Education Goals and Philosophy
As a high school student, I often witnessed special education students being mistreated and made fun of. I had a very special teacher that guided me in the direction of stopping this abuse and making these students feel that they were special. She mentored me throughout my four years of high school, and I learned what kind of person I truly wanted to be. It took me some time in college to decide what I wanted to do, but there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about how special she had been to me throughout my school years. She made a remarkable difference not only in my life, but in other students’ lives as well. After debating several different careers, I realized my heart was still with the children that did not receive the care and attention they deserved. Once I realized how passionate my feelings were to making a difference in lives, I knew where I belonged – the classroom.
During my observation experience, I noticed that the classroom environment helps to enhance the student’s learning. The bulletin boards and other displays on the walls were not only magnificent with light and color, but they reinforced the student’s learning as well. For example, if I were teaching kindergarten, my bulletin board would include a calendar with the current month and current day of the week. It would also include the seasons and the weather conditions outside. I will also be teaching my students about multiculturalism, because I believe unity is very essential in today’s society. Therefore, we will be recognizing a majority of the holidays, not just participating in the celebrations we are accustomed to. We would sample foods from different cultures and talk about issues that are important to them. I will use all approaches for my students to benefit from a multicultural education, starting from the contribution approach and working our way into the transformation approach.
I strongly believe that students should have fun while learning. I agree with the philosophy of Jean–Paul Sartre.
America is a multicultural society that is compiled of many ethnicities and cultural orientations. With the different backgrounds, it can sometimes be a task to incorporate each culture in the classroom. It is the teachers’ responsibility to make his or her classroom a multicultural environment for their students to broaden their horizons. Many may think
This essay attempts to discuss the competing aims of education whether they be academic, vocational or even purely enabling students to be virtuous. Marples (2010), “What is Education for?”, and Hand (2010), “What should go on the Curriculum?” provide much of the initial insight into the formation of my personal view on the competing aims of education
In the profession of a special education teacher, a person commits to helping children achieve their best and to help “students overcome their obstacles” while finding a way that the child can effectively learn (Hollingsworth). My mom’s career as special education teacher for twenty-two years, allows me insight and experience into the tougher aspects of this career, but also the rewards to the job. My mom helps me understand that a special education teacher guides a child to expand their strengths, develop strategies to overcome weakness, and to make best use of all available resources. Through helping her, and learning from her experiences, she taught me that a career in special education can not only challenge me, but may also become a mission.
Deciding on a career is a very difficult decision for anyone to make, especially for someone just coming out of high school. I always knew that I wanted to work with children, but I didn’t know what field I wanted to be in. After thinking about what field I could be in that I could work with children the most, I decided to become a teacher. I have always had a great deal of respect for most of the teachers I’ve had and hopefully I will be able to gain that respect from my students.
More now than ever before in the educational history of our nation has multicultural education become important. Due to the ever increasing diversity in our nation, the global economy, and the mobility of our work force, diversity in the classroom is affecting our classrooms. With such a diverse student population teachers must understand that each student will bring his own background knowledge and experience into the learning environment. The task that is presented to teachers is to prepare the students to understand and interact with all the different cultures that are present or that the student may come into contact with, while at the same time teach them content which does not offend a student’s cultural identity.
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.
For the past seven years, I have had the same dream - to someday be a high school math teacher. I am finally on my way to turning that dream into a reality. Along the way, I am learning a lot of things and forming a number of opinions. One of the main areas in which I am forming new beliefs is in relation to what methods I will use in teaching my class and what aspects of what philosophies I will employ. First of all, however, I must reach the point where I have a class to teach.
Teaching is a complex occupation that requires as much empathy and emotion as it does educational skill. I had always dreamed of becoming a teacher, and realized after having my own children, that I would not truly be fulfilling my purpose in life if I did not pursue this dream. As a volunteer at the elementary school in my community, I loved the environment and took tremendous joy in watching the children learn. I felt that I had the ability, along with the dedication and desire, it would take to become a full time educator. To achieve this goal I will strive to give my students a positive beginning, provide confidence in their individual abilities, and prepare them for different aspects in life.
Most people can remember doing a lesson once a month in elementary school about a culture outside of the American culture, whether it be coloring in dragons for Chinese New Year or reading a book about an African American child for Black History Month. The United States is known for being a melting pot of so many different people, ideals, and cultures and it’s constantly changing. Due to this, are these once a month lessons really enough to call a classroom multicultural when there are students who are apart of cultures other than the American culture all year round? The short answer is no, and this essay will explore what it actually means to have a multicultural classroom, what factors have to be considered when doing this, and why is it
Education has always been a primary concern for my parents, who taught me that if I need to succeed in life, I have to be educated. Following their guide, I have always valued and tried to get the most of any educational opportunity I have had. Having grown up in a business family, I have always been interested in focusing my career in the business field. My Mother and Father own their own company, and they are constantly talking about business, which has inspired me to follow their path. When my parents retire, they want me to carry on their legacy. For this reason, I have decided to pursue my studies in the field of Business and Leadership at Marylhurst University. I want to pursue a well-rounded education at this established university where I also can have life experiences in the outside world, which will ultimately help me to become a successful leader in our family business.
It is rare that any two-classroom teachers will have the same definition for multicultural education. “The basic goal of multicultural education is to help all children understand and appreciate events and people from various points of view” (Welton, 113). Teaching with a multicultural perspective encourages appreciation and understanding of other cultures as well as one’s own. Rey Gomez states that teaching with this perspective promotes the child’s sense of the uniqueness of his own culture as a positive characteristic and enables the child to accept the uniqueness of the cultures of others.
It has been a long road to get to where I am today and even though I have many times it has made me who I am. Having a plan to accomplish a goal or goals is a good way to start achieving success. It will not be easy but I plan to stick with my plan until I accomplish it and never give up. From the research I have done and the information provided to me by my instructor and the staff at Fresno Pacific University I have learned many things. There will be many tests that need to be taken and there is also material that will help before I take the tests. Being prepared for the unknown is good for anyone to do to accomplish the goal that is desired. There are many issues in education that affect students today and that need to be fixed.
Education, which refers to the transfer of indispensable skills and knowledge, is a vital aspect of the social-economic planning of a country as it generates a competitive workforce which contributes significantly to economic growth. Nevertheless, the jury is still out on whether the chief goal of education is to provide a ticket to a better life, hence improving the living standards of individuals. At first glance, it is tempting to buy into the claim that the ultimate purpose of education is to guarantee a high living standard as good academic qualification enables us to become high income earners. However, upon further dissection of the intricacy of the issue, we should look past the superficial value of such a claim and accept that essentially, education has other crucial functions in our society.
From a young age, I’ve always tried to live up to my family’s expectations. A young hispanic from a middle class family, I wanted to be exactly what my parents desired of me. The second oldest in both families, my parents stopped their education in elementary school in order to work in the heat of the fields to keep their family economically decent. My parents told me stories of their hardships of growing up in El Salvador and they implored that I not be like them. The two wanted their children to have a better future than they did and so they implanted this idea into their three children, my two older sisters and I. Within my siblings, one accomplishes what the former couldn’t. My oldest sister didn’t graduate high school and then many years later, my second oldest did. My second oldest sister didn’t go to a university, but now I am going to be starting university in the fall. But it doesn’t complete what my parents set out for us. Their true goal, with us, was to help us to grow into adults with a stable career. That is the last step for me.
The teaching should also emphasis on multiculturalism and diversity. The world today is becoming smaller and smaller. Thus, in order to be successful in the future, it is very necessary to understand other cultures and tolerance the differences. The students should be exposed to these areas as early as possible. Thus, bilingual and even trilingual educations are very important to have in the school. Also, the students should be encouraged to learn and to experience other culture since they are young. The students are expected to become a world-man.