Philosophy of Education 1

Philosophy of Education: Elementary and Special Education

Brooke Crespo

Department of Education, Geneva College

Dr. Deana Mack

EDU 202: Social and Philosophical Foundation

Fall 2020
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As educators, we must know the pervasive impact we have on our students. I say

pervasive because we must understand the lasting impact our teaching has in multiple spheres of

our student's lives. The sense of importance and urgency as educators to educate well is not

solely for students to get straight As, but for students to learn well and use their knowledge in

and beyond school. Therefore, as educators we must thoroughly think about what we believe

appropriate education looks like in our classrooms.

To begin, I would like to briefly ponder the purpose of education. I believe the purpose of

education at the elementary level is to teach the youth foundational subjects and proper

classroom etiquette to be successful in higher level academics. From there, students go on to

function as useful members of society. Having the goal of preparing students as future

generations puts into perspective the importance of a teacher.

A teacher should be the leader of the classroom, because as people we will always need

to learn reverence for authority over us. As for their learning, I would say the teacher is the

primary source of knowledge, but not the ultimate source of knowledge. Our students should be

learning and trusting educators. I also believe as teachers we are responsible for teaching

students how to teach themselves. At the primary level this may look like teaching early stages

of self-monitoring skills or having students read topics independently or in small groups, to then

report their discoveries. Secondly, teachers are responsible for setting classroom rules.

Expectations and rules should be presented by the teacher and agreed upon by the students. This

should look like repeated classroom conversations and encounters with classroom expectations.

A teacher must build repour with their students and stay consistent with expectations and

procedures, to facilitate healthy teacher-student relationship and student-to-student dynamics.

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When thinking of the role of a teacher, it begs the question, what is the role of the

student? I think the role of the student should be complimentary to that of the teacher. A student

should receive the education that the teacher is providing and participate to the best of their

ability. This will look different for every student. This is when teachers need to be creative in

their teaching style and implement the best teaching methods, derived from knowing their

students and how they adequately learn. Given this thought, students should take advantage of

this opportunity to collaborate with their teachers to attain academic success. Students should

share their motivations and cease the opportunities given to them. Keeping in mind not only

good grades, but successful learning, to equip them for life after school. Lastly, they should hold

their teachers accountable. As teachers teach and assess with effective feedback, students too

should learn and provide feedback for the teachers teaching. At the elementary level this may

mean intentionally and frequent connection with parents. Parents and teachers should be

collaborating for the children's success.

Given these various ideals of the roles of teacher, student, and parent, we must see the

influences these have on the way students learn. I believe that students' ability to learn starts with

their basic needs being met. I agree with various aspects of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The

discussion of learning theories is useless if a student has areas of neglect as a preoccupation

throughout the school day. A teacher must appropriately navigate these to even begin to reach

the student's ability to learn.

Once a student's basic needs are met within the teacher's ability, we can start to discuss

how students learn. Some learn well by means of visual arts, others are auditory learners, and

some are tactile learners. I think this is where differentiation in content, process, product and

environment are necessary. I do not prescribe to one learning theory because I believe there is
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some truth to each of them, depending on your group of students. Teachers should ponder the

curriculum as a basic road map for the year, bring in outside resources and use creative means to

instruct your students. The students should be engaged by using multiple modes of learning to

reach all types of learners. The same goes for assessments. There must be diverse assessment

means to accurately assess a student's abilities. There is nothing wrong with a summative

assessment, but this should not be the only assessing method.

Technology can be a useful resource for both teaching, learning and assessment.

Teachers should be continuously learning how to use this resource to reinforce their instruction

and level up a student’s ability and expression. Contemporary culture is primarily a consumer of

various technologies, especially digital. I believe we should moderately consume these resources,

and also use them to become producers of technology.

Now consider the environment that these people will learn and grow in. Some adjectives

I aspire to use when thinking about my classroom environment are organized, fun and

resourceful. As for resourcefulness, I envision a print rich environment that is decorated with

content, student work and words. I think having words all over your classroom gives students

constant exposure to literacy and encourages them to use the resources they have all around

them. I aspire for an organized classroom where there are labels and designated areas for toys

and books. This gives students the opportunity to learn how to be good stewards of their stuff

and the things we share as a class community. I favor desks in a ‘U’ shape or desks in pods of

three to four. This aids in group discussion, group work and contributes to student interactions.

This makes the classroom fit for fun conversation but also fun learning opportunities, like

rotations. This could also be beneficial for having a variety of spaces for students with

disabilities. I envision having a classroom where inclusion is favored. I believe we learn in a

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community, and there is so much to learn when we have people who are different from us.

Therefore, tailor your room to best meet student’s needs, facilitates organized learning and

promotes student creativity.

As a future educator, I want to always be analyzing these aspects of education. This can

look like having colleagues observe you and give you feedback, attending educational

conferences, and personal study or research. Continuously advancing in your own education is

super important for the advancement of your students' education. As teachers, we are training

students to succeed in academics and life after school. Therefore, reflecting on our philosophies

and advancing ourselves professionally, helps us to better prepare students for learning in the

next stages of life.