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Victor Herbert

Professor Jacqueline Sgobba

EDU 201

30 March 2021

My personal Philosophy

My education philosophies are Progressivism and Existentialism. My personal philoso-

phy is that students learn best if they put the lesson into practice. Hands-on learning is a very ef-

fective way for students to pay attention and grasp the material effectively. I strongly believe that

each individual student should have the freedom to choose their purpose in life and to make deci-

sions on their own. The opportunity to go to school is something that all children should have the

right to no matter their background. Children are to be given equal treatment and receive high

education. “The no child left behind act strongly emphasizes literacy for young children, improv-

ing teacher qualifications, and ensuring that every child who attends school in the US will learn”

(Aldridge and Jerry). The act was signed into law by President George W. Bush in the year 2001.

I have chosen the teaching profession because I feel like the education that I received was not the

best and I want to make a difference in the future generations so that they feel like they received

a great education where things were focused around them. I moved to the USA when I was

around 7/8 years old and I had a great teacher that left a great impact in me, she taught me Eng-

lish and made sure to focus everything on her students. In the book “Becoming a teacher” by

Forrest W. Parkway, the author stated the following, “Progressivism is based on the belief that

education should be child-centered rather than focused on the teacher or the content area” (pg.

118). One skill that will help immensely is I have great patience. My field observations have

helped me to understand the teaching environment by seeing how the teacher integrates the mate-
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rial around her students. My education philosophy is Progressivism and Existentialism. I want

my class to be centered around my students while also allowing them to make decisions on their

own so that if they make mistakes, they can learn from themselves. In the book “Becoming a

teacher” the author states the following, “The writing of John Dewey (1859–1952) in the 1920s

and 1930s contributed a great deal to the spread of progressive ideas” (pg.118). John Dewey said

that learning is essentially active rather than passive. The strategies that I will use on my students

in order to implement better learning is having them experience such as emotionally in order to

give them that freedom they deserve and to learn more about themselves. “Existentialism is a

theory that cannot be grasped through reason, logic, or cognition alone; but through feeling”

(McDaniel’s, Ophelia Brady). Being Latino and openly gay means that I am part of a minority

group which makes me have zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination in the classroom. In

the book becoming a teacher it states the following, “Schools are legally bound to avoid discrim-

inating against students on the basis of race, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital

status, or infection with a disease” (pg.245). Although there are laws that protect minorities there

might be students that have no idea about certain problems that people in these minorities face so

by having one day out of the week to discuss certain issues the students can become more aware

of what is going on and how to be respectful of others. One of the biggest qualities that I will

need ton order to move forward in this career is patience. In the book becoming a teacher the au-

thor states the following, “A good teacher is a teacher who is patient, willing to accept the fact

that she might be dealing with students who have problems” (pg.40) and “Developing positive

relationships with students is important, particularly in today’s culturally diverse classrooms”

(pg.40). I am going to go to as many workshops as possible in order to be the best version of my-
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self and portray that to my students as a teacher in order to have them give their full potential in

school and in life.

Works Cited

Aldridge, Jerry. "Rethinking the no Child Left Behind Act of 2001." Childhood Education 80.1

(2003): 45. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2021.

Forrest W. Parkay. Becoming a Teacher ,11th Edition. Pearson,2020

McDaniels, Ophelia Brady,R.N., M.S.N. "Existentialism and Pragmatism: The Effect of Philoso-

phy on Methodology of Teaching." JNE.Journal of Nursing Education 22.2 (1983): 62-6.

ProQuest. Web. 29 Mar. 2021.