Essay Educational Goals and Philosophy

Throughout the history of public education, there have been barriers to the equality of opportunity philosophy. Thomas Jefferson’s proposal and Horace Mann’s implementation of public schools excluded non-citizens like blacks, women, and Native Americans. Next, an increase in immigration and industrialization widened cultural and economic differences between students. The greatest obstacle to equal education

I can still remember coming home from school after an exciting day in the first grade. I would go straight to my room, line all of my dolls up in the floor, and “teach” them everything I had learned earlier that day. But of course, not every child who pretends to be a teacher in his or her early years actually becomes a teacher. So although I enjoyed “teaching,” I never really considered it as a choice for my life-long career.

This experience taught me more about life of children in impoverished settings. These children taught me how to be strong when experiencing adversity. Although coming from challenging situations, underprivileged children are the same as all the other children I have worked with. They like to play, be thought of as special, and most of all just want to be loved. This experience was something I brought to my practicum every single day. When children in need of attention, are given attention, they can grow and blossom into wonderful assets in the

An educational philosophy is a theoretical educational vision that interprets the beliefs and values which support our practices as early childhood educators (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2012). Developing an educational philosophy involves understanding how children learn, the structure of learning environment, staff development and family participation (White & Coleman, 2000).

Winter break was around the corner, and I had made each child a small plaque with their name on it. As all of the children gathered around to collect their plaques, one student said “I'm going to keep this forever.” That's when I realized, moments like that is why I do this. When I finished my degree at Cortland, I became a family life specialist at The Children's Home of Wyoming Conference. In this position, I taught, and provided care for underprivileged children, who had nowhere else to go. While there, I started a craft club, took children to the library, taught them life lessons, and took care of their general well- being. There are many stories to tell from the two years I spent there. Although some memories stick out more than others. I will never forget one of the little ones that I had a special bond with. She was having a very tough day at school one day, and would not settle down for any of the teachers or our staff. Other measures were going to be taken, when I asked if

I already started working on my plan to decrease generational poverty and my story is incomplete without further explanation of my passion. I peak into a room full of joyful kids running around in the only place they are free to be themselves. I step through the doorway and stride down the stairs and am immediately greeted by six or seven kids, using me as a tree as they try to get me to carry them, all shouting my name. I smile and embrace all of them in a hug, trying to savor this memory. This moment happens multiple times a day, but never gets old. At Brookside Church, I adore the children who live in an area often on the news for shootings and kidnappings. Every Monday throughout the school year, I travel thirty minutes from my comfortable and safe neighborhood to tutor these

There has always been a special place in my heart for helping others, and when the opportunity arose, I took it. We collected items for students who are less fortunate in my district and then distributed them to each school for those kids in need, especially in the winter months. The results of this project gave a sense of value to those kids as well as a satisfaction for myself and those involved in the project. The students know that there are people in this community that want to help them and make them feel like any normal student because they do not always get that feeling. By receiving this assistance it gives the kids a sense of value and they are more likely to perform better in school because someone believed in them to succeed. Every child should have this feeling of success and I want to help nurture that feeling in my

Since I was twelve, I have been attending a Christian summer camp near my house. One year, we did not have the finances to send me as a camper, so I applied to be a worker. When I went, I was put in a cabin with ten little girls. I had never done anything like it before. Working with kids was a totally new aspect to me. One of the kids came up to me and told me they were really glad I signed up to be a counselor because I made camp fun for them. As the week went on, I realized I love being an influence to children. From that moment, I realized I wanted to become a teacher for either theatre or music, the two things I am best at. I want to teach children how to do the thing that makes me smile the most. I want to be in a moment were another

Knowledge is a very powerful thing, and to be able to deliver this to today’s youth has been a dream of mine for a long time. There are many advantages to teaching. I feel that is a very fulfilling profession. I have seen my sister in the classroom, and it greatly inspired me to want to make a difference in some ones life. Through watching my sister in action I was inspired to follow in her footsteps.

There once was a time where I had no outlook on my life. Whenever I attempted to think about my future, I couldn’t; I didn’t know my future career goals or any of my hobbies. Fortunately, the summer of 2014 changed everything for me. It was the summer I first volunteered to help with Vacation Bible School at my church. From that moment on, I had a new mindset and new goals. I finally found an activity I enjoyed and that I loved doing. Following that summer, I volunteered with VBS for the summers of 2015, 2016, and 2017. I also ventured into teaching second and third graders on Wednesday nights. Throughout this journey, I changed. Volunteering with children through my church has transformed me into a better and different person.

For this fall semester, the school requires each students to be a volunteer or participate in helping children, I choose to help the kids in Saint Joan of Arc catholic church. I feeling proud of myself for being helpful to this community by working in the youth room. Working with children seems easy but actually it’s not. By working with them I have gained many necessary skill that would be important later on in my life. The journey isn’t long but I have learned a lot.

The past few months at Northside Elementary have been full of memories. When starting the fieldwork process I was not sure how one hour a week with a group of ten to fifteen students was going to be able to provide me with multiple experiences on the community partnership level. However, I quickly learned that every student has a story to tell and a lesson to offer. I spent the majority of my time with a ten-year-old boy by the name of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was initially very shy and not receptive to learning from a girl, thankfully that quickly changed and on Monday’s around 3:30 I could see him inside the waiting at the cafeteria windows for me to arrive to school. On the outside a child might seemingly have everything they could possible want with their new shoes or their new iPhone but Jeremiah taught me that the outside appearance is not always what it seems and dynamically at home there could be some family issues or at school there could be delays in academic success making the student feel helpless and worthless. Over the past several weeks, I tried to recognized and practice this philosophy as a volunteer, and even share with some teachers, that as a teacher you can never fully understand what a student in your classroom is going through when they walk through your doorway that day, so it is essential to be patient, kind and choose your actions along with the words spoken carefully.

There once was a time where I had no expectations on what was to come. Whenever I attempted to picture my future, I couldn’t. I did not know my career goals or any of my hobbies. Fortunately, the summer of 2014 changed everything for me. It was the summer I first volunteered to help with vacation bible school at my church. From that moment on, I had a fresh mindset and new goals. I permanently found an activity I enjoyed doing. Following that summer, I volunteered with VBS the three summers after. I enjoyed engaging with the children so much that I ventured into teaching second and third graders on Wednesday nights. Throughout this journey, I have been greatly inspired. Volunteering with children through my church has transformed me into a better and different person, through strength, career goals, and my faith.

Everyone has their own personal views on philosophy and they also have their own educational goals, myself included. Over the course of this paper I will discuss my views on philosophy and my educational goals. Furthermore I will address the nature of students; the nature of knowledge; the purpose of public education; my methods of teaching; and finally the curricular areas that I feel are the most important.

Teaching is a career that takes patience, passion, and desire. Since I was about ten years old, my passion has resided in teaching, specifically special education teaching. When my aunt adopted my twin cousins and found out they were autistic, I never would have expected the hard road she would have to go down in terms of their education. My motivation to teach has always been and always will be my cousins. Without them, I would have never found the desire and love I have for special education children. A quote by Magic Johnson that I feel describes why I want to be a special education teacher perfectly is, “All kids need is a little help, a little hope, and someone who believes in them.” Special Ed children, no matter how they must be taught or how much they can comprehend, have the same rights to an education as any other child.