Personal Philosophy of Special Education

Estefania Caro

Introduction to Special Education 203

Personal Philosophy of Special Education

Tues. March 10, 2020

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Personal Philosophy of Special Education

I believe a teacher is a powerful person in a young child's life. I chose teaching as my

profession because as a teacher you can make a significant contribution to the world and have a

great experience of helping children learn as much knowledge as they need to grow into young,

smart, and responsible adults. I was influenced by some of the greatest teachers I had throughout

my school years. When I had a teacher that motivated and inspired their students I would always

dream of becoming like them someday. Even when I had a pretty bad teacher who couldn’t

handle their own students, I always thought of ways of how I could improve the class and

learning environment if I were in their position. Becoming an elementary school teacher gives

me the chance to teach and help as many students as possible to succeed. Growing up in a

Hispanic household with only Spanish-speaking parents became a real obstacle when I started

elementary school until I learned English. Being bilingual also gives me the advantage of being

able to teach and communicate with students and their parents whose first language is Spanish. I

want every one of my students to view me as someone who they can trust and can come talk to

about anything they are going though. The teaching profession is not easy. It has its negatives

and positives, but I want to pursue this career for the children. I want to motivate and inspire

these children just like how teachers inspired me in the past.

My beliefs about education are more student and child-centered. Education should focus

on the needs and interests of students. “John Dewey, philosopher, psychologist, educational

reformer, who is considered to be the father of Progressive Education, pointed out that the strict

authoritarian approach of traditional education was overly concerned with delivering preordained

knowledge, and not focused enough on students’ actual learning experiences” (“Progressive

Education Overview”). The progressive philosophy contains that knowledge that is true in the
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present may not be true in the future, and students’ interests and personal growth are important.

The best way to prepare students for an unknown future is by teaching them problem-solving

strategies and having them working in groups rather than individually. I also believe that

students learn best when they are interested in the subject. “Children who attended progressive

schools in the late nineteenth century learned in informal settings. These schools enlisted the

spontaneous interests of the pupils and adapted the curriculum to the interests and needs of each

child” (Zilversmit). Children at the elementary level shouldn’t have all the freedom in the

classroom, but there are certain subjects that can be tied to their interests. For example, in

reading students should be able to choose the kind of books they want to read. Some like to read

about sports, others may be interested in animals, others like fiction books, or even nonfiction.

In math a child can get bored and frustrated trying to solve math problems on a piece of paper. If

I have my students working on math using physical objects like counting blocks or cubes, I

believe they can learn a lot faster. Playing math games on educational websites can also be really

beneficial to students who have ADHD and low attention spans and get easily distracted. Now

that teachers have to integrate technology into the classroom, it will have a great positive impact

on students learning based on their interests.

I will teach my future students to the best of my ability. “Most Progressive Education

programs have these qualities in common: emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects,

expeditionary learning, experiential learning, strong emphasis on problem solving and critical

thinking, group work and development of social skills, collaborative and cooperative learning

projects, and emphasis on lifelong learning and social skills” (“Progressive Education

Overview”). These are all strategies I will implement in my classroom in order for everyone with

different approaches to learning will understand a certain lesson in every subject. I will help
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those who are falling behind such as giving them material tied around their best interests. I will

have students do a lot of hands-on projects and have them working in groups often so they are

able to help each other out whenever they are confused or have a question. This will be really

beneficial for those have multi-learning disabilities. Giving my students fun learning projects and

helping them develop social skills in the classroom is important for them to increase their

knowledge about the real world and know how to act outside the classroom. I know students

come from all different types of backgrounds, cultures, and maybe even a few speak a different

language. Growing up as an ELL student, I know how hard and difficult school was when I

couldn’t communicate with my teacher or complete my assignments because I didn’t understand.

The best way I learned English was when I was partnered up with a student who was bilingual.

He was able to translate what we had to do on an assignment and how to pronounce words when

we had to read. As the year went on, I started picking up the English language really fast. As a

child learning new languages is easy, you just need the right help and guidance. I can help my

future Spanish-speaking students if they have a question and I can also partner them up with

other bilingual students. If a student speaks a different language other than Spanish then I will

get the help and resources the school offers. Giving my students assessments are good way to see

where they all are and how well they know the material. If most of them don’t perform well, then

it will let me know that I have to change my teaching strategies to help them understand.

The knowledge I need to be able to teach these students the material is much more

important than just knowing the subject. Someone can be an expert in math and know how to

solve every math problem they encounter. Teaching those skills on how to solve a problem to a

child can be very difficult. Not everyone has the patience in order to do that and I believe

patience is a big quality I must have in order to be a great teacher, especially when working with
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younger kids with disabilities. I have to have the ability to make my students understand and

comprehend the subject being taught and I will challenge them so they can think of multiple

problem-solving strategies. I plan to first finish my Associates degree in elementary education at

CSN. I will then become a substitute teacher to start teaching and working with children. I will

volunteer at different elementary schools to be able to observe several classrooms and see the

different strategies teachers use to get the material across to their students. My educational career

will continue at UNLV so I can graduate with a Bachelor degree in teaching and have my own

future classroom full of bright students one day.

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Works Cited

“Progressive Education Overview.” The Children's Sangha, THE CHILDREN’S SANGHA,

thechildrenssangha.com/progressive-education-overview/. Accessed 8 March 2020.

Zilversmit, Arthur. “Progressive Education.” Encyclopedia of Chicago, The Encyclopedia of

Chicago, www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1012.html. Accessed 8 March 2020.