My Philosophy of Education

Reflecting upon what I have learned during my time in a teacher

education program and my experiences working in different classrooms has
allowed me to develop my own philosophy of education. My personal
philosophy encompasses the understanding and application of educational
theories, the knowledge of exceptionalities, abiding by clear ethical guidelines,
and a commitment to understanding of, and respect for, student diversity. All
of the components of my philosophy are indispensible and interconnected,
but my knowledge of educational theories serves as a foundation on which the
other components were developed.
Throughout my time in the teacher preparation program at Mount
Union, I learned a lot about the different educational theories. From Pavlovs
theory of Classical Conditioning to Vygotskys Social Development theory,
each theory addresses different aspects of human learning. While the theories
can appear quite different from one another, they are large interrelated and in
combination can help shed light on the best way to teach a particular student.
Understanding the Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow), Stages of Moral
Development (Kohlberg), Stages of Child Development (Piaget), and the
theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner) allows a teacher to have a basis for
utilizing the other theories. For example if a student is in the Pre-conventional
stage of Moral Development, then he/she is going to judge the morality of an
action based on its direct consequences and will likely benefit most from
learning through personal experience, like John Dewey theorized. And while
it is important for educators to have extensive knowledge of each of the
different theories, I personally have found myself largely applying the
Behaviorist theory and some of its subsets in my classroom experiences.
During my preclinical practice and clinical student teaching experience
I worked in an MRDD program for students with moderate/severe
disabilities, and I was able to learn the powerful impact that reinforcement
and punishment can have on student learning because they were used so
frequently in my classroom. One example of this is the clip system that my
cooperating teacher utilized. Everyday the students started with their
clothespin on a green square indicating that they were Ready to Learn, and
based on their choices throughout the day their clips could be moved up to
the blue or purple square (meaning they have been making good choices), or
down to the yellow or red square (meaning they have been making poor
choices). At the end of the day, the students would be rewarded for having
their clip on green, blue, or purple, but would lose privileges if their clip was
on yellow or red. Within the first few days in the classroom, I realized how
motivating the clip system was because it was a constant, clear, and consistent
system that provided reinforcement or consequences for the students choices
and/or behavior.
Along with applying the Behaviorist theory in its most basic form
throughout my student teaching, I was also constantly utilizing a kind of subset
of Behaviorism; specifically the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis and
the ABC (antecedent-behavior-consequence) Contingency. Because I was in
an MRDD school, I had to deal with a lot of extreme behaviors and had to
constantly be mindful of not reinforcing the undesired behaviors. Such
behaviors would present themselves in students at different times and if I
wanted to have any chance of decreasing them, the way I responded had to be
directly based on their underlying cause (the antecedent). For example, if a
student was crying, screaming, or displaying aggressive behaviors because they
didnt want to participate in an activity, removing that child from the activity
would reinforce the undesired behavior(s) and most likely cause them to
increase in the future. However, if a student was displaying those behaviors
because they were making an honest effort but struggling with a task, it would
be beneficial to do a task analysis and break it up into smaller steps so that
they could be successful and work through their ZPD without getting
frustrated to the point that it was detrimental to their progress. Recognizing
the antecedent to a behavior will help enable an educator to influence or
create a consequence that it is actually advantageous to student learning.
In addition to having extensive knowledge of the theories of learning
and applying them in the classroom, educators also needs to have an in-depth
understanding of student exceptionalities in order to be effective. And while it
is undeniably important in every kind of classroom that the teacher has an
understanding of his/her students different strengths and needs, I became
especially aware of its importance during my transition from the
mild/moderate setting to a much more moderate/severe setting. When I
began my preclinical practice I had no real experience with the more severe
exceptionalities a student might have; and in my class the students had a wide
variety of disabilities, ranging from high-end-of-the-spectrum autism to vision
impairments, cerebral palsy, chromosome deletions, chronic medical
conditions, and even combinations of different exceptionalities. So because of
this, I had to develop lessons that catered to mostly nonverbal students and
students with significant physical limitations, which was a huge change for me.
But after getting to know my students and doing my own research I was able
to extend my knowledge base so I could address my kids specific needs. It
was difficult to find a balance at first because it seemed like I had limited
options for developing lessons that didnt require the students to speak at will,
write, see, or become too physically involved; but when I became familiar with
the individual students and their specific exceptionalities it became second
nature. I was able to learn how to keep students with physical and linguistic
limitations involved, incorporate a multitude of assistive technologies (such as
Voice Output Devices, Picture Exchange Communication Systems, etc.), and
present the material in a way that was accessible to the students with vision
impairments. There is no doubt in my mind that being knowledgeable about
different disabilities, and taking it a step further by getting to know each
students unique exceptionalities, is absolutely imperative for a teacher to have
any chance of being successful. However, for a teacher to be successful he/she
must not only understand and apply educational theories and build a
knowledge base around different student exceptionalities, he/she must also
have strong and evident ethical guidelines.
Personally, I have based my own ethical guidelines on the importance
of respect, responsibility, and safety in the classroom. I believe that creating an
atmosphere of mutual respect in the classroom is a gateway for positive
learning outcomes. It is vital that students be required to have a respectful
attitude in the classroom towards their peers and school staff. When students
demonstrate respect for their peers it helps to eliminate the possibility of a
student feeling chastised or unintelligent, thus creating an environment in
which they feel comfortable making mistakes and taking chances. It is also
important for students to be respectful of their teachers and school staff
because it teaches them the importance of manners, self-control, and it will
help them to be successful outside of the school setting.
However, when educators demonstrate respect for the students in
return, it also shows them that in order to expect something of someone else
we must first live up to that expectation ourselves (which is an invaluable life
lesson). I believe that it is most important for teachers to show respect for
their students during the most difficult times. When a student is acting out,
engaging in undesired behaviors, or simply not listening, it is absolutely
imperative for the teacher to keep a relatively even tone and keep showing the
student respect. If the teacher shows a lot of negative emotion and animosity
for the situation, than the student can feed off of it and/or get the idea that the
teacher does not like him/her (which could certainly increase the
occurrence of undesired behaviors in the future). Teachers have to work very
hard to be consistent, especially when trying to manage behaviors, because we
are supposed to show the kids that it is okay to make mistakes both
academically, and with their behavior.
In addition to respect, I think responsibility is another vital component
in an ethical and effective classroom. Giving the students responsibilities and
requiring them to take responsibility for their actions/decisions allows them to
feel successful and constantly strive to learn and grow. Placing responsibilities
on the students by giving them individualized jobs or tasks provides them with
an opportunity to feel successful and build confidence; but giving the students
individual tasks or jobs is not the only way to teach them about the important
of personal responsibility. In my student teaching classroom, the other staff
members and myself made it a point to let the students know that every
reward or consequence they received was directly related to their own
personal choices and actions. For example, if a female student could not play
in the toys at the end of the day, she was made explicitly aware of the fact that
is was because her clip got moved down because of the choices she made, and
it was now her own responsibility to make better choices in the future. Placing
responsibility on the students is especially important for the population of
children who have more severe special needs because people often make
excuses for their behaviors based on their disability. However, I quickly
learned that in every circumstance these children were aware, or were able to
learn, that their behaviors were unacceptable and could eventually eliminate
or correct the behavior (usually after staff members spent countless hours
listening to tantrums and not giving in). My experiences have shown me that it
is an educators ethical duty to hold students responsible because making
excuses for a students unacceptable behavior will not help them, but instead
will end up being detrimental to their progress and growth in the future.
Another component of an ethical and effective classroom is safety; and
Id like to think that it is blatantly obvious that students must feel safe in order
to learn effectively at school. Teaching in a classroom with students who show
self-injurious and/or outwardly aggressive behaviors took the issue of safety to
a level I was not previously experienced with. When students have a history
demonstrating self-injurious behaviors, its so imperative for the teacher to be
proactive and have a plan in place to stop the behaviors, and to do everything
possible to teach the student more appropriate ways to display frustration or
anger. It is also the ethical responsibility of the teacher to maintain the safety
of other students if a child is outwardly aggressive; that can be done by taking
preventative measures such as keeping staff members around an aggressive
child at all times to prevent injury to other students (and yes, there are
students at my school who have to have a staff member on either side of them
at all times). The non-extreme-behavior side of maintaining safety involves
making smaller conscious decisions on the part of the teacher, such as
rounding the edges of laminated papers so they cant cut or scratch a child if
he/she is holding it. Safety, along with responsibility and respect, are parts of
an ethical classroom that cannot be overlooked if an educator wants to create
an effective and nurturing environment.
The last part of my philosophy of education is based upon a
commitment to, and respect for, student diversity. It is not only essential for
an educator to recognize and understand the differing exceptionalities of
his/her students, but also to incorporate and respect the geographical, socio-
economic, cultural, and ethnic diversity of the students. Having knowledge
about the different aspects of student diversity allows a teacher to more
effectively instruct the class, understand the students on a more personal level,
and celebrate differences. For example (in relation to geographical diversity
and effective instruction), if the school is in an urban setting and most students
in the class live within the urban environment, expecting them to have a
preexisting knowledge base about rural/farm life probably isnt practical.
Knowing the socio-economic diversity of ones students is also important
because it can give us clues about what struggles the students may or may not
be facing at home, and can allow us to better connect with the children and
build a rapport. Getting to know and intentionally incorporating the students
different ethnic or cultural backgrounds can be a fun way for the children to
express themselves, personally connect to the material being taught, and learn
respect and tolerance for others. On a more basic level, it is important to
know about a students ethnic, cultural, and even religious background in
order to prevent a potentially awkward situation. For example, one girl in my
student teaching class comes from a family that does not celebrate holidays, so
I had to be mindful and respectful of that when we were celebrating
Valentines Day and Easter at school.
I have created my personal philosophy of education based on the
knowledge and training I received at Mount Union, and it is also largely
influenced by my 8-month preclinical and clinical student teaching experience
in an MRDD school setting. Being cognizant of, and actively applying, each
component of this philosophy will allow me to work towards becoming the
most effective teacher I can be. In the years to come I will remain
knowledgeable about educational theories and put them into practice, I will
continue to expand my knowledge based about different exceptionalities, I
will follow my ethical guidelines, and I will uphold my commitment to student
diversity; this, in essence, is my educational philosophy.