FALL 2020 Philosophy of

Education
Geneva College

Lauren LaMantia
 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you

with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8

A teacher is a combination of a guardian, nurse, preacher, counselor,

and instructor. A teacher is fundamental to the growth and progress of a

student. The teacher must individually guide the student and help them

academically, emotionally, and behaviorally during their time within the

classroom. Teachers are idolized, held to a higher standard, and role models for

their students. Teachers are expected to maintain a pure, charitable life full of

kindness and knowledge. The teacher must maintain stability and control over

the classroom while allowing the students to be individuals and learn freely.

For a teacher to be a “good” teacher, he/she must first love their students. A

good teacher loves their students, school, and curriculum. A good teacher

wants the absolute best for their students regardless of where the students

originated from, the teacher will meet them and guide them to their goals with

positivity and motivation.

Students are blank slates. Students must be carefully sculpted to equip

them with all the necessary skills to succeed in their future endeavors. Each

student is equipped with varying academic knowledge, motor development,

emotional regulation, behavioral management, and mastery of skills. Students

come from a wide array of homelives and may require different approaches for

the students to be comfortable. For students to flourish, they must feel loved,
safe, and welcomed around their teacher and peers. Students are knowledge

sponges. At the elementary level, students are fully soaking in all the

information that surrounds them. Students learn how to properly speak with

appropriate volume and pitch, reaction to situations, share with others, be

kind to others, express emotions, and many more. In theory, students are

actively engaged in the material and trying their absolute hardest to master the

concept. In reality, students learn at individualized paces based on their

background knowledge and accumulation of childhood experiences. As a future

educator, it is important to remember that each student that walks through my

door comes from a unique background and has God-given gifts. Students learn

best in a least restrictive environment where they feel capable of success and

progress. Students need smaller goals that gradually build to the overall goal

because they need motivation, a sense of accomplishment, and confidence

within their abilities. Each student is a seed, they need to be carefully placed

into content-rich soil, watered with wisdom, and provided with the warm from

a welcoming environment. Students need confidence to take the next step into

higher education.

A balanced curriculum is essential to the progression of a successful

classroom and school year for the students. The curriculum should be full of

rich context, that shows clear application to the student’s life, engage the

student’s attention, and require effort from the students. The curriculum

should encompass the usage of fine and motor gross skills allowing for various

learning styles to be utilized. The students should be able to comprehend and

build off the curriculum. The curriculum should be manipulated to incorporate

each student’s needs and guide the class to exceeding the standards. The

curriculums should not be designed to meet a standardized test but rather

inform a student about the knowledge they will need for their future.

Application is more important than standardized assessments. Students are

more interested in topics that have real-life applications because they have

basic understandings of those areas already and now, they are expanding their

horizons.

Assessments are helpful for checking students’ understanding of the

given material. Assessments include fist-to-five, oral presentation, draw a

picture, act out a scene, write a paragraph, multiple choice exam, or

observation. Assessments are necessary for creating a baseline of education,

detecting a disability, identifying a struggling student, or monitoring an

advanced student. Assessments are useful and valuable but should not dictate

a curriculum or devastate a child whenever they are unable to comprehend the

material, which commonly happens with standardized state assessments.

Parents are the primary influence on a student because they shaped

their student into the student that is sitting in the second row. Parents should

be actively engaged into the child’s education providing constant assistance

and challenging them with new information. Children learn best from their

parents because they initially learn all their skills from them. A parent is the

child’s first teacher. Parents should be willing to practice the alphabet, multiple
times, history timelines, plant cycles with their student because the parents

want to see their child succeed. Parents and teachers should work diligently

together, utilizing their knowledge to create a pathway to success for the

student.

A classroom is a four walled area where the magic happens. A classroom

must be inviting, comfortable, safe, loving, and saturated with knowledge.

Within a classroom, the students become active learners. An organized

classroom provides structure for the students and minimizes the distractions.

An organized classroom incorporates area of instruction and play while

enabling easy navigation throughout the classroom and optimal visibility for

the teacher. Classrooms are full of desks, stairs, boards, rugs, but most

importantly students. A classroom can only be a classroom when full of active

learners. The placement of learning tools, storage, and seating for critical but

the overall management for the classroom is equally as essential. A teacher

must enforce the rules to keep the classroom environment fully functioning.

Personally, I prefer a four-strike system. Four-strike systems should be clothes

pin signs, smiley faces, star charts, etc. They provide the student with a visual

representation of their behavior and vividly show them the result if they

continue misbehaving. Additionally, the four-strike system gives the teacher a

tool to show the parents how the student acted and how often the students

acts in that manner. Classrooms are a four-walled area where students learned

academics, behavior management, and social skills.

 Differentiation is essential to the success of a student. A student may

need an additional educational tool, aide, extra time, adapted test, or different

instruction for the student to comprehend the material and achieve the given

task. Differentiation enables every student to succeed regardless of their

background knowledge, capability of skills, or economic capability. Depending

on the severity of the case, the differentiation could include lowering the grade

level of a content area to meet the student where they are academically and

growing from there onward. Differentiation also occurs during process-

orientation projects if a student needs specialty scissors or grips to complete

the task. For product-orientated task, the students could need differentiation

in the requirement for the product in the shape, size, color, or complexity.

Differentiation boosts confidence and motivates the student to succeed and

utilize their individual skills to achieve tasks.

As a future teacher, I must remember Psalm 32:8. Each student is a gift

from God and we crossed paths for a divine reason. Each student must be

given ample opportunities to succeed and flourish within my classroom,

whether throughout differentiation or additional tutoring. A child is only a

student for a few years, then they become part of the working class. Their time

as a student must be inspirational to promote their self-worth and motivate

them to continue striving for their goals. Teachers create the next generation.