Aspen Viola

EDU 203 Section 1004-1005

August 31, 2019

Pre-Personal Philosophy Statement

1. What I already know about special education comes from my past and my present. I have

been working as a substitute support staff aide for elementary school leveled children in special

education, autism, and other classrooms that specialize in teaching disabled students. I am

currently looking to become a teacher for elementary schools and I have not fully decided

whether I wish to pursue becoming a special education teacher. Even though I have a

background of being a student with a disability and have been working in classrooms with

students with all types of disabilities, I wish to further my knowledge first before making a huge

decision on teaching special education or not. I first want to teach general education and perhaps

later switch to special education. Although I am currently working as a part-time teacher’s aide,

I am not an educator. This course regarding students with disabilities is crucial for any future

educator whether they choose to teach special education or general education. Educators must

understand on how to help students on any learning level and what precautions to take to make

school safe and comfortable for them. This course is a must for anyone who works with

children.

2. My educational philosophy for special education is progressivism. I have been inspired by

this educational technique due to my personal experience as working as a substitute aide with

many students that are unique and learn at different paces. This course will increase my

knowledge about children with special educational needs, which I can apply to my job in the

Clark County School District. I believe that my philosophy of progressivism aligns with the

direction of the Clark County School District. After reviewing the historical timeline, I can see
the great progress made throughout the years and can only assume that educational

understanding and resources for disabled students will only continue to progress throughout our

future history.

3. My instructional strategies will consist of using station teaching to keep the students

concentrating without distractions in small groups. My approach to learning would be using the

textile/kinesthetic method. My approach to student diversity is to promote acceptance in the

classroom with modifications being made without drawing attention. Students usually fall under

three categories when it comes to learning; auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. My approach to

student variability is the kinesthetic learning style. My approach for assessments is to use

embedded assessments which would be based on each assignment taught to the entire class, in

which I could then evaluate the student’s progress in learning and developing in comparison to

his/her peers.

4. In order to move forward in my understanding of special education I will need to have

more one-on-one experiences with children with disabilities. I also need learn more techniques

since special education students have different levels of learning capabilities. In order to expand

my understanding in the field of special education I will continue to work as a part-time teacher’s

aide, along with continuing to attend college and study this subject.

5. As an aide to special education and autistic classrooms, I see on a daily basis that each

student has a different learning style, and is on a different educational level. It has been my

experience that Station Teaching allows the teacher to group the students by their learning

ability, so she can provide each rotation group with a different teaching technique that best

applies to them.
6. I wish to learn more about teaching a subject in a classroom to students on different learning

levels that have disabilities. I also would like to learn ways to limit or try to calm down violent

students’ behaviors for safety reasons. Lastly, ways to keep students engaged in learning.