Cornejo 1

Alexus Cornejo

Professor Saladino

Edu 201 1001-1002

23 November 2020

Personal Philosophy of Education

This semester was my first time taking an Education class and being able to witness a

class in action has to be one of the best and most insightful steps I have taken towards pursuing

my dream profession. Before taking this class I never knew everything that went into being a

teacher. I now realize to become a teacher there are many aspects I need to think about such as

my reason for becoming a teacher, what kind of teacher I want to be, how will I teach, and what

are my plans to become a teacher.

Out of these important questions I must ask myself; Why I want to become a teacher

seems to be the clearest to me. I thrive in environments where I can be creative. There is

something in being able to share knowledge with someone that makes me happy. I love being

able to teach new things to others and I’ve always had no problem having a good relationship

with kids. Kids are the future and I want to be a part of the change and influence all my students

to do great things in life. I want to be a teacher because for as long as I can remember it has

always been my dream. After taking this course and doing field observations it solidified that I

am heading on the right path. Watching how my mentor teacher was able to have such a great

connection with the kids and come up with these amazing lesson plans motivated me more to

become a teacher. I strive to be a great teacher. Though there is still a lot I need to learn I know I

will succeed in the end.

Another important question I must ask myself before becoming a teacher is what kind of

teacher I want to be. I remember from a past assignment where I found out my educational
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philosophy. I had a high score in Reconstructionism. This assignment was extremely eye

opening for me. It gave a name and suggestions on how I believe education should be. I really

resonated with Reconstructionism. I like how it does not focus on telling students what is right or

wrong, but it allows for students to analysis situations on their own and form their own opinions.

I want kids to be able to think for themselves and be able to come up with new ways to help

improve society. Another eye-opening assignment was when I had to create a timeline of

education history. I remember being frustrated reading about the history schools have been

around for hundreds of years. It was upsetting to read about how it was not until after the 1950s

were people of color, women, and students with disabilities got equal treatment. When I become

a teacher, I will create an environment where everyone is equal and has the same opportunity to

learn.

When going into education it is important to learn how to teach properly. It is key to have

a plan on what kind of assignments and approaches to certain aspects in education I will have.

After taking this course I feel as though I have a better understanding on how I will teach when I

graduate. Also seeing my mentor teacher gave me a good understanding on how to deal with

certain situations such as noncompliance and talking without raising their hand. She was firm but

not mean to the students in any way. She would try and redirect the student's attention to the

lesson which is something I plan on implementing. In my classroom I want to be able to appeal

to different learning styles. For every lesson I want to include a physical, visual, and auditory

part. I am aware there are more than these three types of learning styles, but I want to make it my

goal to include at least the three I listed. I will make it my goal to make sure every student finds

success in my class. I have noticed before in school that teachers tend to praise the “smart kids”

but ignore the ones struggling. Every kid has the same chance to succeed, others just need more

time or need a different way to get to the same place. I plan to make assignments based on
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students' understanding rather than focusing on testing. I personally know how stressful testing

can be and I do not want to have to put my students through the same stress. I want them to feel

safe making mistakes on assignments and to be able to ask for help. I always felt school has been

unrealistic about how it is in the real world. People always have someone they can reach out to

for help or even with the help of the internet. I want to see what students are capable of on their

own terms and not on testing. Another thing I will do differently from what I have seen is to not

ignore student diversity in classes. I remember going through school and we would only ever

spend a week learning about other cultures. Student diversity is a beautiful thing. It is important

to address it in the classroom and embrace everyone's differences.

Lastly, I need to ask myself how I will get there. I need to start planning now how I will

become a teacher. As of right now I am going for my Elementary Subjects K-8 Teacher

licensing. A couple of years into teaching I also plan to return to school and get my music

specialist license. My plans are to get my associate degree at CSN. After that I will transfer to

UNLV where I will work towards my bachelor's degree. While going to UNLV I plan to get a

job within the school. My goal is to apply to be either a substitute teacher or a Pre-K teacher. I

believe I will make it as a teacher because I am determined, patient, caring, and creative.