having to

think twice. Sometimes the things that passionate us come early in life, for some people

however, they come after time. Some people even change their minds when being in college, but

that is fine because we need to find the right path for us. There are things that inspire each person

to want to become a nurse, a doctor, or a lawyer. However, my dream is to become an educator.

Since I was little, when someone would ask me what I wanted to do when growing up, I

would always respond that I wanted to be a teacher. My inspiration came to me from an early

age. When I was in middle school, I noticed that I liked to help my classmates when they did not

understand the activities the teacher assigned us. Then in high school, I had a lot of great

teachers that inspired me in wanting to be like them. I moved to the United States when I was 15

years old, so English is not my first language. However, my teachers helped, motivated, and

inspired me to not give up so I graduated. I would like to do the same for children. I would like

to help, inspire, and motivate students in order to give back to my community. Being

responsible, dedicated, patient, and wanting to learn new things and work with other people as

well as with students, are going to serve me as I move forward in this career. I also got to
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observe a classroom. I understand that teaching is not an easy job along with the complexities

that come with it. This profession requires time, involvement, resources, and supplies.

Each teacher has his or her own philosophy. This means that teachers are guided based on

their beliefs. The educational philosophy that dictate my current beliefs about education is

existentialism. According to the textbook Becoming a Teacher by Forrest W. Parkay,

existentialism “offers the individual a way of thinking about my life, what has meaning for me,

what is true for me” (128). The textbook also discusses how teachers, according to the existential

philosophy, have to allow students freedom of choice and help them to create experiences that

will benefit them to find meaning to their lives. Existentialism is my strongest philosophy

because I believe it is very important for students to know who they are and what they care

about. In this way, they will know what is best for them in order to create meaning to their lives.

Furthermore, the psychological orientation that dictate my current beliefs about education is

constructivism since it focusses on active learning. This psychological orientation “focus on the

mental processes and strategies that students use to learn” (Parkay 136). As the time has passed,

we have seen some changes in the educational system. My knowledge of historical education

events set the stage of how I think about children and schools since these events have helped me

to understand how schools have changed over the time, and how they will continue to change.

By understanding the different backgrounds of students in schools, a teacher must

implement strategies that will adapt to the learning of every student. I believe that when creating

or choosing lessons for the class, it is important to consider that each student learns differently. I

am planning to implement activities where students can participate, and not just be sitting

listening to what I have to say. In my opinion, students learn more when they are involved in the

class. Teachers should have an environment that motivates and inspires students to learn. There
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is a lot of diversity in the United States, and schools reflect it. That is why one of my personal

approaches to student diversity is to get to know my students. From my perspective, building

relationships with students can also help to understand student variability. It is also important to

set up rules in a classroom. I think creating the rules students’ help will be an approach in

controlling behavior within a classroom.

As I move forward in this career, I need to possess qualities that help me along the way.

For example, understanding differences between students so I can help them to learn, good

communication with parents, knowledge of the curriculum and standards, a passion for teaching,

among others. This is my first year in college and Education 201 is the first education class that I

have taken. I am planning to transfer to Nevada State College or UNLV to complete my

bachelor’s degree in education. If I have the opportunity, I would like to work in a school or

volunteer to gain more knowledge as well as experiences in order to prepare myself for the future

and achieve my goals. I still have a long way to go and many things to learn. I am excited to

have begun this new journey in my life and I cannot wait to be a teacher because kids are my

motivation!