Philosophy of Education

Anabel Rodriguez
LBS 400
Instructor: Teri Abbott
California State University Dominguez Hills
September 19, 2016

Education is a powerful tool for individuals to possess and make use of continuously
throughout their lifetime. Education consists of literacy, reading, writing, and mathematics. All
individuals receiving an education, receiving knowledge have the opportunity to become
successful and productive individuals in any facet of life. Mann intended common schools to
teach the knowledge and habits, as well as the basic literacy, that citizens needed to function in a
democracy. as cited by Lipton and Oakes (2003, p.88). Educating children is preparing them
with the necessary and vital knowledge in various subjects to function, support, and advance in
the society they live in. Children will spend about eight hours a day in a school setting beginning
in first grade up until the twelfth grade. During this time spent in school, children should develop
habits that will help them prosper as adults in society. Schools should provide a clean, safe,
welcoming environment in which each student has access to resources. Each student should
develop a conscious of the neighborhood, community, and world around them.
About eight hours of a childs day is spent inside a classroom with a teacher
learning, listening, engaging, and socializing. Creating a classroom atmosphere that promotes all
of the above ideas is critical and crucial. There are countless theories and strategies in how or
what methods work the best, but it is impossible to try all the theories and strategies. It is up to
the teacher what method or strategy they will use inside the classroom with their students. The
main focus is to promote learning, making sure that every student is being an active learner. It
doesnt matter what route the teacher decides to take as long as all teachers end up in the same
destination. Peterson and Wilson suggest that, Perhaps the most critical shift in education in the
past 20 years has been a move away from a conception of learner as sponge toward an image
of learner as active constructor of meaning (2006, p.108). As a future educator my focus is
promoting an environment where information is being delivered, students then work together to

understand the information. Students share different interpretations of the information, ask
questions about the information; and lastly relate the information to the outside world. Overall,
conceptual understanding of the subjects is what students in a classroom setting should aspire to
understand. According to Stripling Inquiry is a process of learning that is driven by questioning,
thoughtful investigating, making sense of information, and developing new understandings.
(2008, p.123). Practicing the process of inquiry and conceptual understanding will result in deep
learning. As a student, I acquired and learned the material well when I was up out of my seat,
working in groups, sharing ideas and thoughts on the new information. I found that explaining
the recently learned information orally to my classmates, helps reinforced conceptual learning
and not just memorization.
A classroom is a diverse environment. Not one student is the same inside a
classroom, each is an individual. Teachers should be open and prepared to work with the
different diversities they will encounter. According to Bransford and Hammond, Part of this
process is learning how to understand and reach out to children who have a wide range of life
experiences, behaviors, and beliefs about themselves and what school means to them(2005,
p.85). Developing a conscious awareness of the countless differences and diversities that a
teacher will encounter inside a classroom is the first step to be ready to make adjustments.
Honoring diversity hits close to home, as I myself was a diverse individual. I can recall teachers
offering extra tutoring hours, taking an extra couple of minutes to repeat directions, and
assigning a bilingual assistant to me. The extra mile these teachers made for me impacted my self
-esteem and overall schooling. I will go the extra mile each and every day for my future diverse,
one- of- a kind students. Making adjustments to fit students strengths and difficulties to
ultimately help them learn are necessary in todays diverse classrooms. I am a well aware future

educator that these diversities exist and will welcome them inside my future classroom. Each of
my lesson plans will offer accommodations and strategies to help ensure I give every student a
fair chance at successfully learning the material. Examples include, group work, repeated
instructions, and bilingual aids.
A curriculum that will get students to acquire information, reason, question, evaluate, and
problem solve is the goal. All subjects should be taught with the same criteria. Not one single
subject is above another, they are all equally important to teach. Having the proper curriculum
will make the learning process run effectively and smoothly. With the right curriculum children
will have little time to be uninterested or develop disciplinary problems. Research shows that
effective classroom management starts with the creation of curriculum that is meaningful to
students and with teaching that is engaging and motivating(Bransford & Hammond, p.85).
When trying to teach an important concept to thirty students at a time distractions can become a
serious problem. To get rid of these outside or irrelevant distractions having curriculum set and
ready to go is important and helpful for a teacher. As a student, I always learned when the
curriculum presented was relatable to real life situations it added meaning to my learning and
helped me conceptually understand the information. Therefore, as a future educator I will ensure
that I develop a curriculum my students can relate to and put into context. An example would be
teaching the distance formula using coordinate points from the local neighborhood, or from their
home address to the school address. Students will relate and easily visualize the distance between
two points they are familiar with and travel daily.
A successful, effective teacher cant be specified. Variations between successful and
effective teachers exist. Brainsford and Hammond stated, There is no one right way to behave
as a teacher (2005, p.69). With those words in mind, one who is going into the field of teaching

should be conscious that they will be motivators, cheerleaders, parents, counselors, nurses, and
teachers all in a days work. Overall, a characteristic that teachers should share is the commitment
to help all students become successful. The commitment of helping all students succeed will
sometimes go beyond the classroom. As a future educator I will make the commitment to do
everything in my power to ensure my students well - being and safety. Lastly, I will utilize
different strategies and accommodations to create a well-rounded environment for maximum
learning. I will not shy away from making phone calls to parents or home visits when it is vital
and appropriate to do so to ensure success for all my students. Society doesnt stand still; it is
always evolving, changing, progressing, and growing. A teacher should be receptive to all these
changes because the students inside that classroom need to be prepared for the changing,
evolving society by you, the teacher. Therefore, teachers have the responsibility to continue to
learn and develop professionally which will only aid their commitment to help all students
succeed. I was always thankful for those teachers who armed me with confidence to pursue
knowledge. I too want to arm my students with the right tools and the confidence to seek
knowledge for themselves. I am a strong believer that knowledge is power, and if I can get one
of my students to believe, I have succeeded.

References
Bransford, J., Darling-Hammond, L., and LePage, P. (2005). Introduction. In L. DarlingHammond J, Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What
teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Oakes, J., & Lipton, M. (2003). Teaching to change the world (3rd ed.) New York, NY: McGrawHill.
Stripling, B. (2008). Inquiry: Inquiring minds want to know. School Media Activities, 25(1).

Wilson, S. M. & Peterson, P. L. (2006). Theories of learning and teaching what do they mean for
educators? Washinghton, DC: National Education Association.