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Philosophy of Education

Shannon Campis

Cal State University Dominguez Hills

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Without education most of us would be clueless and unknowledgeable about the world

around us. The purpose of education is to instruct the youth to better prepare them for what is

ahead. Students need skills and rules to be contributing members of the society they live in. In

order to do that they need to go through many different types teachers who help them to think

critically and effectively. Having students in comfortable learning environments makes them

susceptible to learning. My views as being a transformative classroom teacher will be being able

to promote equity, strong student interest, and differentiation in order to help students achieve

their goals.

There are many qualities a teacher can have that will make him/her considered “high

quality”. When I become a teacher, I hope to accomplish student equity. It is important for

students to see that their teacher is going out of their way to provide resources they need in order

to excel. Getting to know each student individually helps a teacher to decipher what that student

needs academically as well as emotionally. It is equally important for a teacher to promote strong

student interest. From experience, when students see their teacher engaged in the lesson, they

will follow the same behavior. I have an active personality and when I show that in my

classroom it will help the students to stay active and engaged. Differentiating the curriculum is a

good way of doing this, not only will I adhere to my students, I will to other students around me

as well. Being an active participant with school activities shows students, as well as

administrators, how much you care about the job. I want my students to feel safe in the

environment they are learning in. Communication is key and I want to be able to relate with the

students and bring their outside life with their educational life. Lastly, having a positive influence

on my students by providing them with, “literacy, numeracy, technological, social and political
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skills in order to be active participants in a democracy” will help them to be positive role models

and to accomplish good things in this world. (Ladson- Billings, 1995).

When I put my vision into perspective I will be able to achieve the things I want to

accomplish as a teacher. Students ability levels increase as they progress into the next chapters. I

want to help students succeed by giving them tools they need in order to progress. If a student is

struggling I will do what it takes to get them help whether it be giving up my own time or

requesting extra help from the school. Doing assessments on each student daily can help me

track their progress or progress that wasn’t made. Next, I want to promote active learning for my

students. In order to do this, I will provide many hands- on activities like group work or games to

keep them involved and engaged with the task they are working on. Students love to “learn

collaboratively, teach each other, and be responsible for each others learning” (Ladson-Billings,

1995). This is active learning and it helps them to retain the information they need together.

Bonding to all my students is critical. I want to be able to differentiate to meet the needs of all

my students. I know I will have all different types of learners in my classroom. One of which is,

English learners and for them I want to “have visuals to help them comprehend concepts and

vocabulary terms” (Echevarria, 2015). In order to help all students’ learn I need to have positive

relationships with them and I will do this through “active dialogue” (Peterson, 2007). Having

dialogue will help me connect with my students and bring the class to a whole to learn together. I

want to make connections with my students by involving their outside life, whether it be

culturally or physically into the class. I want to accomplish this by having activities where their

culture or something they like is the topic or main point of discussion. Additionally, changing

things around, whether it be a type of lesson that is taught daily or even the room décor is

something I want to achieve in my class.

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Being able to fulfill these steps will make me a transformative teacher because I will help

children succeed in what they need to accomplish, in order to continue onto their next

educational quest. Proving that there is equity in my class will show me that I accomplished what

each student needs as a leaner. Being able to promote strong student interest will help me to keep

my students involved and engaged with what I am teaching them. Lastly, being able to

differentiate in my class will help to show my students that I am willing to do what it takes for

them to succeed. I know I will have accomplished being a transformative teacher when I see my

students making progress on their own.