Running Head: TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy of Education

Adriana L. Lomas

California State University, Dominguez Hills

April 28th, 2020

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I believe teachers provide the foundation of education that students carry with them into

adulthood. Teachers are leaders, role models, examples of an outstanding citizen to the

community. Through my courses at CSU Dominguez Hills, I have learned the importance of

creating relationships with our students. Teachers can successfully connect with students when

they are incorporating culturally relevant curriculum to their classroom, and making the students’

learning worthwhile. Each of these courses have given me more knowledge that causes me to

recreate what my teaching philosophy is, the culmination of my studies has introduced me to

different -isms, that when put together, create my personal learning philosophy.

Pursuing a career in elementary school teaching, I understand that it is my job to teach

students the essential skills they will need to be successful in the rest of their years in education

and beyond. Wanting students to obtain these skills in my classes, connect me to the essentialism

philosophy (Orenstein & Hunkins, 2018, p. 55). A lot of what students learn in elementary

school, becomes part of a bigger picture for students. We are the building blocks.

In order for students to capture the importance of the basic skills they are learning in

elementary school; curriculum needs to match the individual student. Student’s learning

environment should be a reflection of who they are. I want students to feel comfortable with

what they are learning, which is why I believe teachers should have a classroom that mirrors the

students. As a classroom teacher, I will have a culturally responsive learning environment.

Culturally responsiveness can be defined as the connection between home life and school life

(Ladson-Billings, 1995). This way of teaching will engage students and allows them to know that

what they are learning is valuable in their lives. Having students be more in control of their

learning environment is reminiscent of the progressivism educational philosophy. Progressivism

believes “schools should nurture cooperation and self-discipline and transmit the society’s
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culture” (Orenstein & Hunkins, 2018, p. 58). This philosophy looks at each student individually

and their interest pilots what is being taught. Having a culturally relevant curriculum also looks

at connecting students’ funds of knowledge into the classroom, similarly to progressivism beliefs

of having a home-school connection to meet student needs.

Comparing elementary school education as being the building blocks for students’ future

associates to a constructivism educational philosophy. Constructivism is looking at “the nature of

knowledge and the nature of learning” (Orenstein & Hunkins, 2018, p. 131). I believe we never

stop learning, and constructivism looks at how students are lifelong learners and our experiences

pull on old knowledge to create new knowledge. This learning philosophy looks at teachers as a

facilitator of information. It is the teacher’s job to help students make personal links to the

curriculum so that learning is achieved. Whenever providing new information for students,

teachers look at students unique, and individuals need to help students make sense of the

information. I see this in classrooms where teachers will provide information auditory, visually

and physically so that the information can reach all students, even if they all learn differently.

I look at the curriculum through a humanistic approach. Through a humanistic

curriculum, teachers are there to nurture students in their learning. Although this approach may

not align with what schools who are test scores oriented, I believe teachers have to balance

personal learning philosophy with adopted curriculum. This is how we reach our students and

teach a variety of learning styles. Wanting to connect to all of our students and their backgrounds

no matter the curriculum is emphasized in Un-Standardizing Curriculum, Sleeter (2017) writes

“helping next generations acquire intellectual resources of diverse communities, including those

that have been historically silenced, can enable creative dialog and work, out of which we might

better address problems that seem intractable” (p. 7). This way of teaching looks at valuing
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nontraditional perspectives, for a long time students have been taught the same, without regards

to learning styles, including cultural perspectives, which leaves a lot of students disadvantaged.

Teaching through a multicultural curriculum is beneficial for our students and their futures.

Learning that connects with them and is not a one-size fits all approach values who they are as an

individual.

Through the STAR program at Dominguez Hills, I have had the opportunity to be a part

of a STEM summer lab school where I conduct fieldwork and observations as well as teach in an

elementary school kindergarten classroom and a third-grade classroom. Through summer lab

school and student teaching, I have seen a diverse group of students with different goals in mind.

In summer lab school, students are learning through a project-based learning approach,

meanwhile, during the regular school year students are working towards learning the different

standards before taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment. When working with students in a

project-based learning environment, I make connections to the progressivism educational

philosophy. At the STEM summer lab school, I can see how students are finding importance in

what they are learning. The theme revolves around health and the importance of a healthy heart

which is meaningful for students since we all strive to be healthy. Working with students through

the regular school year, I see how students progress throughout the year and make advances

through the standards.

Now that teaching and learning have moved to an online platform, I find myself

reflecting on my teaching and how I am reaching all my students more than ever. I want to be

equitable in my teaching because I know that my students do not all have the resources they need

to be able to join online discussions or even have the materials they need at home. Luckily, my

students have been able to borrow materials such as Chromebooks from the school, still, I want
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to make sure students are not having added stress during this time. My master teacher and I

continue to have a very similar structure as we would in the classroom, and this is helping

students return to a routine and a sense of normalcy. I pre record lessons and read alouds so that

my students can have access to the learning and can watch and rewatch as much as they need to.

Although I technically have office hours, I answer my parents’ text messages whenever I see

them and I assure them that their student is doing just fine and they are. Switching to online

teaching has been a difficult process but I have managed to connect with all my students and I

think this has a lot to do with how my master teacher and I emphasized a warm and welcoming

learning environment from the beginning of the school year. Students are excited to see us on

Zoom and are interested in the books we read to them and are completing the work, even though

we are all going through an extremely difficult time, they know we care about them so much.

Experiencing these different approaches to education allowed me to see the above-

mentioned educational philosophies in action, and further encouraged me to have a classroom

where students are engaged and a classroom where we can have a culturally relevant pedagogy

that will drive us towards a rewarding learning experience.

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References

Ladson‐Billings, Gloria (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant

pedagogy, Theory into Practice, 34:3, 159-165, DOI: 10.1080/00405849509543675

Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2018). Curriculum: Foundations, Principles and Issues

(Vol.7).

Sleeter, C.E. & Carmona, J.F. (2017). Un-Standardizing Curriculum: Multicultural Teaching

in the Standards-Based Classroom (Multicultural Education Series), 2nd Edition.

Teachers College Press.