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Artifact #3

Philosophy of Education

Jenna Cody

Department of Education, College of Southern Nevada

EDU 201: Introduction to Elementary Education

Professor Bridges

7 April 2022
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My name is Jenna Cody. I am currently a student at the College of Southern Nevada. At

the College of Southern Nevada, I am working on the procurement of my bachelor’s degree in

Elementary Education. With the securement of my bachelor’s degree, I intend on becoming an

elementary school teacher.

There are a plethora of different reasons I am choosing to become an educator. My

primary reason for choosing this profession was my experience working at Foothills Montessori

School. Working at Foothills Montessori School exemplified my wanting to be a teacher. When I

was sixteen years old, I started working in an aftercare program at Foothills Montessori School.

This job allowed me to have first-hand experience with children. At this job, I helped the

students with their homework. Assisting the students with their homework filled me with an

exuberant amount of joy. Every shift allowed me to fall more in love with my students. Their

bright smiles kindred-hearts brought me so much happiness. As time went on I found myself

planning out fun crafts at home to bring to school for them. Working with the children absolutely

elated me. When I turned eighteen years old, I became a substitute teacher at Foothills

Montessori School. This gave me experience with teaching lessons in a classroom setting.

Through both of these jobs I was heavily debating going to school to be a teacher, however, I

was not certain about my career path until I worked a summer camp at Foothills Montessori

School. Whilst working at the summer camp, I curated daily lesson plans. Picking out what

books the children would have read to them during read aloud, planning what activities they

would partake in, as well as what informative lessons they would be taught. I felt as if I was truly

a teacher, it felt like where I belonged. After summer camp, I was absolutely certain I wanted to

become an educator.
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My philosophical orientation employs that of existentialism. This philosophical

orientation focuses on the relevance of the individual with an emphasis on the emotional

commitment to living with authenticity. Existentialism employs that people define themselves

through their own personal choices and actions. Throughout life I have always thought everyone

to be their own individual, with their own free will. Every individual is able to discern right from

wrong, or what one deems to be “right” or what one deems as “wrong”. I believe that

individualistically people navigate through the world, developing their own ideologies along the

way. I believe it is crucial that individuals think for themselves. One should not just blindly

accept the traditional values posed to them. Alternatively, one should not be quick to reject or

reform against traditional teachings. Instead, one should develop his or her own personal values.

Values that are unique to each individual. Everyone should work towards living altruistically. A

significant part of my education was received through attending Foothills Montessori School.

Growing up I attended Foothills Montessori School from Pre-K through middle school. An

abundance of Maria Montessori’s ideologies coincide with that of existentialism. This elucidates

why a lot of my thoughts align with that of existentialism orientation. As a future educator, I plan

on allowing my students to develop their own personal values. I want them to discover their

individual schemas and self concepts. I will encourage them to be the best versions of

themselves, however, I will not define what this might look like. I want them to come to their

own conclusions about themselves. I intend on teaching my students to accept themselves. I want

them to unapologetically be themselves every day. In the classroom I will give them guidance

and help them through reflection, but I will not shape their character or personality. I want my

students to discover their character and personality on their own. Existentialism orientation will

be apparent through the basis of my future teachings.

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Within my classroom, I will implement numerous instructional strategies. I will assure

that all learning preferences are met. This will mean the incorporation of visual, auditory,

written, kinesthetic, and multimodal instructional methods. This will allow me to ensure every

students’ learning preference is met in the classroom. I will also work towards creating a

classroom environment that is welcoming to all students. I want to assure my classroom is a safe

haven for each of my students. By incorporating illustrations and images that depict all ethnic

groups and both genders, all students will feel invited to participate in learning. During

instructional time, I will assimilate multiple assessments. These various assessments can include:

discussion, think-pair-share, quizzes, tests, notes, etc. Each of the outlined assessments will

allow me to gauge what learning styles for work for my students. These assessments will further

help me see which students may need extra outside assistance. My goal is to ensure all of my

students receive the knowledge employed during instructional time.

There are a multitude of characteristics and skills I need to employ as a teacher. To be a

successful educator I will need to possess skills in communication, listening, collaboration,

adaptability, empathy, and patience. Each of the aforementioned skills will be developed through

my future endeavors. My goal is to obtain my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.

Through the procurement of my bachelor’s degree, I will attend a surfeit of educational courses

that will help guide me to acquire the above skills. Whilst pursuing my bachelor’s degree in

Elementary Education, I will continue to work at Foothills Montessori School. I am currently the

lead of the aftercare program. At Foothills Montessori School, I also work as a substitute teacher.

Alongside these positions, I also plan on running the Foothills Montessori summer camps. All of

these positions give me hands-on experience with children. Working these jobs will allow me to

establish the aforementioned characteristics. Further, I intend on becoming fully certified in the
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state I plan on teaching. The certification process to become an educator will also allow me to

gain the aforementioned qualifications. Each of the outlined items will assure I maintain the

characteristics and skills necessary to be a teacher. The securement of both my bachelor’s degree

and teaching certification will ensure I am licensed to educate the youth.

Overall, my experiences at Foothills Montessori have exemplified my wanting to become

an educator. Upon assessing my core values, I discovered my educational philosophy to be

existentialism. As a future educator, I plan on creating instructions that incorporate every

students’ learning preferences in a classroom that is welcoming towards all. Finally, I intend on

achieving my goal of becoming a teacher by obtaining my bachelor’s degree in elementary

education and becoming certified in the state I plan to teach in.