Philosophy of Education

What is your reason for becoming a teacher? This is a common question asked to
teacher candidates. To me, it is a complicated question to answer since it encompasses so
many features. A part of me has always wanted to be a teacher. I am often told that I have a
teacher personality and that I am in the correct field. I have patience, empathy, and strive to
share my knowledge. But, when I dig deeper to think about my education experiences, I am
able to add more to my response. As a child, I was lucky to have great teachers who inspired me
to learn, who were great role models, and shaped me in becoming a life-long learner. My
desire to become an educator is why I graduated from the University of La Verne with a
Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies, obtained a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and is the
reason I have continued my education to receive a Reading and Language Arts specialty
credential and a Masters in Reading.
I have experience teaching students from pre-k to high school in a variety of subjects. I
enjoy all age groups because the students in each grade level have their own personality. The
younger students are amazed by the smallest of things and the older students like to be
challenged and discuss the world around them. Regardless of the grade level, my favorite
subject to teach is language arts. I enjoy teaching phonics, fluency, writing, and comprehension.
Literacy, to me, is very important subject to have vast knowledge of. A student may not be able
to reach his or her full potential without a good foundation in literacy.
My purpose as an educator is to create effective lessons to teach all learners regardless
of their economic standing, cultural background, disabilities, or if they are considered at risk
students. When creating lessons, I think about students background knowledge and interests,
refer to formative assessments, and use the standards as a guideline. To implement these
lessons, I use a wide variety of strategies and techniques to assure my students have a concrete
understanding of the objective. I am constantly on the lookout for new and interesting ways to
incorporate technology into my lessons. PowerPoint, document cameras, smart boards, tablets,
and educational apps are a few of the technologies that I have used in previous lessons.
Depending on the class population, I use English Language Development (ELD) or Structured
Design in Academic English (SDAIE) teaching techniques for English learners, check any
Individual Education Plans (IEPS) to meet the specific students plan, and modify lessons for
students with disabilities. Furthermore, I believe students work best when they are working
together. My classroom commonly has had cooperative learning assignments in which students
worked together in small groups to accomplish a task. Lastly, an important personal goal of
mine is to create confident readers in my students. Teaching students to be metacognitive as
they read, have an array of comprehension strategies, and read with great fluency are just a
few literacy related tactics that I like to give my students.
I am a life-long learner. Attending professional development workshops, online classes,
and conferences are something I am adamant about. We live in an ever changing world and
each year our students are going to be different from the year before. In my opinion, it is our
responsibility to keep up with new technologies, teaching strategies, and recent studies or
research to help effectively instruct students. Part of being a life-long learner is reflecting on my
own lessons and receiving feedback from teachers, administrators, and my own students.
Feedback helps me rethink how I approached a topic, allowing me to reflect how I could change
it for the future. I am willing to adapt to my students in order to help them understand any
lesson objective.
In the end, I became a teacher to inspire students; to inspire them to become critical
thinkers, to inspire them to learn, and to inspire them to become life-long learners. Frequent
professional development, lesson feedback, and researching new technology are just a few
ways I keep growing as a teacher. I strive to be the best educator that I can be.