Philosophy

I have known I wanted to be a teacher ever since I was in the fourth grade because

my teacher allowed us to take home the transparent sheets and expo markers she used in class at

the end of each week. As soon as I got home, I taught my stuffed animals and parents everything

I had learned in class. Teachers can be anyone, but anyone cannot be a teacher. This is a true

statement because I have several teachers throughout my K-12 education that came from

different career paths including business and engineering. It was apparent that they were

intelligent people, but they were unable to effectively convey messages to me. As a result, I

became frustrated, angry, and went to other teachers for help. As a future educator, I believe it is

important to incorporate ethics of social reform, importance of childhood, transmitting values,

and professionalism into my classroom.

Ethics of social reform will play an important role in my classroom. The purpose for

ethics of social reform is to ensure schooling for young children leads to social change and

improvement (Gordon & Browne, 2014, p. 32). I believe in being in a peaceful environment

which will be challenging if I am placed in a kindergarten classroom. However, I will teach my

students how to be respectful to one another, not tattle over absurd things that do not truly

matter, and help them improve their social skills by promoting oral language as much as

possible. I am also aware of how hunger affects students when they are trying to concentrate.

After having a meeting with the principal and the students parents, I will provide healthy snacks

for the students to eat if their parents are having financial difficulties or if they simply forgot to

eat breakfast that morning. Every child deserves not to starve when they are in school.

The importance of childhood will always be considered whenever I am creating or

modifying lesson plans. Children are beautiful, pure, and do not deserve some of the obstacles
they face. These obstacles include enduring abuse and neglect by loved ones and only focusing

on technology instead of the world around them (Gordon & Browne, 2014, p. 35). We live in the

21st century which means technology is ubiquitous. It will be in schools and classrooms. I will

balance the amount of time my students spend on the computer with doing other assignments so

they will not depend on technology. I will also try to make the assignments as fun as possible by

incorporating play because play is essential for children and even adults. Most of what I do in my

classroom will be based Vygotskys zone of proximal development. Zone of proximal

development or ZPD is simply what a child can do with the assistance of a teacher vs. what a

child can do independently. I want to help my students become more independent, so they can

use their repertoire of strategies to figure something out instead of always relying on me to

answer the question for them. Ensuring children will be ready to comprehend everything that is

given to them and progress to the next grade is important, but I will always remember that they

are children and do not deserve to be treated like something they are not.

I will transmit my values to students by connecting their culture to the classroom. No

matter what I do in the classroom, I want my students to know that they are important to me.

Prior to the first day of class I will email all the parents to ask them if there is anything they do at

home that will help me help their children while they are in my classroom. I will also create a

literacy rich environment that will include books with a variety of cultures in them so that the

students can see themselves in the books and introduce them to different cultures as well. It is

essential for kids to be exposed to different cultures because it will help them sympathize with

their peers.

Professionalism is a must whenever working with young children. Professionalism is

more than dressing conservatively and using appropriate language when interacting with peers,
children, and parents. It involves being knowledgeable about the developmental stages children

go through, knowing the child, and ensuring lesson plans are developmentally appropriate

(Gordon & Browne, 2014, p. 36). I will always keep the developmental stages around me

whenever I am creating lesson plans because I want to ensure that the lessons match what the

children are capable of doing. I will also give my students informal assessments to determine

what their strengths, interests, and needs are (Gordon & Browne, 2014, p. 36). Being a teacher

will be rewarding and fun, but I will also take the essential steps I need to provide my students

with the proper education they need.

Works Cited

Gordon, A. M. & Browne, K. W. (2014). Beginnings & beyond: Foundations in early childhood
education (10h ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.