Running head: MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Ashlee Brown

SPED 200 Section 1

Introduction

As I have participated in this History and Philosophy of Education course this semester, I

have had the opportunity to learn more about the purpose of education and how that has evolved

over time. In studying the various theories of education that have come about over the years, I

have discovered which approaches I agree with and which theories, or aspects of theories, that I

wish to implement in my own future classroom. These studies, combined with several learning

and teaching experiences I have had as a part of this course, have helped me to form and develop

my own personal philosophy of education which I will use to guide my future teaching.

Why I Chose a Career in Education

In explaining how I have formed my personal philosophy of education, I find it necessary

to first establish why I have decided to pursue a career in the field of education. As the mother

of a young child, I have often had to address criticisms from other women especially LDS

women who view my desire to work outside the home as somehow a contradiction to the

importance the Church places on families and on the role of mothers. Having been a member of

the Church for my entire life, I have grown up with an understanding of and an appreciation for

the work that mothers do in the home, and I wholeheartedly agree that our families should be our

first priority in this life. However, I also firmly believe that a woman can successfully work

outside the home and still be available both physically and emotionally to nurture and care

for her children and ensure that all of their needs are adequately met. In his talk in the November

2013 edition of the Ensign, Elder D. Todd Christofferson addressed the issue of women working

outside the home when he said:

We do not diminish the value of what women or men achieve in any worthy endeavor or

careerwe all benefit from those achievementsbut we still recognize there is not a

higher good than motherhood and fatherhood in marriage. There is no superior career,

and no amount of money, authority, or public acclaim can exceed the ultimate rewards of

family. Whatever else a woman may accomplish; her moral influence is no more

optimally employed than here. (p. 31)

Elder Christoffersons statement here supports the Churchs view that mothers play an important

role in the family unit, but he also acknowledges that society as a whole does benefit from men

and women working outside the home as well.

Being a Stay-At-Home Mom

In regards to my decision to work outside the home, I think it is important to note that I

have not chosen to do so because I care about making a lot of money or because I hope to

achieve some level of success in the eyes of the world. Rather, I have chosen to pursue a career

in education because I have come to realize that being a stay-at-home-mom literally drives me

crazy. I love my son, and I usually do not mind doing the dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, and

other tasks necessary to keep house and care for my family; but the repetitiveness of these jobs

and the lack of adult interaction I have on most days causes me to feel a bit frustrated and rather

isolated from the rest of society. I know many women who are wonderful mothers and

homemakers who enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to stay home with their children each day.

I also have known many working women who also have managed to raise successful and happy

children, despite the fact that they are not home with them every second of every day. I am

grateful for both types of women, and am at peace with my decision to be a working mom
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because I have found that working and going to school has helped me to better appreciate the

time that I do have to spend with my family each day.

Education from a Religious Perspective

While one of the central doctrines of the gospel is the family, there is also a strong

emphasis placed on the value of education, and the prophets and apostles have often encouraged

us to seek to obtain all of the knowledge that we can while in this life. Elder David A. Bednar

(2011) reiterated this counsel when he taught that, the overarching purpose of Heavenly

Fathers great plan of happiness is to provide His spirit children with opportunities to learn,

(p.1-2). Teachers play a necessary part in providing individuals with access to education, and a

majority of the teaching positions available today are filled by women. As such, it is necessary

for at least a portion of the mothers in this society to work outside the home as teachers so that

the children of this generation may have mentors to guide them on their path to becoming

lifelong learners. President Thomas S. Monson (2004) also brought up another reason for

pursuing an education when he spoke to the women of the Church and said, Often the future is

unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. I urge you to pursue your

education and learn marketable skills so that, should such a situation arise, you are prepared to

provide (p. 116). I believe that earning my teaching certification in special education will

enable me to contribute to society in a meaningful way, while also being prepared and qualified

to provide for my family and to teach my children to be righteous and competent individuals as

they grow up.

Developing My Philosophy of Education

Throughout the course of this semester, I have had the opportunity to read a variety of

literature and participate in several learning activities that have helped to influence my way of

thinking and solidify for me a foundational philosophy of education. One such influential text I

read was Johnsons (2013) Creating Mighty Oaks, wherein he states:

If you have a clear sense of purpose to your teaching, then you can approach any

circumstance in your classroom thoughtfully and consistently. If you do not have a solid

philosophy then you are aimless, changing to the circumstances around you. As you

develop your philosophy of teaching, you will be able to know and explain to others why

you do what you do as a teacher, allowing you to evaluate your decision-making process

and how your philosophy actually affects your decisions in the classroom . . . Once you

have begun to develop your philosophy of education, it is important to note that a

philosophy of education should not be stagnant. Your philosophy of education should

grow and change as you grow and change as a teacher. (p. 14-15)

I liked this quote because it emphasized that flexibility is a key part of education and a successful

teacher is one who is able to adapt to constantly changing circumstances. In special education, I

have noticed that, while efforts are made to establish set routines in the classroom, the unique

needs and reactions of each student can cause daily schedules to become rather unpredictable.

UDL and Progressivism

This concept of a flexible approach to teaching is something that was reinforced for me

as we discussed the Universal Design for Learning, (UDL) in my Assistive Technology class this

semester. UDL is based on the idea that every student is unique in their learning styles and

abilities, which makes it unrealistic to use a one size fits all approach to teaching. Instead,
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UDL principles can be utilized to adapt traditional lesson plans to cater to the individual learning

styles of students and provide them with more options and opportunities for independent learning

throughout the course of their education. An example of this would be allowing students to

choose between writing an essay, giving an oral presentation, or creating a diorama in order to

demonstrate their understanding of an assigned text instead of just requiring every student to

submit a handwritten essay. This method of teaching directly corresponds with tenets of the

educational theory of progressivism, which focuses on the whole child instead of the teacher or

the content material to ensure that the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual needs of the

child can all be met. Johnson (2013) further described the theory of progressivism in his book,

Creating Mighty Oaks:

Progressivist teachers do not believe in the one size fits all model since each child is

different. The learner is also viewed as an active being and needs to learns this way,

rather than passively . . . Progressivists advocate no set, predetermined curriculum. In

other words, there is no fixed body of essential subject matter that should be taught to all

students. Traditional subject matter is not rejected, but it is not the driving force behind

curricular decisions. The content grows out of students needs, interests and initiatives . . .

Hands on learning inside and outside of the classroom are crucial to student success and

education. (p. 20-21)

While national and state standards for education dictate certain criteria for the curriculum that

must be taught in schools and make an entirely progressivist approach to teaching unrealistic, I

do support the idea of catering lesson plans to correspond with the individual learning styles of

students. I had the opportunity to test out this teaching method during my groups Master

Teacher Presentation in class when we conducted a survey beforehand to assess the preferred
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learning styles of our classmates and then tailored parts of our presentation to involve auditory,

visual, and kinesthetic learners. I found that this exercise both helped me to feel better prepared

to teach the content material and helped to engage students from the class of all learning styles in

the presentation. As such, I plan to implement this principle of teaching to meet students needs

and interests in my own future classes by taking the time to get to know each of my students on a

personal level so that I can better understand how to help them.

Child Lab Observations

Besides studying the Universal Design for Learning, the activities that were most

influential in helping me to develop my personal philosophy of education were the two child lab

observations that I completed as a requirement for this course. As I sat in the booth and observed

during my first child lab, I enjoyed seeing how the toddlers interacted with each other and their

teachers and I happily contemplated how my own son might do in a toddler lab like that one day.

It was not until I was in the process of completing my second observation in the preschool lab

that I realized how much I really enjoyed and missed working with young children like those in

the child labs on campus. Last semester, I spent my time working as a para-professional at an

elementary school in Sugar City and I absolutely loved it. I worked with a few second graders in

the mornings and then helped out in the special needs preschool in the afternoons, and each day

was always a new adventure. As I observed those preschoolers in the child lab this semester, I

was reminded of the energy and enthusiasm and blatantly honest perspective that I saw in each of

my kids from Sugar City and I became certain that this was the age group I truly wanted to work

with in my future career as a special education teacher.

This was one of those ah-ha moments for me as I was suddenly able to see clearly that I

needed to switch my major one last time. Since reapplying to BYU-Idaho this semester, I had
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been trying to put myself in a position where I could be hired to work with younger special needs

students by pursing a SPED K-12 generalist degree with an elementary emphasis. I often

stressed and worried that I needed to take more math classes or more classes geared towards

teaching at a secondary level because I did not feel as competent or confident in my abilities as a

teacher in those areas. However, after completing these two child lab observations I realized that

if I switched over to an early childhood and special education major I would not have to worry

about teaching upper level math or other subjects at a high school level and would instead be

qualified to work with toddlers and elementary school age children which was ultimately my

goal from the beginning anyway. While this learning activity mainly helped to determine the

direction I am taking with my schooling, I believe that focusing on this younger age group has

influenced my overall philosophy of education as well since I have discovered that I value the

opportunity to play with children as a way of getting to know them better. This again directly

corresponds with the educational theory of progressivism, as advocates for this method of

teaching place great importance on developing that relationship between teacher and student as a

means of figuring out how to best teach one another.

Conclusion

Throughout the course of this semester, I have had the opportunity to study several

educational theories and participate in a variety of learning activities which have enabled me to

form my own personal philosophy of education. I believe that every child deserves the

opportunity to learn through access to a quality public education. I am confident that I can

contribute to the quality of education at any school in which I may be employed because the

combination of my formal schooling and my personal life experiences make it possible for me to

understand and connect with students of all ages and abilities. I believe that students have the
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right to learn through whatever methods make the most sense to them, and that I have the

responsibility as a teacher to determine the preferred learning styles of my students and then do

my best to cater lesson plans to meet their individual needs. I understand the significance of both

my role as a wife and mother, as well as my role as a future special education teacher, and I am

certain that it is possible to be successful in both roles simultaneously. I know that every child

on this earth has both infinite worth and unlimited potential. I believe that education can be a

tool used to encourage children so that they may learn and grow until they are capable of

achieving greatness. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to be an influential part of this

nations great public education system, and I look forward to the many challenges and

adventures ahead of me as I continue on in this field.

References

Bednar, D.A. (2011). Increase in learning: Spiritual patterns for obtaining your own answers.

Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company.

Christofferson, D. T. (2013). The moral force of women. Ensign, November, 29-32.

Johnson, D.A. (2013). Creating mighty oaks: The history and philosophy of American education

(unpublished works). Rexburg, ID: Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Monson, T. S. (2004). If ye are prepared ye shall not fear. Ensign, November, 116.