Educational Philosophy Statement

I wrote this in 2012, for my first grad course, so it might read a little "public school-y" but all the thoughts I had then are true now. It'll give you, my lovely readers, some insight into how my mind works with regards to education and children.

      I believe that every child has the potential to be amazing and contribute to society in a positive way. Every child is unique and special and as such every teacher needs to have the ability to adapt and modify their plans, actions, and intentions to reach each student. As an educator I believe that if students aren't allowed to explore and learn in their own way we are hindering their growth both intellectually and physically. While I believe that children should be expected to follow a curriculum and attend school, in a variety of forms, I also think that children need choice.
In my classroom students will have the freedom to choose from a variety of assessment options, I believe that by giving students a voice and a choice they will be more engaged in their learning. More assessment is not always the best option, as an educator I will provide more feedback and less formal assessment. Having students sitting down to take a test or write a 10 page paper will not be useful to them in the real world. I will have students work on group projects, engage with each other, and present their findings.
Another area of student growth that is important to me is that they have a sense of accomplishment and self-respect. I believe that I can help my students to reach these positive senses of self by being encouraging, not demeaning, informing, not repeating, and by allowing them to contribute, not keeping them quiet. Children are small, but they are not inept. As an educator I hope to remember involvement means learning.
I firmly believe that if I, as an educator, can instill the joy of learning into my students they will want to learn.  If I give them praise they will have high self-esteem. The greatest joy for me would be to see my students when they are adults and have them tell me that just one day in my classroom inspired them to do better, to be more. It is my opinion that if I as a teacher expect greatness, and provide the means to achieve that greatness, my students will be great. There can be no room for me to have a failing day because those are the moments my students will remember, those are the days that will stick with them.
As an educator I will put my student’s needs ahead of mine. I will ask them to dream and I will do everything in my power to help them achieve that dream. I will take time to reflect upon my teaching practices and I will change them if they aren't working for my students. Every child is an individual and I will treat them as such.



Just some...