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Kaitlynn Allen

Professor Christensen

Artifact One

4/14/2022

Philosophy of Education

In 2019, I was blessed to achieve a dream job at a young age as an Archery Instructor. I

have been an archer since I was eleven, and the president of my high school's archery team, but I

never imagined I could do it for a living. I was a private instructor for all ages, my youngest four,

my oldest 87. I taught recurve and compound, button and tension releases. I mention this because it

was a lot of information, and I was challenged every day to discover new ways to reiterate

information for struggling students. It was a skill I had to develop quickly due to a little

four-year-old girl. This little girl, who was beautiful and kind, had a very short attention span.

Throughout our first lesson, I discovered she was also learning Japanese. So to keep her attention I

spent the time in between our lessons also learning Japanese. As we walked down the range, where

normally she would become very hyper, I would keep her attention by practicing Japanese

together. We learned all the archery-related words in Japanese and practiced counting the score in

Japanese too. This little girl who couldn't keep focused for the duration of the round quickly found

some proficiencies with the bow. In the moments I watched her almost give up on herself, I

realized the drive I had to help her surpass herself, and through watching her do just that, I realized

my love for teaching. In 2020, my archery range shut down due to COVID-19, and I returned to

school full time, pursuing a career in education.

I have chosen to become an educator because I want to help students release that the only

limits they are challenged by, are the ones they build themselves. Educators have unlimited
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opportunities to change students' lives and help them strive to become literate and progressive

members of today's ever-changing society. I believe that teachers can change students' lives: they

can inspire children to learn at any age. Through teachers' motivation and discipline, they can

encourage children to reach new heights in their academic paths, helping them find every

opportunity available to them.

I believe that my experience as an archery instructor has given me unique skills that will

assist me in the classroom one day. I have learned much patience working with children and

weapons. During my time as an archery instructor, I had to make my lesson plans for every lesson.

Each lesson would start the same, developing the fundamental skills needed for the sport, but

quickly during their first lesson, I would discover where their strengths and weaknesses were, and

had to alter the lessons to cater to their challenges. I think a very unique skill that archery gave me

that will help me in the classroom, is the ability to watch, provide constructive criticism and

motivation, and repeat. Archery is a very graceful and precise sport, the tiniest thing, up to when

an archer is breathing can make a difference. Being a private instructor it was my job to identify

the inconsistencies in the shooting process, find an engaging way to draw attention to the flaw, and

provide a motivational correction to the student. A whole lesson could be spent focusing on one

inconsistency, and that can be frustrating to a student, so how an instructor presented the problem

and helped guide them through it made a difference in the growth of the student. I feel like this

skill in a classroom will be an amazing benefit to a student's success, helping them overcome their

struggles without any discouragement.

The field observation helped my understanding of the teaching environment by letting me

observe a classroom from another perspective. While I was a student in CCSD, I never watched a

classroom from the teacher's perspective. Throughout this opportunity, I was able to witness my
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cooperating teacher teach several classes, different grade levels as well as different subjects. I was

amazed to see the knowledge I was learning from my Introduction to Secondary Education course

be actively applied in the classroom. From how her lesson plans were organized, to how they were

taught. Her social cues and ways of communicating with the class gave me hands-on examples of

how teachers impact students' educational journeys. I watched her guide fun, interactive debates,

as well as lectured-based notes. How she rotated from one subject to another, while watching for

struggling students. Having the ability to sit down with my cooperating teacher and hear her honest

experiences, joys, and dislikes of the profession has made me more prepared to enter it myself. The

Field Observation helped me understand the teacher's role within the teaching environment.

Teaching

Progressivism is the educational philosophy that most reflects my beliefs about education;

however, I do hope to be able to blend in some of the traditional works as well in my future

classrooms. Traditionally, education is meant to be the passing down of knowledge from one

generation to another. As the world progresses, so does the need for education to do the same. Now

the role of a classroom education should be to create knowledgeable future voters who can identify

and access information, and the purpose of an educator should be to help students see their

potential and teach students to analyze the information they are meant to discover.

As a progressive educator, I hope to create lesson plans that revolve around the required

curriculum that encourages communication with other students and hands-on projects. In an ideal

world, a student would never have to listen to an hour-long lecture; rather, they would be partnered

up with other students to research and discover the information and be able to have an interactive

conversation, engaging with the material. Progressive education is meant to be a student-centered

philosophy; meaning that when students are given the chance, they often choose to learn. Students
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should not be told what the information is, but guided by the educator to find and test theories and

discover the results themselves. The very same students that go through the school systems today

are tomorrow's voters, and educators must create citizens who can find the answers themselves.

The ability to independently search for, analyze, and comprehend information is a very important

skill I plan on teaching in my classroom one day. Learning should be measured by the ability the

student has on explaining the topic. When a student truly knows the subject, then they can discuss

the information learned.

The history of education in the United States is a very long, and honestly sad history.

Schools in America were created to help young children build a relationship with the Bible. The

mistreatment of the less privileged was ignored for centuries, and even in today’s classrooms,

unconscious biases are haunting the classrooms. An unconscious bias is when a certain race is

unintentionally treated differently because of stereotypes in an educator's upbringing. I believe

that having a firm understanding of educational history brings attention to matters that are often

invisible. The knowledge of historical educational events has taught me that as a future educator

because cultural diversity is not a villain. It's a blessing that can be welcomed and used in

classrooms to help all students feel like they are represented. In my future classroom, I will always

ensure to give all students, no matter race or religion, the same amount of attention and respect.

Native American children have the absolute highest dropout rate in the in-country and this is

important to know because an educator can believe in these at-risk children. Show them support

and offer them educational help. No student deserves to fall through the cracks, and although the

role of a teacher is hard, preventing children from giving up on themselves is one a teacher can do.
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Instruction

One day I intend on becoming an effective educator. I will use proven teaching strategies

such as structure, motivation, clarity, high expectations, and effective questioning. When I create a

lesson plan, I will practice it before I implement it in a classroom to ensure that it is structured in a

flowing manner. That a student can follow along step by step without getting confused. Ensuring

that these lessons reach out to all types of learners and I have extra materials ready for all sorts of

exceptional learners will ensure that I am prepared for students' questions. I want to always be

engaged with the material that I teach, and motivate students through my excitement for the

subject. I will make sure that I always hold every student, no matter race, gender, or religion, to a

high academic standard. That I will not give up on a slow learner or alter the expectations lower

than they can achieve. I will create good questions that encourage students to think and engage

with the materials, questions that don't have a single black and white answer.

Knowing how much time to spend on a subject and creating smooth transitions between

subjects will also create an excelling learning environment. I can keep children ready and engaged

by using techniques such as group altering: asking the question first, then calling on a student.

Treating all students equally in the classroom is the first way to reach out to all the student's

diversity followed by having a classroom that represents everyone equally.

Assessment of students' knowledge should be a fun engaging activity, such as jeopardy and

group projects. A test can demonstrate what they remember, but an interactive activity will

demonstrate what they know.

Future
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One day I will be a teacher at CCSD. To make this dream come true, I need to be

developing my knowledge of the discipline of being an educator. Teachers need to be smart and

level-headed, patient, and respected. Becoming a master multitasker and time manager will ensure

that I have a good foundation to lead a classroom. Right now, I am focusing on my Associate's

degree in Secondary Education with an Emphasis on History and English Literature. Once I have

achieved my Associate I plan on progressing with Nevada State College to obtain my Bachelor's

degree. Before I continue to Nevada State College I need to pass all three of my PRAXIS exams

and before I graduate with my bachelor I will need to pass the second round of PRAXIS exams. I

have recently interviewed with CCSD to become a substitute teacher within the district as I

continue my education. I hope that by the time I gain my teaching license I will have a good

understanding of what grades I enjoy working with the most as well as what schools I would like

to apply to first. I would also like to get CPR and First Aid certified before I become a teacher. I

plan on always being a student, even once I’m an educator there will always be more to learn.