Ashlyn E.

Mirise
Professional Identity and Educational Philosophy Statement from a Future Elementary Educator

Being a teacher is not just about passing curricular knowledge down to students. It is
about forming trusting relationships where students can feel comfortable in all stages of their
learning journeys. In order to build this trust, I will begin forming connections from day one by
being accepting of all students and their histories. I also plan to build a strong classroom
community where the students are all respectful of each other by doing morning/afternoon
meetings. Although all students are a part of one class, their backgrounds and experiences are
incredibly diverse, and I will acknowledge these differences and celebrate them rather than
ignore them. By understanding the diversity of all students in my classroom, I will engage in
trauma-informed and culturally responsive teaching strategies. These strategies acknowledge
different backgrounds, and I will use them as a way to help students thrive. By being
knowledgeable in these areas, I will be able to reach a wider range of students and help them
flourish.

As an elementary educator, my job will be to form the foundation of knowledge for my

students so that they can succeed in higher grade levels; however, I do not just want to set the
curricular foundations. I also want to set a strong foundation for my students to become good
citizens of the world and to develop strong social-emotional skills. I will do this by incorporating
the constellation of stances into our daily activities: optimism, flexibility, persistence, resilience,
and empathy. These stances are great staples for learning both in and out of the classroom, and
they are very important life lessons. By explicitly teaching these and implicitly incorporating
them into lessons, students will have the groundwork for thinking critically.

Curriculum work is very important too, and I will work hard and stay dedicated to make
sure that all of my students learn what they need to in order to succeed in my class and beyond. I
know that what I teach sets the foundation for years to come, and I will not become negligent in
this discipline. For many students, it can become a common belief that what is learned in the
classroom is not necessary to use beyond class work and standardized tests. My goal is to debunk
this myth. With everything I teach, I will make sure to connect the lessons to real life so students
can feel like what they are learning is purposeful. For me, teaching is not about preparing
students for standardized tests, but showing them strategies for life. Meeting educational
standards and preparing my students for the future is still of high importance to me, but I want to
do it in a way that helps my students form good memories associated with school and learning so
they can stay passionate about education for years to come.
 I am a firm believer that teaching strategies make or break a student’s success. As a
future educator, it is my responsibility to create the best learning environment for my students to
grow; I cannot blame them for struggling if I am not putting in the work to teach them in the best
way possible. Along with trauma-informed and culturally responsive teaching, inductive
learning, scaffolding, and arts integration are three strategies that I find to be very effective.
Especially in elementary school, it is important for students to discover knowledge on their own
while forming personal connections to the material in order to become independent learners. It is
also important to have this information build up over time so they have the time to absorb the
concept. I will allow for this inductive approach through a wide variety of working styles, such
as individual, partner and group work. I will also incorporate real-life experiences into our
lessons and daily activities.

Butler University has already largely prepared me for my future work in the education
field. Through readings on asset-based thinking, philosophical discussions, and field experiences,
I feel prepared to work with a wide range of students from all backgrounds. I look forward to the
coming semesters where I will learn more about the methods of teaching and how I can
incorporate those into my classroom. Already, as a first semester sophomore, I know that the
College of Education will help me become the most strategic and inclusive teacher possible.