My Personal Philosophy Of Education

The special education programs in the United States have been designed to help children with special needs learn easier and fit in better with the education program. Unfortunately, many minority students get caught up in the mix and don’t get the proper attention they deserve. Furthermore, minority students are seriously over-represented in the educational programs. Many minority students are misdiagnosed and put into special education programs when in fact; they do not have a learning disability. This has become a growing problem in this country because it is seen as the easy way out. Schools all over the U.S. are doing this in order to not have to properly test and evaluate students for learning problems.

Children with disabilities need to be recognized as individuals as well as be valued for the people they will grow to be. In the classroom the growing process can be difficult to achieve depending on the nature and severity of the disability. Not all children will be served by full inclusion, some students have disabilities that require medical attention or physical facilities such as specially equipped bathrooms, ramps or elevators that may not be found in the traditional school building. For example, a child with severe cerebral palsy with severe limb constriction, lack of bowel control, inability to feed themselves and confined to a wheelchair, inclusion could cause more harm than good. This student requires medical aid to care for physical

The mandate to provide a free and appropriate education for children regardless of disability and to provide that education in a regular classroom whenever possible, effectively striped educators of the authority to transfer or suspend any student classified as needing special education. This would not have been an issue if it only included the wheelchair bound or blind students who we typically think of as disabled. However, over the past few decades, the increasing number of children classified under the disability categories of Learning Disabled and Emotional Disturbance has shot up. Not so long ago, these children were called “unmanageable” or “antisocial.” Now, part of the definition of emotional disturbance is “an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.” Often teachers and principals will refer children with an emotional disturbance to special education classrooms perhaps because they see the mandated state and federal money, at the very least, as a promise to help the neglected and damaged population of children beset with social and emotional problems. It could be that

Throughout the years the value of partaking children with disabilities into the general education classrooms have varied, especially taking in regard to teacher variables. In today’s times, teachers have more of an open mind when it comes to the inclusion of children with disabilities in their classrooms. However, teachers in the previous generations struggled with the incorporation

When working with students with disabilities you are faced with multiple challenges that make the task extremely difficult. Dealing with the day-to-day needs of this population, their parents, their paperwork, attending the meetings that go along with the job, can mean that there often isn’t a lot of time to interact with other students and teachers. It can be isolating and that can be hard. Limited operating budgets present additional challenges for special needs classes. You may have to do with fewer materials, and resources due to budget constraints. These challenges are all equally difficult and when combined, as they often are on a daily basis, almost impossible to juggle. There is the variablility of student’s needs; you will see students

Currently, I am responsible for managing the science instructional programs and personnel in a chartered middle school. As a supervisor for the department, I develop/source curriculum materials for teachers and collaborate with them to plan and implement instructional lessons daily. I manage the financial resources for the department and constantly monitor the teaching practices that will impact our organizational goal and vision.

As a nation, we are facing the challenge that our schools are becoming more diverse. The majority of our school teachers are still predominantly white females, but our student population is slowly changing. The scary part of it all is that our teachers do not have the skills to accommodate those differences. The changing demographics of our school population, calls for new teaching skills (Utley, Obiakor, & Bakken 2011, pg. 5). Our student population is changing and will continue to change so their needs are more demanding and we need teachers who are qualified to teach student with learning disabilities and those that use culturally relevant pedagogy to teach their students.

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act orders all states to give disabled students a free and appropriate education. Many schools in the United States mainstream disabled students and have succeeded in properly educating them, along with creating a safe environment where they are socially comfortable and accepted. However, there are too many incidents where teachers improperly handle these students and administrators do not give enough money to fund adequate supplies for these students. Although disabled students gain social benefits when mainstreamed, they ultimately do not thrive in such settings due to immoral methods and insufficient budgets.

A move towards inclusive schools has meant the need to prepare teachers for a more diverse student population within their classroom. According to Forlin, Loreman, Sharma and Earle a major barrier to establishing more inclusive classrooms is the

The focus on least restrictive environment, and not singling out students with disabilities, has manifested in a desire to see all students succeed in the general classroom. General classroom teachers often do not have the time and support necessary to provide individualized, intensive instruction to multiple students in addition to general education duties. Too often this means that students with learning disabilities slip through the cracks and do not receive adequate instruction, or achieve their academic potential (Fuchs et al. 13). Students with disabilities are just not getting the small group or individualized, high quality, specialized instruction with consistent monitoring and feedback that is necessary to meet their specific needs (Eller et al. 84). Thankfully, a new answer may be emerging to counter these persistent

The key to any successful school district is the administration. Teachers essentially provide structure, organization, and the background of a child’s future. To educate students with learning disabilities, it is essential that the staff has the training and resources needed for the appropriate people, place, and time (Lazarus) (What is Inclusion, 2001, n.p). It is unrealistic to expect that regular education teachers will always be aware of the latest research or be able to readily adapt the school's

The education system in our country was put in place in order to do service to our children. Despite this, in many cases, children that have disabilities are neglected by their schools. As a society, we all want to make sure that these children are being taken care of. However, there is a large spectrum of students with disabilities, and more needs to be done in order to meet every individual’s needs. In some cases, they do not receive enough attention, and others receive so much that it holds them back from succeeding on their own. Generally speaking, students with special needs benefit from integration into general education classrooms when it is handled appropriately; however in many cases, students are still being short-changed.

I think when I made the decision to become a teacher I was not thinking the seriousness of this decision. When we become teachers we also become the molder that will shape our student to be successful in life. But when you decide to become a teacher in a Christian school you are not only shaping this student to be successful in life but we are also shaping their Christian mind to do things with a feeling knowing that they are shape and where made by the image of God. As a future teacher, I know that I have to embrace my students the way they are the way that my God created them and help them to explore this world through their life, their faith, and to challenge them to do things outside of themselves. I also need to help them to find their passion for learning and to make them realize all the gifts and skills God has given them that they can use in every area of their life. I also plan that since I will be working at a Christian school I want to make sure that my students will learn not only about phonic, math or history but I intend that they will learn about our God through this courses, too.

The learning experience should be that of a collective nature where students are able to indiscriminately relate to the information, re-teach the information and have a balanced incorporation of all the learning centers in society; including the home and the church. The goal of this incorporation is to create a balanced learning environment that facilitates holistic development in the young mind. As professionals entrusted with the shaping of young minds, teachers must facilitate learning and personal, spiritual, ethical and academic development. My philosophy for education is a multi-part philosophy that encapsulates the idea of holistic and inclusive learning. The philosophy caters for the overall shaping and development of the young mind and includes aspects of balanced training, incorporated teachings and it generally focuses on training students to become teachers.

When understanding education there are many different ways which the purpose of education may be applied and defined. My personal philosophy of education is, 'educators must nurture/guide students within the academic field, to that the aims, goals and results during this task of educating or being educated are achieved '. This philosophy is used to understand that both teachers and students play an integral role in education. Academic performance, classroom methods/practices and also meeting the requirements of both the senior secondary Australian Curriculum Framework and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Framework are examples of these roles. This essay will discuss in detail how my personal philosophy of education, reflects on the role of teachers and learners, the aim of education and the methods and practices used in the classroom. Jean Jacques Rousseau, Paulo Freire, Locke, and Plato/Socrates are the four theorists that shall be used within this essay, to support claims and justify statements regarding this philosophy. John Dewey and A.S Neil are two non-supporting theorists that shall be used in contrast to justify this philosophy.