CRUZ

Edward Cruz
April 26, 2020
EDU 202
Educational Philosophy

Becoming a teacher is not for everyone, but for my family, it is a way of life. My father

was the first teacher in our entire family which he thought was an elective class of Spanish.

However, he had a dual license, so he also taught elementary school for many years. Next, my

older brother is also a teacher, with a dual license that specializes in special education. This is the

same thing that I am going to school for. My hope is for me to receive a door license and teach

special education’s in elementary school and if I end up not liking it being able to move around

different grade levels freely My hope is for me to receive a dual license and teach special

education’s in elementary school and if I end up not liking it being able to move around different

grade levels freely. Therefore, knowing what teachers go through only having one license is

something I would not like to go though at all. From that lesson, I have learned that it is

important to be able to move around different grade level, thus having a dual license will allow

me this privilege.

Unfortunately, because of COVID-19 also known as coronavirus, my field observation

has been cut short. However luckily for me, because my father is a teacher, I have always gone

to his classroom to help when I was younger. Since I was online in high school, I was able to

visit my dad's school while he was teaching his classrooms and was even allowed to help

demonstrate lessons during science. The school was located by Boulder Station Casino, which

means it is in a relatively poor area with a diverse group of kids with many of them having some

sort of IEP as well. Thanks to the experience I gained at my dad's school while still attending my
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high school, I earned a better understanding of what school is like from a teacher ‘s perspective.

Attending my field observation at Canarelli middle school, I became more aware of how all the

children change from elementary to middle school to high school which all have a very big

impact on the way you have to teach the students.

My educational philosophy is mainly centered around essentialism with some aspects of

perennialism. I strongly believe that our core curriculum should reflect topics and issues that

many kids will need to know later on in life. This should include a good understanding of

reading, writing, math, and science. Therefore, I find it important for people to know the basics

of how things work, knowing all four of these topics is essential for someone to be able to

function as an adult and be successful in life. Without grasping these four topics it would be near

impossible for anyone to succeed in life. Focusing on the essentials during our public-school

years is one of the best things we are able to do, however, it is also a double-ended sword.

Meaning that other important things can be left out of the curriculum if not deemed essential

such as art, music, and other similar classes. This could ultimately lead to a generation lacking in

cultural or historical knowledge. That is why I am partly for perennialism, it is important for us

to also be able to deliver a more tailored classroom knowledge to a student. I understand that this

philosophy is much more complicated because it involves us catering to every student on a more

academic level while essentialism is a more general set of classes needed for each student.

However, thanks to online classes, we can begin to see a more mixture of both Philosophies and

one.

Moving on, as I have mentioned previously before in my earlier paragraphs, I wish to

become a special education teacher in an elementary school. This means I want to work in small

groups inside of a classroom which is not inclusive or have general Ed kids in it. I want to be in
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the resource room helping students come during certain times of the day and help them with

whatever problems they have because of learning impairment. During one of my visits at Tony

Alamo ES for my EDU 201 class, I witnessed a storybook that helped kids learn the time tables

by a children’s story such. This allows the students to remember the time's tables just by

remembering a story that was read to them before. This would be the strategy I would try to

implement in my classrooms. Finding new way to make the lesson fun in order for the students

to remember it better and be able to call upon it when they need the information. This would be a

strategy I will try to implement in my classrooms. However, each teacher teaches their classroom

in many different ways especially throughout special education. I have seen many different ways

that teacher’s organizer classroom especially since I have dyslexia since I was a child. This

meant I spent time in those classrooms and because we moved around a lot, I have seen different

teaching styles throughout the years.

One thing that I’ve taken away is how to help a child with the writing. I would find it

very easy to mix my lessons in order to give the student a very valuable lesson while keeping it

fun for them. One strategy I would use for students they have reading or writing problems is to

simply check out a picture book from the library at the school and read it to the class, then I

would ask the students questions and have them write the next part of the story or make up a

similar story and have them write it out in a to help a child with the writing. I would find it very

easy to mix my lessons in order to give the student a very valuable lesson while keeping it fun

for them. This will be fun for the students and help them become more creative writers while at

the same time helping them learn new words and growing their vocabulary. Luckily this method

can be added to as well such as involving vocabulary words that I would like them to incorporate

in their essay. Thus, leading me to an efficient way of teaching my classroom.

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Lastly, I am still a few years away from receiving my degree. However, this will not stop

me from learning about children with learning disabilities or any other type of disabilities either.

At my current job I work with teenagers with mental disabilities which means that they struggle

in school and behavioral problems as well. Many of the kids that we receive are drug babies or

have alcohol syndrome or some other type of down syndrome. This is giving me the knowledge

that not all kids are the same and there is no one size fits all approach to working with children or

teenagers. I must be able to adapt to my population that I am trying to help or educate. Although,

I am still able to help my father in his classroom and attend meetings with him to learn the

politics of being a teacher whenever I want. Every year, we will receive new students just like

my dad does every year. This means every year there are new issues and new students that come

along with them. I plan on continuing to work with the teenagers at my current job and learning

from my dad about everything I can from the school district. It is also important to note that

while working with children with mental disabilities, it is vital to become patient and

understanding and not expect results overnight. This is not a race but rather a marathon, meaning

slow and steady is how we will be able to help the children reach their full potential. With that

knowledge, my hope is to become the best teacher that I know I can be.