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Philosophical Paper
Education has become such a vital part of todays society. Decades ago, dropping out of
school could be a normal part of life. Nowadays without a university degree in something
specialized it is much harder to come by a job that will allow for a comfortable lifestyle and
retirement. Education has stemmed into much more than it originally was. Education is about
growth; growth upon a base of knowledge acquired through learning. Education and schools are
the reason we have the intelligence to understand the world today. It is the reason we have
smartboards and iPhones, the reason we know why we should behave in certain ways, and the
reason why we are able to control deadly diseases. Education allows us to become literate, and
make friendships, it allows kids to dream and the opportunity to open unimaginable doors. If we
did not have schools we would not be qualified people, to make qualified decisions. Schools are
where we learn who we are and what we want to be, and how to become it. The school is where
we learn how to read, write, share, take turns, help, obey rules, do our best, make connections
and are part of a community. Schools are where someone believed in us and that was all it took
to persevere. I believe we have education, to allow people like me to become educators and
change our world.
There are six main philosophical orientations for teaching and I would say after my
student teaching experience I align mainly with three of them. The first orientation I would
identify within myself would be the progressivist. I firmly believe that education should be based
on the needs and interests of the student. Essentially the reasons why I believe I am a
progressivist is because change within the school system is a good thing. In todays society there
is so much more that students have access too, and within reason I think students should be able
to use their access to information to learn as much as they can. Before beginning a unit in science

while I was student teaching, my cooperating teacher and I gave the students a choice on what
they wanted to learn about. They could choose spiders, snakes, birds, or frogs. The students
decided they wanted to learn about spiders so that is what we did and we found the students were
more driven to learn about something they had choice in rather than something they are told to
do. I want to keep this in mind when I have my first classroom, and realize that I may be able to
get far better results if I listen and give my students an opportunity to choice.
The second orientation that I fall under is the existentialist. Each student deserves to
know that they belong on this earth for a reason and that they matter and someone cares about
them. This could be a little bit dangerous for me in the sense that I may care too much. For some
students the safest place that they may go in a day is to my classroom and they may never know
that I worry about them when they go home. I believe in making connections with my students
and letting them know that they can trust me. What I want for my classroom is to provide a safe
place for kids to forget about all their problems and worries at home. I want my classroom to be
a place about learning, fun, happiness and acceptance. Even some of my seven year olds came to
school with emotional baggage bigger than themselves. The moment I knew I fit perfectly into
this orientation is when I had a student sit down beside me and tell me they were sad because
their uncle had passed away. They looked at me with tears in their eyes and I did not have to say
anything, but give them a hug and a smile. This little boy thanked me and was on his way. It was
that moment I knew I must have a trusting sense about myself that students felt comfortable
telling me personal qualities of their lives.
The third orientation I fall into is the Reconstructionist. Being in the wave of technology
that we are in, students have access to news at their fingertips. I believe in explaining the real
world problems rather than trying to hide them. When I was in grade three the World Trade

Centers came crashing to the ground. Being seven years old I did not quite yet understand the
magnitude of this disaster. I knew people were crying and it was a bad thing but I did not
understand why it had happened. My teacher took the time to explain to my entire class what had
just taken place. I will never forget that, and how appreciative I was that someone had taken the
initiative to explain the world around me. Last year while I was volunteering at a school, there
had been many incidents of suspects approaching students at school. One day before recess I
caught one of my eight year old students making a knife out of half a pair of scissors, tape and
string. It was this moment I decided these students had so much built up anxiety that someone
needed to take the time to explain to them what was happening and what to do if such an
instance happened to them.
There are four main themes that I feel strongly about. The first theme is todays parents. I
truly was ignorant to the concept of todays parent. After discussing in class the work/life balance
that most families are managing, and experiencing it for myself with the students in my
classroom, my eyes were opened to see pure exhaustion on my students faces. Beginning with
the students in my class, I had many students who were juggling sports, music lessons, dance,
swimming and multiple other things. Celebration of learning was held on a Tuesday night and I
ran into a parent in the morning who told me they had just had hockey practice at 7am that
morning, and football was after school, and if the brother was done swimming in time they
would make it to celebration of learning. Hearing this made me feel exhausted for them. I now
had a whole new perception on some of my students. Instead of telling them to do their work, I
would go and ask them why they were not doing their work, and more times than not a student
would tell me that they were tired and would list all the activities they had done the night before.
Families of today are far too busy. The family as a whole is missing out on quality family

bonding time. Family suppers have turned into KD in the car on the way to hockey, family game
night has turned into long trips into Winnipeg for 6am hockey games and exhausted parents and
students. Kids are pressured to do too many things, and parents do not know any better than to
push their kids in a dozen different directions. The whole socializing aspect of family has
vanished and I think it is only going to get worse as time goes on.
The second theme that I think I may feel the strongest about is bullying. I have absolutely
no tolerance for bullying and with me you do not get a second chance after being a bully. People
who live their lives never hurting a soul have every right to live how they wish to. When my
students walk into my classroom doors I want them to know and feel that they are safe and no
words can hurt them. Even bullying in its simplest terms make my heart hurt. I admit this may be
a weak point that I have in caring too much for people in general that it makes me sick to see
people hurting. While watching the video in class of the older lady on the bus my heart broke and
I lost a little bit of faith in humanity. I want to be able to do the best I can to bully proof my
classroom. On the very first day of school I am going to establish a culture of respect and this
way the students will be aware of what is expected from them. They will then understand that
there are repercussions in their actions if they choose to be a bully. I will do everything in my
power to stay in touch with my students emotions and recognize when their behaviours have
changed and make sure that I am proactive in addressing such issues. One of the worse things in
my mind is ignoring bullying and turning a blind eye to students until they may seek my help. If
I address the issues with my students then perhaps that will let me build trusting relationships
with them.
The third theme I am going to talk about ties with my strong feelings about my second
theme. When I was enrolled into this class I was unfamiliar with the issues we would be

discussing. Although we laugh and koombiya, some of the issues we have discussed have
really hit me deep in my heart. In my early years classroom I may not necessarily deal with a
suicide, but as it was said in class as my students grow up they will become those who do end up
committing suicide. The statement that I could be the most important person in someones life
weighs extremely heavy on my heart but in a strangely nice way. I know I have a responsibility
to my students and I want them to be able to come and talk to me when they are feeling down
and something is not going right in their life. Suicide can go hand-in-hand with bullying and I
want to make my students aware of what bullying is and what it looks like. All the precautions of
bullying are the precautions that need to take place when discussing suicide. I as the teacher need
to set an example and precedence in my classroom of what a good friend looks like. For this
reason I need to show that I have a zero tolerance policy for bullying. Changing groups that
students are working in and seating plans also allows for the students to interact with different
students and make more friendships.
The last theme I would like to discuss is todays student and the classroom culture:
creating the culture of respect. As I have discussed in the two themes, I will not tolerate
harassment of any kind and creating a classroom that is respectful towards myself and others and
sensitive to different cultures or different ideas is a goal of mine. The world is completely
different than it was even twenty years ago. In the last twenty years society has become more
tolerant, accepting and open to change. Society has come a long way in making these social
changes and progress will continue to be made. Mainly, a classroom should have a culture of
respect between the students and the teacher and student to student. The classroom is a place
where students go to interact safely and achieve to their potential. I understand that how I
conduct myself professionally is very important because students (especially when they are

really young) observe everything. In creating a culture of respect in my classroom I need to be

the model of good behavior and explain that I have high expectations in what I want to see from
my students. I will listen to what my students say to me and show that I have a caring
environment where no one will be made fun of or made to feel stupid. Having a successful and
respectful classroom comes from team work and that is something I will always remember. If I
do have students of different religions in my classroom I want them to feel accepted. In order to
create acceptance and a caring environment, explanation of the unknown things is key. Just like
my cooperating teacher, when the students have questions I want to be able to find them the
answer and for us to research about new things as a whole.
Throughout this philosophical paper I have shared what I have learned about myself as a
teacher. I have realized I fit as a progressivist because I believe that education should be
orientated towards students interests and ideas. I am an existentialist because I feel as though
every student deserves to know that someone cares about them, and I am a reconstructionist
because I think that schools should take charge in creating a new social order and deal with the
real world problems surrounding us. Although I did not know quite where I fit after five short
weeks of student teaching I quickly learned where I belong within the six philosophical
orientations. I have described my personal views on todays student and the busy life that they
lead, my zero tolerance policy regarding bullying and leading into suicide and my view on
acceptance of being respectful of the classroom and other cultural groups. This paper allowed me
to reflect on my classroom time and the learning that I have done. While writing this paper and
through careful thought and consideration of each orientation and theme I have discovered who I
am as a teacher, where my values lie, and what my personal obligations and morals are.