-1September 30, 2009

Philosophy statement

CI 405 A

Philosophy on Education

I believe that elementary education students should be given a variety of assignments to

succeed in their studies and develop an interest in community service. Students involved in the

community will get the opportunity to learn from others with different lifestyles, learn more

about themselves, and develop their own character. Parent involvement in a cooperative and

encouraging classroom environment will enhance the students’ learning by having all key figures

to their success on the same page. I will offer a wide range of projects and assignments for

students that involve real life application. I will also be a large supporter of fundraisers to help

those that need assistance and support causes that the children want to get involved in. I believe a

cooperative effort from teachers, parents, and the community can help a child develop

academically, emotionally, and foster positive characteristics.

I believe that community and parental involvement in a student’s academic life can

enhance a student’s academic development. I plan to arrange field trips when possible to places

such as a factory with an assembly line, dairy farms, and nursing homes. By getting students out

of the classrooms and being exposed to the people and places first hand, they will gain world

experience and have a better understanding of concepts in the real world. They can learn about

the process that the milk in their refrigerator goes through or hear stories about World War Two

from senior citizens who personally experienced the war. As well as incorporating the

surrounding community into my lessons, I will attempt to get parental involvement in my

students’ activities. I will have a “culture day” where students bring in dishes associated with
their nationalities and I will need parents to help the students create and bring these dishes to

class. As the teacher, I will grow in appreciation and understanding of the different cultures of

my students. I will also have students create models throughout the year which their parents can

help them buy items for, if need be, and assemble. When we discuss poetry in class, I will have

the students write a poem about their parents and request that they bring in a short poem that

their parents write about them as extra credit. Community and parental involvement gives

students a support base at home and school so they are encouraged to keep progressing in their

studies and succeed in their educational goals.

I believe that the classroom should have a cooperative environment where new ideas,

critical thinking, and inquiry are encouraged. I plan to ask students for their wildest explanations

on science experiments, math problems, and story plots to encourage the students to think

outside the box. New discoveries occur with trial and error, and sometimes reasoning for one

action is stumbled upon by a mistaken reason for another action. Students have many extreme

ideas about life because they have limited exposure and experience or they have not been taught

the reason behind an occurrence. I love hearing the unusual solutions that students have for

problems. Sometimes, a solution they come up with can explain why they do not grasp another

aspect of the problem. As well as asking for extreme explanations, I will hold discussions about

current events and encourage students to ask questions regarding those events. Students can

connect their learning in school to events happening outside the classroom, which will ideally

increase their understanding of the world and possibly influence their understanding of future

topics discussed in the classroom. Children are very observant, so I will have the students use

their intrigue to bring interesting stories to the classroom that I was unaware of so I can learn

along with my students. When children ask about events, such as a plane floating on top of a
lake, I can encourage their inquiry and help them set up an experiment to see how it would work.

I may turn it into a science lesson because I would not want to suppress their interest and desire

to learn more on the topic. If students are discouraged or not immediately allowed to act on an

interest, it seems that they will seldom seek out the answer later on in their own free time. If a

child’s unique thought is not encouraged or accepted in the classroom, then it may cause the

student to have hurt feelings and not participate further. Encouraging all thoughts and ideas to be

expressed in the classroom is important to keep open communication between students and the

teacher and to keep participation high in the classroom.

I believe that by incorporating various activities utilizing multiple resources to assess

different types of knowledge, students can develop critical thinking skills and workplace

competence. I plan to use videos recorders, tape recorders, overhead projectors, and other

technologies to enhance projects and give students experience with technology familiar to the

workplace. The various types of technologies will also be useful in adapting lessons to fit the

needs of my students with disabilities and special learning needs. I will have my students do

research projects by using internet databases to do research on war heroes and use an over head

projector to display a PowerPoint presentation they may have created on the topic. Displaying

pictures and explaining their ideas may be easier for some students than writing their ideas out. I

may also ask students to do a cooking step-by-step project or science experiment where I will ask

students to videotape their work and present it to the class. By doing these projects, this could

also increase parental involvement in the class activities and give students the opportunity to

expand their educational and professional growth. These projects offer exposure to real life

circumstances, activities, and give students experience with technologies that they will use in

their future studies and work. If my school district can finance pricier resources, I hope to get
measuring tools used by electricians, carpenters, doctors, and other various occupations so

students can see what different people use in their jobs and increase their knowledge on various

professions. I plan to incorporate various activities utilizing multiple technologies to increase

students understanding and ability to use different resources.

I believe that students should be able to apply concepts and ideas from a structured

procedure in school to real life situations, possibly unrelated to the original topic. I plan to assess

the child’s knowledge of war battles, for example, by having my students write stories from a

first person point of view of the people or leaders of the different battles. I will be able to see if

the children understood the emotions of the people or if they comprehended the knowledge that

either group had of the attack plan of their opponent, for instance. The assignment is assessing

knowledge of history, as well as being applicable in other subject areas, by applying history

knowledge in a “real life task.” I may have students demonstrate their knowledge of friction,

pulleys, or gravity, for example, by riding a bike or jumping on a trampoline, depending on the

availability of resources, and explaining, at the basic level, their understand of how they are able

to move in the direction that they move. It would be utilizing a science concept in an interesting

way for the students using real life experiences. I plan to have my students apply the lessons they

learn in the classroom to different activities and tasks to demonstrate their understanding of the

ideas.

I believe students should develop an interest in service to others and I shall encourage

this interest by actively getting involved in fundraisers and community events. I plan to get

involved in fundraiser for causes that my students find worthy and they shall ideally be able to

experience the benefits of their service to the community. If the students do not feel a cause is

worthy or do not have an interest in helping a group of people, then students could develop a
negative impression of community service when forced into supporting a cause. The children

must support the causes and want to get involved and help. I plan to arrange a pen pal

correspondence with another school, and my students could possibly have a book collection for

the school. I believe that bringing food baskets, caroling, and baking cookies for senior citizens

around the holidays are good ideas for students to serve members of the local community. By

offering multiple ways to get involved, it gives students more chances to feel like they are a part

of something productive to society. I will try to encourage my students to get involved and

remain active in their communities.

My philosophy on education is focused on the belief that students learn through inquiry

and need exposure to various learning environments and activities to develop their critical

thinking skills and knowledge of the world. I believe parents need to be involved in classroom

activities and student learning. The classroom should have a cooperative environment where new

ideas are encouraged. There should be various activities that utilize multiple technologies to give

students exposure to real life tools that they will use in their future education. Students should be

able to apply concepts learned in classroom activities to situations in their lives outside the

classroom. I hope my students will develop an interest in community service. I believe every

student has the power to succeed, but not every student can learn from the same type of project.