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Artifact #3- Philosophy of Education

Kyle Williams

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 201: Intro to Elementary Education

Susan Bridges

12/12/21
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I have always had an interest in being a teacher. When I was in college I thought

that I would enjoy teaching at the college level. While I had the interest, I never pursued

that interest. I had never taken an EDU class before I enrolled in this program. It was

not until recently that my interest was renewed and I was prompted to act.

I have two daughters in elementary school. I have been a stay at home dad with

them since I left the workforce in 2017 due to illness. My wife works full time so I take

care of my girl's educational needs. I take them to school, go to their parent teacher

conferences and help them with their homework. Their excitement for school and their

love for their teachers are wonderful to see. I was motivated to become a teacher this

year when both of my daughters, on separate occasions, told me that their teacher was

gone for the day. I asked if they liked their substitutes and both said that they did not

have a substitute. One of my daughters just had seven different teachers and staff

members come throughout the day while my other daughter’s class was broken into

three groups that were split among the other third grade classes. This really resonated

with me. I knew there was a shortage of substitute teachers but I was surprised that my

children’s school was not able to get substitutes on a regular basis. After hearing this I

was motivated to apply for my substitute teaching licence and enter into the HQST

program.

While I have no professional experience working with kids, other than

volunteering in my girl’s classes, I feel that I would make an excellent teacher. Both my

girls have IEPs and it has required extra work with them on top of their normal work. I

enjoy making a plan and following through with it. I keep them on task and keep them
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motivated the best I can. I always have them reading, drawing or working on their

school work.

I know that not all children have the same homelife. Not all households are safe

and calm learning environments like my home. Unfortunately, last year, with online

learning I saw this first hand with many of the students. It is my desire to be able to help

students in any way that I can, to feel safe, to feel valued and to be able to learn while

having fun. The field observations have only helped to reinforce my belief that students

need school to be a warm and welcoming place in order to be successful. I was

surprised, even when just watching videos, how powerful the stories were in our field

observations. It reminded me, again, that while my kids have a safe environment to

learn in, many other students do not. As a teacher my number one goal is to make sure

that students know that they are seen, that they are cared about and that they are

respected. If they do not have those things then they are not going to be successful in

the classroom. School should be a safe and welcoming place for students to realize

their full potential. School should not be a stressful place for students, they should be

challenged, but they should be comfortable enough to try their best, even if they do not

always get it right. I feel that I have the attributes that will make my classroom

successful. The aspect of teaching that I feel I will have the hardest time with is

discipline and keeping the class on track. I know that once I actually start teaching on a

regular basis that I will be successful with this as well.

I have never thought about my philosophical orientation to teaching before. I

believe that all students at school are there to learn. They should all be taught some

form of a base, core knowledge. While I believe that all students should be taught
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basically the same thing, I do not believe they should all be taught in the same way. As

I have experienced in my life, all people learn better in different ways. Some students

learn better with a book while others will do better with a hands on approach or in a

more artistic way. Students come from such a wide variety of backgrounds that there

can not be a one size fits all approach to teaching.

My goal with teaching is to start as a substitute. When I started this course I was

told I could take the alternative route to become a teacher, as I already have a

bachelor's degree. I did not feel at the time that I was ready to commit to being a full

time teacher. I have learned so much just from these first two classes and I know that I

still have much more to learn in the future. I believe that I have the patience and strong

desire to teach. I want to see how I do as a substitute and then, hopefully, transition into

a more full time role. While I feel that I will make an excellent teacher I want to try it out

first and if I enjoy it, then I would like to become a full time teacher.