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Artifact 3 - Philosophy of Education

Alexis Milton

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 201: Intro to Elementary Education

Susan Bridges

November 19, 2023

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Artifact 3 - Philosophy of Education

Becoming an educator is not just a job, but a calling. It takes patience, energy, hard work,

dedication, and love. I want to reach students' hearts and minds to show them all their potential. I

was blessed to grow up surrounded by educators in the class and outside. Never once did they

doubt my potential if I did the work. My personal knowledge and skill set that will serve me well

as an educator is patience and dedication. It can be hard to watch a student struggle academically

and in their personal life. Patience is key to understanding a student, they will trust you if you

give them time. It also takes dedication to devote your time to these students in the classroom

and after they’ve gone home. My field observation helped me to understand and question a

teaching environment because not every student learns the same way. Having a versatile and

open classroom can open kids up and feel safe in school. This allows them a better opportunity to

learn.

When it comes to my educational Philosophy I lean towards a constructivist perspective

and essentialism. While I do appreciate giving students more freedom in their education they still

need routine to keep them grounded. I think students should know “the basics” and be prepared

for the real world after school. Some already face it at a young age, but might not know how to

deal with a situation. I believe this opens up a classroom for more important conversations. My

psychological orientation is humanistic. While I don’t agree with students deciding what they

should learn, I like the openness and the idea that students are able to grow academically in their

own way. I think if there was an option where students learned the basics and then got to choose

what else was learned that would be my ideal classroom. They still need structure and routine in

their lives, but they should also be able to show what they are interested in and teach each other

new things. In my field observation, there is a boy who is academically sound in all areas, but he
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can get bored and struggle to pay attention. He constantly wants to teach me about new sharks he

discovered when reading a book. He could be a future marine biologist if someone is there to

give him encouragement and care about what he has to say. I would say the American

Revolution has affected how I view students and school because it opened the door for many

children who may not have ever been educated a chance to grow and learn. It opened the door

for a new education system because we had so many new careers and someone had to learn how

to do them. I think given the opportunity students are capable of becoming anything they desire

and schools are there to help them achieve their goals.

Instructional strategies are a huge part of creating a learning environment that fits every

student. I think a great one is peer teaching. Some students just might not understand it when you

teach a new topic, but as soon as a friend explains it to them it clicks. Another great one is

stations. Many students struggle to keep focused on a task because they get bored or don’t care.

Having them rotate between stations where they may be developing topics they’ve already

learned like playing a math game with a friend, and then rotating to solving problems on

whiteboards. This is also a good time if students need one-on-one help for you to take time and

focus on them. I think variety throughout the day is a good way to keep students engaged.

If I am going to successfully become an educator, I will need to continue to develop skills

in research because not every student learns the same, and there are always new strategies being

published that you can use. I think with my current job as a teacher’s assistant I’ve learned a lot

over the past 3 years and developed many skills I’ll need as a teacher. I will have to continue

with school and taking education courses, but having real experience will help me a lot in the

future.