Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1

Portfolio Artifact 3: Philosophy of Education

Theresa Woodard

EDU 201

College of Southern Nevada

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Portfolio Artifact 3: Philosophy of Education

Becoming a teacher has been the only career I have seen myself doing in my future. I am

the oldest of five children, and I have always been the at home tutor for them. I believe this only

helped me develop more patience that is needed to teach. I witnessed this patience through my

own teachers, but recently during my field observation hours. I was assigned to a kindergarten

classroom, and while the students could be adorable, it became a reality the hassle it takes to

work with more than just a few people. I knew from my hours the balance between just having

fun and the students paying attention, and how those two things can come together.

I believe in seeing the wonders of someone’s mind rather than seeing if they simply

memorized facts to take a test. I believe my education philosophy to be Progressivism. I like to

think of education being all about student needs. The desegregation of schools is a historical

event I would say inspired me the most when it came to education. Even though these students

may not have been wanted, they had to take their education in their own hands because the color

of one’s skin does not mean any less should be received. Every student deserves to take their

education in their own hands and be able to learn something rather than knowing how to answer

a specific question on a test. I believe giving students more opportunities to be creative in school

and their learning can open many doors to them.

In order to keep that creative spark alive, I will teach based on student strengths and build

on to what they are already great at. Not all students are going to have the same strengths

regarding learning, but that creativity is what I want to see in them. Simple test questions will

show that a student memorized something, not necessarily that they are learning or putting in any

effort. Effort is what matters in education. If there is no work put into how a student feels, school

would be a waste of time. Tests can prove useful to understand what a student is grasping, but
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these tests shouldn’t be simple answered questions. Tests should be about evaluation, but it

shouldn’t be the only determining factor. Observing how well the student is grasping the

concepts throughout the school day is just as important to evaluating how well they grasp it in

the end during a test. Projects are something fun and they give students the chance to show how

creative they can be. I believe a lot of the assignments in my classroom will be based on projects,

whether they be individual or small group projects. Putting students in small groups can help the

students feel better about their ideas and able to bounce ideas off the other and brainstorm. Let’s

say one student isn’t doing well learning a specific topic in mathematics, but another one is

grasping the topic a lot better, putting those two students together can help them teach each other.

I believe a teacher should remain objective when it comes to teaching sensitive subjects. I

am not saying they shouldn’t be taught because it is important that all students feel they are

accepted, and their ideas are not wrong. Even at a young age, students will argue over some of

these things, but it is important to teach acceptance and understanding. I hope to let my

classroom be a free space and all ideas to be welcome, and that is why objectivity should always

remain. No student wants to feel isolated and unwelcome, and as a teacher those feelings should

not come from you. Instead, teachers need to be another person a student can bounce their ideas

off to, and then the student can come to believe what they want.

I personally feel I have a lot of work to do before I can be the teacher I described above.

Being accepting is easy for me but teaching that acceptance will mean I need to continue to learn

about each student personally. I couldn’t spend a lot of time doing field observation, but I am

going to find any opportunity to learn more by experiencing in that setting. Once I finish at

College of Southern Nevada, I will transfer and complete my degree at UNLV. Once schools

open back up, I will continue to try to volunteer and observe the classroom setting. Not only do I
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hope to volunteer at a school, I hope to either volunteer or find a job involving children. The

Boys and Girls Club has been something I am looking to be a part of until I can start teaching. At

these other child programs, I know I can gain more experience tutoring than I have from just

tutoring my brothers. In order to teach, I need patience, and I can never get impatient because a

student isn’t understanding. I continue to help my brothers with their schoolwork, but I want to

learn more about someone I don’t know as well and still be able to help them understand. The

Boys and Girls club and other after school programs will help me in knowing how to remain

patient and understand that not every student learns the same which is what I felt growing up.

The approach to educating is always changing, and I hope that I can always adapt with those

changes and to do that I need to stay with children more than I currently am. I don’t want to

graduate school and jump straight into educating students, so I need these other experiences that

I can take slow and at my own pace until I feel I am comfortable and able to do a great job.

In other words, I just need more experience before I jump right in. I know what it’s like to

teach my brothers, and I don’t know what it would be like to attempt to teach someone I don’t

know. I will get these experiences, I will continue to learn every day, and hopefully become the

teacher I envision to be open minded, accepting, creative, and patient.