My Philosophy of Education

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My Philosophy of Education

As a military wife, I have had the experience of working in several different school systems. I was a substitute teacher and a teaching assistant for four years. I started my college education right after high school. However, I halted my studies when my ex-husband and I were stationed in Germany. Soon after, my children came and consumed most of my time. If I was asked the question now about my career choice at 18, I would have to say that I am glad I got to experience the world first. I have enjoyed raising my children and working in the school system. I am now back in college after a 16-year break. I am more prepared mentally and I am focused and determined to reach my goals of becoming a teacher. I know that being a teacher is my true calling in life.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with ten different teachers. I have considered their examples to be exceptional reference material. I see things that have worked and things I can relate to. I have also seen things that didn’t work. I have been very fortunate to be able to give my profession of choice a trial run before spending this time getting prepared for a career in teaching.

An eclectic approach to teaching and learning is what I would like to have in my classroom. I would draw my practices from progressivism, essentialism, existentialism and realism. I also understand that some things will work with one class but may not work well with another. I know that I will need to be flexible when working with a diverse number of individuals.

With progressivism, I believe that there should be instruction where students participate in critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making. These exercises help children to survive in the real world. I think cooperative learning will teach children to work well with others but also draw off each other’s ideas.

Applying essentialism in the classroom is where the basic core curriculum will come in. There will be standards that need to be met in these areas. This will be where creativity needs to be implemented to get the material that is required across to the children. I believe in time-on-task emphasis as well as modeling appropriate behavior.

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