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Pre-Philosophy Statement

Shelbi Robinson-White

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 203: Introduction to Special Education

Dr. Warby

9/3/2021
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Pre-Philosophy Statement

I resonate more with the Progressivism and Essentialism philosophies mostly because I

do believe that at a young age through to adult hood, children should be learning the basics to a

certain extent. Of course, there are things that everybody should be exposed to or taught;

however, I also believe that everybody is their own person and no one-person thinks alike,

therefore each child’s educational experiences are going to be different than the next whether

they are taught the same things or not. Each child, and adult for that matter, learn in their own

way, believe in their own things (and/or believe in what they’ve been exposed to as a child in

home and out of home), see things differently, likes or dislikes different things, is interested in

different things—the list goes on. I love the idea of IEPs, although I realize it’s not always

feasible with 20+ kids, because it focuses on that kid individually and how they learn so the

school and teachers know exactly what they can do to help that child succeed.

I’m not currently an educator in the field of special education, rather a behavioral

therapist for kids with Autism. However, I do participate as a teacher during group therapy

sessions to provide my kids with socialization, school structured learning, etc. I am taking this

course as a step towards my degree as an Educator, but also because I enjoy this line of work and

I look forward to expanding my knowledge regarding special education to better my ability not

only as a therapist but also as an aspiring teacher for the school district.

I expect to gain knowledge out of this course that I wouldn’t get anywhere else to help me later

in my career and day-to-day life.

Special education is a program customized directly for each of its learners, designed to

meet their specific needs when it comes to education. Things such as special equipment,
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personalized education plans, and specific services designated to their disability are provided in

special education programs to give every opportunity of success for the students.

Working with children that are disabled and/or handicapped never has bothered me and

working with them face to face every day has only given me more insight to how able they

actually are, versus what society makes them out to be as a whole. They’re just like every other

kid to me, unique in their own way. I have never worked with kids that had disabilities before my

current job but the job I have now has only solidified that I wouldn’t mind working with them

long-term.

My main career goal is to become a third-grade teacher. Ever since I chose a career in

teaching, third grade has been the goal—however, I haven’t not thought about the possibility of

teaching special education (regardless of how many people have suggested otherwise) because of

how much I do love working with children that have disabilities and watching the progression

they make throughout the months. It truly makes my heart swell when I see the progress they

make and the strides they take.

As mentioned before, I love watching the progress a child makes. Something that brings a

smile to my face is seeing where a child started and then what they have accomplished in the

time given; being a part of that growth and transformation is so rewarding. Plus who can argue

with the fact that kids are awesome and the obvious truth of it all is that I never truly grew up, so

getting to hang out with my kind of people all day and build relationships with them—

friendships if you will—is probably my favorite part!

It’s no secret that my favorite teacher of all time is my third-grade teacher (hence wanting

to be a third-grade teacher), Mrs. Goerke. She was such an incredible teacher and I’ll never

forget her—The way she carried herself throughout the classroom and through the students
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outside of the classroom was so cool. She lives on in my hall of fame. One memory from that

class that is engraved in my brain is the “mini book club” that was a part of the curriculum (it

wasn’t an actual book club, but I like to think it was). As a class, we all read Mrs. Goerke’s

favorite book called Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner, she read it every year with her

students and by the ending every student was crying because of the ending. Such an amazing

memory that lives on forever in my brain. Watching her when I was young has inspired me to

want to be like her as an aspiring third-grade teacher.

What’s that famous saying? Separation of church and state?

That concept is the essence of what I believe an effective educator must practice. We all

have things that we grew up believing, being shielded from, being taught, etc. and it leaves a

footprint in how each individual thinks or views their world—we become blind to certain things.

Unfortunately, everyone is guilty of it and there is no absolute way around it, however if you

educate yourself and become well rounded with certain topics and circumstances, I believe you

can set yourself up to be a successful and effective educator. I believe an educator needs to be as

unbiased as possible in every single aspect to provide the best services for each kid—I learned

about this in my last education class and how easy or overlooked a lot of bias is due lack of

knowledge on the matter.

I also believe that it takes a special person to be an educator, you heart must be all in. If

you don’t have passion for it or drive to always want to be providing the best, then you shouldn’t

be doing it—that goes for anything in life, not just a career. Be aware of circumstances, love

what you do, always be willing to learn and adapt, be the best you can be. Educators model

rights from wrongs, professionalism, kindness and passion, and even love. They show these
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things inside and out of the classroom and the children tend to follow suit if they feel empowered

or inspired by said educator.

Placing children with any disability into a classroom adds diversity, just as placing a

Spanish-speaking child in the same classroom as an English-speaking child, just as placing a girl

student in the same class as a boy student. As mentioned before— every child is unique in their

own way, so every single placement of one child to the next adds diversity as no one child is

exactly alike.

Appropriate dress is obviously mostly based on school dress-code; however, I believe

that an educator should dress with modesty but also not take away from the said educator’s

person style or flare. With the children modeling their teacher’s behavior due to inspiration

and/or empowerment, the teacher also needs to model that being yourself is also important no

matter the “norm”. Clothing is an identity for most people so it should be modeled for the young

minds that you can have your own style, be confident in the clothing choices you make but also

be respectable within society.

I certainly need to work on my public speaking fear, as this career choice requires

speaking in front of people (regardless of age). I also believe I could develop a broader

imagination—I feel I fall into patterns a lot of the time, especially if I get comfortable in a

certain routine, and that can get boring. I plan on always bettering myself for the sake of my

career but also for me in general.

What are some things I have planned to do to get people to work together?

Communication, communication, communication. It is such a simple thing but many lack the

ability to engage in it. Also, open-mindedness is a huge deal when it comes to cooperation.

Brainstorming within a group could get so much done if everyone was willing and open. I never
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think extra knowledge on a subject is a “con” on a pros and cons chart, so I am open to all the

knowledge possible. I won’t say I am well versed in many things regarding the disabled

community, I know that there is a surplus of information I have still yet to come across and learn

however, I am open to learning it and I think that that is something to hang my hat on. It’s so

common within society to not be open to learning and changing based off the information they

are presented with, but I am, and I take pride in that.

I am currently working as a behavioral therapist with children diagnosed with Autism and

I have learned so much just by being there. I plan on graduating with a master’s degree in

elementary education eventually and working as an educator within the school district. If a

volunteer opportunity arises where I will get to engage with the disabled community, I would

gladly consider joining.