DR.

DATON-DEAN LEONARD
November 29, 2014

EDUCATIONAL
PHILOSOPHY
By: Samuel Nef

Neffis

m
Mission Statement

As an educator of students with a wide variety of needs, my mission is to

develop my students abilities to a level that will allow them to not only function as

adults, but as responsible citizens who have the knowledge and skills to live on their

own in society.

Purpose of Education

I believe the main goal of education is to develop well educated citizens who

are informed about the world, and can contribute positively in the society in which

he/she lives in. Specifically, I believe the purpose of special education is to provide

opportunities for mentally disabled, impaired, or dysfunctional students to acquire

the basic skills and knowledge that are essential to having an ordinary life after they

graduate or leave my classroom. As institutions, I believe that schools provide the

necessary organization, discipline, and atmosphere for students to prosper and

learn. Without the adequate atmosphere, materials, and technology that schools

provide, learning and teaching would be a much more challenging task, especially

to students with learning disabilities or lower-than-average IQs.

Dispositions

One of my main goals as an educator will be to form model citizens out of my

students. In society today, there are too many students who are misinformed about

the world around them. Too many students are not exercising their right to vote as a

citizen of this democracy, and I want my students informed and acting as a model

citizen in this democracy should. To do this, I must act as a model citizen as well as

a professional in my workplace so they will follow in my footsteps. I will be prompt

and on time each day, barring an emergency. Being on time is an important

Nef 1
characteristic that is highly overlooked by todays youth. My workplace and

personal life will be as distant as possible. I do not want my activities outside of the

classroom afecting my performance in the classroom, so that my students will

understand this concept of how their activities outside school or their workplace will

enhance their performance in whatever they may be doing. With special education

students, it is imperative that I form personal relationships with my students. I

believe that if the students not only recognize me as their teacher, but as a

trustworthy individual in their life, expanding their knowledge and reaching maximal

mental potential will be less challenging. Also, I need to be aware of their home

lives, and house visits will be an important aspect to my classroom, as long as the

school administration permits such visits. Finally, with the explosion of social media

today, I will not friend or add any students on social media until AFTER they have

graduated.

Focus of My Classroom

Core content will be emphasized as it pertains to what is going on in the real

world. I believe that a connection from content to reality is extremely important in

education. With special education students, I will teach a skill, or lesson, with a real-

world situational activity to follow.

My responsibility as an educator will be to improve society with well-educated

and informed students. News, the basic of unbiased politics, and other current

events will play a large role in my lessons. In many special education classrooms,

students do not learn what is happening in the world around them, nor are they

prepared to live life after they leave the comfort of the organized confinement that

is a school system. I want to teach my students how to live in the world.

Nef 2
 I want my students to learn with open minds and I will use a constant cycle of

methods in which I deliver the lessons. I want my students to form their own

opinions and dispositions about key issues in society, and I will guide them to these

opinions by delivering an unbiased lesson. I will strive to keep my personal values

and opinions away from my lessons, so students have the opportunities to form

their own values and opinions.

Classroom Organization/Atmosphere

I believe a highly organized classroom where everything has its place is key

to a successful learning environment. If my classroom is messy and unorganized, it

will reflect in my lessons and teaching style. I believe that if everything is where it

should be, the students focus will solely be on learning. Without wasting time to

find materials, precious time will not be wasted in the classroom.

The expectations for conduct and behavior will be clear and precise.

Acceptable and unacceptable behaviors will be advertised throughout the

classroom, as well as given to students in a handout. These rules and expectations

will model how a student should act in public, as well as in the classroom.

Misbehavior will be addressed accordingly and positive behavior will be positively

reinforced, so students will be more likely to behave how society expects citizens to.

Graphical displays will be posted throughout the classroom as well as

additional visual displays to accompany lessons. I believe that visual aids enhance

learning and organizes information in a way that is easily understood. Special

education students may have a hard time visualizing concepts, and physically

seeing a display that relates to the concept will make it less challenging to grasp.

Nef 3
 I believe a comfortable, trusting atmosphere for each individual is essential to

a successful special education classroom. Feeling uncomfortable in any environment

is a set up for failure. If my students trust me and are comfortable talking with me,

teaching them a concept could be as simple as a normal conversation. I want my

students to associate being in my classroom with a warm, comfortable, and loving

feeling. Each of my students will know that I care about them individually and as a

whole. Another important concept for comfort is that each opinion will be respected

equally by everyone, including myself. A goal of mine is to allow my students to

form their own individual opinions about issues. Debates are healthy, even

encouraged, but arguments are not and each student will respect and hear out the

opinions of their peers.

Teaching Style

As a student, it was always beneficial to me to have expectations presented

clearly. I will strive to let the students know when they walk in the door everyday

what the realistic goal of the day is. I will tell them what I expect them to gain from

the days lessons and ask them at the conclusion of the period/day if I was

successful in teaching them the goal of the day. This will help student identify what

is important in lessons so they can pick up on the main ideas as well as the

supporting details.

I will rarely deliver a lecture to my special education students. Discussions

will be the most common form of lesson in my classroom. If I were to lecture to

students with learning or mental disabilities, their interest would be lost within the

first couple of minutes. Having an active discussion with everyone involved will

Nef 4
allow the students to see the perspective of their peers and they will understand the

topic better.

Content will be translated into the language and interests of the learners.

When students are interested in a topic, or the topic is applied in an interesting way,

students will be more inclined to get involved, stay interested, and learn. As a

teacher, I do not want my students to dread being in the classroom with me

because they think I am boring. I will rarely take a lesson directly from a textbook

word by word. Interactive lessons will be key to the learning of my students.

Student Assessment and Evaluation

I believe an objective assessment is inefective and will rarely be used in my

classroom. Higher level of understanding assessments will be used, even in special

education classes. Students will be required to answer questions based on real

world problems, applying the knowledge theyve learned, processing it, and

explaining how they can use it to be a better student, citizen or worker. If my

students can argue or explain their answer, whether right or wrong, I will give credit

where credit is due. Objective assessments and grading will be used when

necessary, however subjective strategies will be most common in my classroom.

Motivation

I believe that students are more likely to learn if the subject is either

something they are personally interested in, or associated/applied to an interest of

theirs. Popular interests will be sports, fashion, pop culture, and other interests that

will difer depending on the culture I am teaching in. In my classroom, students will

Nef 5
have freedom to express interests and reasonable opinions as long as they are open

to valuing and discussing the opinions of others. I want my students to come into

the classroom every day excited and anxious to learn something new.

At the beginning of the school year, almost every student in school comes

prepared to do their best and try their hardest all year long. This motivation fades

for many students as the year winds on. Some lose all motivation and stop coming

to school, only being motivated at the end of the year so they dont have to repeat

the grade. One of my goals will be to maintain the intrinsic motivation students start

each school year. If at any time a student shall lose their motivation due to an

unusual circumstance or unfortunate event, I will attempt a gradual progression to

return to the intrinsic motivation.

Classroom Climate

A caring environment is my top priority. A hostile or inattentive environment

will lead to an unsuccessful classroom. Leaners will treat each other, as well as

myself, with the same respect that I will treat them. Everyone in the classroom is

equal and I want my students to feel comfortable enough to challenge something I

say respectfully to get the most out of the lessons. A high level of self-confidence is

key. When students feel equal to their peers and teacher, their confidence rises.

Nef 6