Sarah SkidmoreEDUC 132

Educational Philosophy

My educational philosophy is based around cultivating and helping the whole child grow and excel under my care. I believe in providing active, experiential, hands on learning to my students so that they are taking an active role in their learning. This is highly based around the major school of educational thought of Progressivism. When in the classroom, I want each and every student to feel as if they are safe to bring their own stories and their true selves to the table. I strive to create a warm and loving environment for my students where everyone feels welcome and safe, and therefore all students are able to learn to the best of their ability. As a classroom teacher I will always keep in mind that I have something to teach my students, but that each of them has something to teach me also. I believe this positive educational philosophy will be my guiding light and friend throughout my teaching years. It will help me remember that I am an educator to make a difference in the lives of the students I come into contact with, and that I am spending my life dedicated to a cause I can stand behind with all of my being.

I believe that the purpose of education is to cultivate students who can go into the world and use not only their content knowledge, but also their critical thinking and problem solving skills to help progress the world they live in. I will help students build the skills it takes for them to be able to lead happy and healthy lives while maintaining a high level of self-esteem and self-efficacy in and out of the classroom. I believe that students best learn collaboratively and in this way I adhere to principles of Vygostsky, especially when he establishes that students best learn when they are scaffolded. Students can be scaffolded not only by the teacher, but also by their peers. When we establish groups within the classroom that have students of differing levels of understanding and ability, it gives the more advanced students a chance to help boost the zone of proximal development of the less advanced students. This benefits everyone. I also believe that in assessment students should be given opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways, whether that be a performance, a written paper, a piece of artwork or a community project. I believe these all to be associated with higher level thinking and demonstrations of knowledge. I strive to provide my students with quality, hands on learning activities so that they are bound to the content not just through my words or through text, but through an experience.

I will use my educational philosophy each and every day, day and night, to help guide me through anything that comes my way. I will strive to be a model of exceptional acceptance to all of my students and harbor a classroom environment that welcomes differences and celebrates each person’s unique traits and abilities. Focusing on the whole child, I will give all students opportunities to excel and demonstrate their true potential by giving them a variety of hands on learning activities and assessments. I believe in educations ability to help promote accepting, kind, and intelligent individuals, and I am willing to work till the wheels fall off to ensure that this happens.