Philosophy of Teaching

Cassie Gray

Instructional Strategies and Curriculum Planning- Mild Disabilities

Dr. Steve Wills

September 22, 2020

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As a child I always heard people describing public education as the “great equalizer.” I

became quite intrigued by that concept, but not too shortly after became angry when I realized

that was not the reality that was happening in our schools. I developed a passion for education

and teaching, particularly students with disabilities who are so frequently left behind in a system

that fails to meet their needs. As an educator in the public sector, I should be serving all students

in a way that allows them to grow and meet their maximum potential through equitable practices.

My students should be receiving exactly what they need, not just the status quo, and it is my

responsibility to fight for their opportunity to have the education they deserve. Our schools

should empower children no matter their circumstances and truly provide an equal opportunity to

succeed to every student regardless of their strengths, needs, or backgrounds.

My passion for teaching quickly became about so much more than just providing

instruction. I believe that schools should be places that operate on the basis of compassion and

responsiveness to the needs of students. This means we should be focused on the whole child,

rather than just their academics. I aim to implement trauma-informed practices like break

areas/calm down corners that provide students a space for when they are feeling overwhelmed,

an abundance of parent communication, resources, and support that make them know I am on

their team. I must strive to always see their behavior as a means to communicate and seek first to

understand before being understood. I believe schools should also be offering these initiatives in

addition to access to counseling and other mental-health services. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

has informed these beliefs heavily. His research demonstrates that children must have their basic

needs met before they can focus on things like learning new material or completing an

assignment. This is why I know I must provide students with a space that is full of mutual

respect and understanding which starts with them knowing that I care about their well-being
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beyond their academic performance in class. My goal is to create an environment that has

flexible seating arrangements, culturally relevant instruction, and open communication so that

my relationship with students serves as the foundation for further academic growth.

Once my students feel comfortable, confident, and safe they will be able to learn from me

much more than without a relationship as the base of our classroom culture. Knowing my

students beyond just their academic strengths and needs will allow me to advocate for them both

as individuals and as a group on a systemic level. I believe that advocating for my students

should be at the top of my priority list. I must actively fight for them to be included in their least

restrictive environment and receive the most equitable practices to help them reach their goals.

To do this successfully, I must also make a commitment to myself to serve as an example of a

lifelong learner to my students by keeping myself up to date on laws, practices, and events that

will have an impact on my students in or outside of the classroom; and constantly be challenging

myself to be better equipped with the knowledge and skills to best serve them. In the classroom I

must be willing to admit my mistakes and shortcomings and use them as a learning opportunity

so that my students will realize that it is okay to be a work in progress and improve ourselves

when we mess up. I should be working to actively improve myself and present my students with

the highest quality education possible.

As a special educator specifically, I should be concerned with making sure that my

students are actively included in all of the activities of their peers to the extent possible. My

classroom should be a place where students know that they are loved, respected, welcomed, and

accepted, but I should also be working to help that feeling transfer outside of my walls. While

they will receive words of encouragement or affirmation from me, I want to help foster their

strengths in a way that helps them develop the skills necessary to be successful after their time
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with me is done. My goal should be to help students master what they will need to know ten or

more years down the road, not just for the test. I will work to accomplish this by utilizing

Universal Design for Learning and challenging students to reach high expectations rather than

teaching to the middle ground. I will also use the theories of Lev Vygotsky as a guide for my

instruction. The zone of proximal development and scaffolding practices are ones that will help

me push my students to grow while also offering them the support they need to be successful.

Ultimately, I believe the most important word to describe teachers’ roles is “advocate”.

This is especially true for special educators. Schools should operate based on compassion and

cultural responsiveness, and teachers should fight to provide each student with what they need in

order to be successful. Both should be advocates for every child, actively trying to improve their

circumstances and the system they operate within in order to best fit the needs of the student

body. My role as an educator is to build relationships with students that allow them to acquire the

skills and knowledge necessary to be successful outside of my classroom regardless of the

obstacles in the way.