Personal Education Philosophy

Personal Education Philosophy

Rachel Lord
Wesleyan College

Personal Education Philosophy

Abstract
My goal as a teacher is to challenge my students, awaken their curiosity, and spark their creative
abilities. I will be a teacher who is passionate about my job and my students on a daily basis.
Each and every student that walks in my classroom is worthy of love and capable of being
taught, no matter their background. My philosophy for teaching is based on the experimentalism
philosophy, beliefs, scholarly influences, the lessons I have learned, and being an adaptive
professional. Above all, my philosophies are a product of my upbringing, religious perspectives,
mission work, volunteer and work experience, scholarly influences, and collegiate career. In the
future, my dream is to teach kindergarten because I think that is where the foundation is placed
and the first stepping stone on the students road to success. Teaching is important to me because
I believe there are children in our world today that have no safe place to go. School may be the
only time they have a chance to feel like a normal child and the only time they have a good meal
to eat. I would like to be an advocate for students living in poverty, coming from bad home lives,
or struggling with learning disabilities. Every student needs a teacher who truly cares about their
well-being and their future. I am that teacher. Overall, my emerging belief system is to have a
positive classroom climate and to allow students to be able to comprehend subject matter. I will
be a model for my students in and outside of the classroom and show my school, parents, and
students that I truly care about their education. I know all students can succeed because I will not
let any students fall behind.

Personal Education Philosophy

I love teaching when I can see my love for a mathematical problem, history lesson, or
work of literature being taken in by a student for the first time. More often than not, it is not my
first time teaching the lesson, but every now and then, a students eyes will light up with
understanding and they will fall in love with the lesson and have a passion for learning. That
moment is when teaching becomes the best job in the world. To allow a student the chance to
understand on their own and in their own way is rewarding, but to awaken a students love for
learning is a true success. I am drawn to the experimentalism philosophy because from what I
have learned in my studies, this philosophy focuses on every day changes and finding new ways
to learn and teach through first hand experiences with the world. Experimentalism emphasizes on
students learning through problem solving and asking questions (Hallet, 1997). I love this
philosophy because I think it is important to have students actively involved in their own
educational journeys. My philosophy for teaching is based on the experimentalism philosophy,
beliefs, scholarly influences, the lessons I have learned, and being an adaptive professional.
Thus, I believe in being a model for my students in and outside of the classroom. I will
show students what it means to have a good attitude at school every day. By making house calls,
house visits, and spending extra hours with students before and after school I will model to the
parents that I care about my students. Inside my classroom, I will teach in a way that will cater to
all different learning styles. I will accomplish this by incorporating visuals, examples, and
technology into my classroom. Every day I will have students up and moving as often as I can. I
will do this by demonstrating for my students that being active is enjoyable and I will help
promote a healthy lifestyle for my students physically, mentally, and emotionally. I value
showing many examples and checking students progress throughout the year. In order to
measure my students comprehension I will assign experiments, crafts, and fun learning exercises

Personal Education Philosophy

with my students in order to rely on diverse methods of assessment other than a test or
worksheets. I will uphold all state and federal requirements, but I will make sure my students
gain the knowledge that will be valuable to their daily lives and future as well (Gunning, 2013).
Furthermore, I believe in what the learning theories have to offer. There have been many
learning theories that have been established and researched that allow for ways to foster
cognitive development within students. The two theories that I love are the think-pair-share and
the jigsaw theories (Gunning, 2010; R. Vacca, J. Vacca & Mraz, 2011). These two theories are
my favorite because they both allow students to try something new and gives students the chance
to branch out and increase social development.
Moreover, I believe in having a positive classroom climate to allow students to be able to
comprehend subject matter and develop a better student/teacher relationship. My lesson plans
will show a clear learning objective that is paired with learner outcomes, activities, classwork,
and assessments for my students. Classrooms should be inviting and show positive
encouragement on the walls through art or quotes to illustrate to students that they are welcome
when they walk in. An extension of my positive atmosphere will be holding each of my students
to high standards. I will do this because I know students can succeed and meet the requirements.
None of my students will be left behind because I believe all students can succeed, regardless of
the conditions I am teaching in or the homes the students come from. It is my job, as a teacher, to
make sure each student does their best in the classroom. I will make sure I work to the best of my
ability and spend my time wisely so that every student has equal opportunity to succeed in the
classroom. Also, I value maintaining positive relationships not only with my students, but my
colleagues, principle, and parents. In doing so, I will devote my time to helping in any way I can.

Personal Education Philosophy

My hope through doing all of this for my students is to kindle my students desire to learn more
and ignite their intrinsic motivation (Gunning, 2013).
Although without positive classroom management, there cannot be a positive classroom
climate. My students will know that I mean what I say because I will model the behavior for
them day in and day out. I believe in showing grace and mercy to students, but I also believe in
consequences. Students have to learn from their mistakes in order to learn how to make good
choices. I believe in giving students choices. I will have few classroom rules and the
consequences will not be discussed. Students will be managed by asking them questions like,
Would you like to go to recovery until you can stop misbehaving or would you like to stay with
us in here and continue to learn? I love the idea of allowing students to take hold of their own
actions. Classrooms have to have a balance between being strict and being lenient because a
childs nature, to me, is so innocent and pure. In my opinion, children do not grow up wanting to
lie, cheat, and bully. Students learn this behavior from peers, television, or a poor home life.
These issues have to be taken into account when managing a classroom because if the students
learned these types of behaviors, then it is possible for the same students to learn a new way to
behave as well. Overall, this is the true purpose of a school. A school is in place to mold children
into well rounded individuals who are smart, caring, kind, successful, and competent. Teachers
are in place to make sure the purpose of a school is fulfilled. After all, students are the future of
our world.
Above all, my philosophies are a product of my upbringing, religious perspectives,
mission work, volunteer and work experience, scholarly influences, and collegiate career. I grew
up in a family with three other sisters and my mother had a lot to juggle at one time. She taught
me that all learning styles are different and important because that is how she raised my sisters

Personal Education Philosophy

and me growing up. She never treated us the same and she praised our differences. I remember
her telling me when I was younger that thinking differently from others is not a bad quality to
have. I always loved how she catered to our differences and did not teach us in the same manner.
My mother allowed us to develop into our own person with our own unique qualities and
abilities. Furthermore, I was brought up in a Christian home where I developed my passion for
caring for others. I learned a great deal in church about what it means to give back and help those
around you. My upbringing, both at home and at church helped develop many of the beliefs I
stand by today.
As I got older, I developed a passion for volunteer and mission work. I volunteered at
nursing homes, hospitals, and classrooms and I went on two mission trips to Africa. I learned
about what it means to be truly thankful for education, a classroom, materials, a lunchroom, and
a playground. During this time, I developed my belief on classroom management and displaying
to my students and their parents that I am devoted to them and their children. Correspondingly,
during my full time job as a nanny, I developed a greater understanding for children with
learning disabilities. I had the opportunity to be a nanny to a little girl with a form of autism and
I worked with her one on one every day for over a year. That little girl showed me that being a
teacher is more than standing in front of a classroom and spilling out information. That little girl
taught me that being a teacher, is a wonderful opportunity and if done correctly, it can be such a
rewarding profession.
Likewise, my scholarly influences are Ron Clark and Jim Faye. Clark is known for many
books on parenting, teaching, and expectations of students and he has transformed the way
students are being taught within the classroom. Clark developed the Ron Clark Academy in
Atlanta, which is an inner city school. Before the books and the Ron Clark Academy, Ron had a

Personal Education Philosophy

passion to help students reach their goals and achieve their dreams. Clark decided to help make
this dream happen by coming up with innovative teaching methods. Ron Clark did not stop with
just one classroom, instead, he continued to develop this passion on a wider scale by writing
books, holding motivational talks, and developing a model academy. Clark has continued to
influence the lives of many students, teachers, and parents. Clark has influenced me in many
ways, but I look up to him because he is truly embodying what the no child left behind act
intended for teachers to do. Students from many different backgrounds are receiving the chance
to succeed, live out their dreams, and accomplish their goals because Ron Clark has promoted
his passion on a daily basis (Ron Clark Bio, n.d.). Similarly, Jim Faye wrote a book on
teaching with love and logic. Love and logic has many techniques that teachers can use within
their classrooms to have positive classroom management. Love and logic is all about giving
teachers plenty of tools to use when they enter a classroom with many diverse personalities. Faye
also emphasizes the importance of allowing students the ability to have a choice in how they act
within the classroom. I value my two scholarly influences because I know they have helped me
develop my philosophy and prepare me to be an excellent future educator (Brousseau, Anderson,
and Tsukada. 2003).
Last, my collegiate career thus far has continued to develop my philosophy for teaching.
My professors in all of my major education courses have truly cared about their students. I am
shown how to become a professional educator who is an expert in the field of teaching and
passionate about educating students. My professors give a real school like experience by
decorating the college classroom as if we are in an elementary school. The classroom has a
positive environment and a positive student-teacher relationship. The professors continuously

Personal Education Philosophy

modeling for us how to teach with visuals, experiments, and examples. I am learning how to
maintain my own classroom and conduct a lesson that allows for my future students to thrive.
Additionally, my dream is to teach kindergarten because I think that is where the
foundation is placed and the first stepping stone on the students road to success. Teaching is
important to me because I believe there are children in our world today that have no safe place to
go. School may be the only time they have a chance to feel like a normal child and the only time
they have a good meal to eat. I would like to be an advocate for students living in poverty,
coming from bad home lives, or struggling with learning disabilities. Every student needs a
teacher who truly cares about their well-being and their future. I am that teacher. This truly is
what the purpose of a school is all about, providing students with a solid foundation, a positive
environment, encouragement, and a quality education. Also, the purpose of a school is to nurture
students so that they wake up and look forward to coming to school and learning. Children are
innocent and impressionable and I think it is within a childs nature to be curious, determined,
and intrigued by all things school related. It is the teachers job to ignite that passion for school.
In the following paragraphs, I will describe in detail what my beliefs will look like when applied
in a kindergarten classroom.
Moreover, as a kindergarten teacher, I aspire to teach my students concepts and skills that
can be used in the classroom, but also in their daily lives. I will encourage my students to set
short term and long term goals for themselves. My students will value the importance of gaining
knowledge, studying, and making good grades. By promoting critical thinking in my classroom,
students will develop concepts, display competence, and become well rounded individuals.
Within the classroom, students can learn to embrace diverse cultures and learn about reaching
out to the communities around us and our world. By modeling respect for others, my students

Personal Education Philosophy

will respect and honor their teacher, principle, and all adults. My students will know that they are
expected to do well because they are smart and they are worthy of love (Gunning, 2013).
Furthermore, I will model a positive attitude for my students by greeting my students at
the door in the morning and welcoming them into the classroom. I intend to have a routine for
my kindergarteners that involves a sing along or some type of dance to really start their day off
on the right foot. I will express myself in a colorful and exciting manner and my students will be
encouraged to do the same. I want to model for my students that teaching is fun for me and as a
result learning will be fun for them. I value modeling involvement for the parents of my students
by visiting their houses to get to know their families on a more personal level. Overall, I believe
these practices will allow me to have a positive classroom atmosphere with superb classroom
management.
For example, my class will learn visually, audibly, and with hands on activities. Visually,
students learn by online videos, examples on the board, or by watching me model. Audibly,
students learn by listening and being attentive to the lessons or by listening to an audio online.
Last, students learn kinesthetically by hands on activities like experiments, going on mini field
trips, and making crafts within the classroom. In doing this, I wish to promote group
collaborations by having students participate in think-pair-share learning. This type of learning is
where the students will think individually about an answer to a question then, they will talk to a
partner and share ideas (Gunning, 2010, p. 385-386). Students will also participate in jigsaw
learning, this is used when teaching a topic with many subparts. Next, students are grouped and
assigned to a subpart to study and become experts on. Once the students have time to collaborate
with their groups they come back as a whole class and each group teaches the class on their topic
(R. Vacca, J. Vacca, & M. Mraz, 2011, p. 152-153).These two learning strategies allow students

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the opportunity to develop their cognitive skills and their social development with other students.
As a future educator, I will cater to every learning style and become well-informed on which of
my students learn best with each type of learning style. I hope to ignite my students desire to
learn by catering to their unique learning styles (Gunning, 2013).
In this day and age, technology is important and it is becoming vital in areas of
communication, business, and school work. Kindergarteners need to be introduced to technology
and learn how a computer works. Even in Kindergarten, students can find information they need
online. I will teach my students how a computer should be turned on and off and how to play
simplistic learning games online. Technology will be a great aide to show my Kindergarteners
another way to learn information and make learning exciting and engaging.
In addition, my kindergarteners will never be still for long. I do not expect my students to
come into the classroom and sit at desks for long periods of time. To allow for my students to be
active while learning at the same time, many different learning centers will be set up around my
classroom. Some of the learning centers I would like to have are: a reading center, a grocery
store center, and a restaurant center. These centers are a good way for kindergarteners to grow
socially and learn through real life experiences. Furthermore, I want my students to learn through
dancing and exercising songs (Gunning, 2013). On YouTube there is a song called Lets Get Fit
Count to 100 by Jack Hartmann (2014). In this song students get out of their desks and count to
100 while doing exercises. I am very passionate about students learning what it means to be
healthy and active. Overall, I value showing my students that this kind of lifestyle is enjoyable,
fun, and rewarding.
Likewise, my kindergarteners will not be subjected to test after test. I will model for my
students there are different ways to assess student ability. Through hands on assessments, oral

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communication, reading, and singing I believe my students will be able to demonstrate to me that
they understand and comprehend various content areas. I will assess my students based on
multiple assessments, such as: class participation, homework, class assignments, group work,
progress, quizzes, tests, oral evaluations, and projects. I do not believe in assessing students in
one way because students do not have only one learning style. Through teaching this way, I hope
to allow students the opportunity to gain knowledge that will be valuable in their daily lives and
future (Gunning, 2013).
Additionally, I want my students parents to know I value their opinions and their
childrens development in school. I will reflect on my own teaching, but I also will give my
students parents the same courtesy to help me reflect and better myself as an educator. I will do
this by frequently welcoming student and parent feedback. Even at the young age of five and six
our students have treasured feelings and ideas. I plan to take those ideas and feelings into
account by having a time weekly or monthly that I check in with students one on one. In doing
this, I will be giving my students responsibility. Students appreciate the ability to have a part in
what goes on in the classroom. The parents will have an online communication outlet with me
where they can collaborate with me and other parents or send a private message. I will make sure
the parents of my students know they are always welcome in my classroom. Also, I will look
back on my own lessons and assess myself on what I can improve on and what needs to stay the
same. This way, I am not only reflecting on my own teaching, but I am gaining valuable
feedback that will help me to better my teaching in the future.
Moreover, my kindergarteners will know what they are going to be learning every week
because an essential question, learner outcome, and assessment will be written on the board. By
taking time to sit down and develop good lesson plans, the lessons will be organized, researched

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12

thoroughly, and all materials will be laid out properly for each lesson. In order for my lessons to
align properly I will start with the standards and then plan out how to assess students according
to what the standard is asking for them to accomplish. Once I have the standards and the
assessments planned out I can fill in my lesson plans with how I will teach the information the
students. Lesson planning is all about proper alignment and I plan to work to accomplish this in
my classroom every week.
In addition, I plan to make my kindergarteners feel invited and welcomed into my
classroom by creating a positive climate for my students to learn in. A positive classroom
climate, to me, means having a vibrant color scheme with a decorated door for my students to
enter into every day. To create this environment, the alphabet will be listed on the wall,
vocabulary and sight words, and centers labeled so my students will know where to go and what
to look for. Within this positive environment, I will to get to know each and every one of my
students, hug my students, shake their hands, give high fives, and joke around, but I will have
balance within my classroom. There is a time to play and there is a time to be focused. In doing
this, my students can develop talents and interests in different areas of life (Gunning, 2013).
Even more, I will uphold a positive relationships with my students, colleagues, principle,
and parents. If there is a problem, the issue can be addressed right away in a professional
manner. I will make sure to show my colleagues that I am a team player and that I want to be
involved with the school. My time will be dedicated to serving in any way I can. I plan to
conduct positive classroom management by setting a high standard for each student according to
their own needs because I know students can succeed and flourish. If a student is falling behind,
I will take my time to make sure the students catches up to the rest of the class because no
student in my classroom will be left behind. There will be time set aside before or after school to

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go over the material and tutor the students if any of my students are struggling. I will make an
effort to collaborate with the school counselor, after school program, and other programs the
school has to offer in order to make sure all of my students needs are taken care of. Through
keeping a positive relationship with my school and my students I believe I will awaken my
students motivation and desire to learn and do their work.
Overall, my emerging belief system is to have a positive classroom climate and to allow
students to be able to comprehend subject matter. I will be a model for my students in and
outside of the classroom and show my school, parents, and students that I truly care about their
education. I know all students can succeed because I will not let any students fall behind. My
goal as a teacher is to challenge my students, awaken their curiosity, and spark their creative
abilities. I will be a teacher who is passionate about my job and my students on a daily basis.
Each and every student that walks in my classroom is worthy of love and capable of being
taught, no matter their background. In doing all of this, my love for teaching and my passion for
reaching out to students will continuously grow.

Personal Education Philosophy

14

References
Gunning, T. (2010). Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties (4th ed., pp. 385386). Boston: Pearson Education
Vacca, R., Vacca, J., & Mraz, M. (2011). Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across
the Curriculum (10th ed., pp. 152-153). Boston: Pearson Education.
Gunning, T. (2013). Creating literacy instruction for all students (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson
Education.
Let's Get Fit | Count to 100 | Count to 100 Song | Counting to 100 | Jack Hartmann. (2014, May
7). Retrieved November 6, 2015.
Hallet, C. (1997). Pragmatism and project 2000: the relevance of Dewey's theory of
experimentalism to nursing education. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 26(6), 1229-1234
6p. doi:j.1365-2648.1997.tb00817.x10.1046/j.1365-2648.1997.00423.x
Ron Clark | Bio. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from
http://premierespeakers.com/ron_clark/bio
Brousseau, J., Anderson, M., & Tsukada, H. (2003). Love and logic techniques for parents and
educators: Based on methods developed by Jim Faye and Charles Faye. Place of
publication not identified: Publisher not identified.