Oscar Garcia

EDU 201
Thursday/11:00 a.m.
My Education Philosophy

I believe that children deserve the love and support from their teacher with an

environment that helps them blossom socially, mentally, and emotionally. My inspiration for

becoming a teacher happened when my 2nd grade teacher guided me to have courage after my

parents divorce and showed me the love and care I was not receiving during that event. At that

moment as a child, I wanted to be that teacher who showed her care for her student during a

challenging time. As a future teacher, I have to offer kindness, structure, serenity, creativity, and

acceptance. My parents never resulted to violence, so as a teacher I want to teach my students

that being kind is far more powerful than violence. Even more, every child is composed of

characteristics derived by his/her gender, disability, race, culture, and sexual orientation that

defines each one as unique individuals. It is important that I make my students feel accepted so

that a sense of trust and respect can be developed in my classroom. Throughout the year, I want

my class to become a family, so no child feels excluded or lonely.

Modeling is an important and effective way to teach children. Albert Bandura, a

behaviorist, proved his social learning theory with the Bobo Doll experiment that children learn

and do things by modeling. I want to model everything to my students from complete sentences

to behavior issues. By becoming an example, children can see what is right. My co-operating

teacher, Ms. Salazar, has taught me that modeling everything can help structure the teachers

classroom. Structure is what will keep my classroom in order, but it does not mean that I have to

be an authoritarian. I still want my students to freely express themselves in a safe way. In other

words, I cannot let any student get away with bad behavior. Therefore, negative behavior will be

handled privately to discuss how the behavior can be improved, while good behavior will be

rewarded or praised.

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EDU 201
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My focus as a teacher is progressivism and existentialism. I believe what drives students

is a teachers ability to encourage them through the passions they hold. Regardless of the

hardships they may be experiencing students decide what defines their interests. I know that

setting goals can motivate a person, so based on experience, I can motivate my students with

goals I know they can fulfill. This will gradually increase the students self-esteem as they

continue their goal setting because I will be noticing and praising the things they can do rather

than what they cannot do. This will also get the assignment done because it is motivation that can

either be extrinsic or intrinsic depending on the situation. Furthermore, the 1980s was known as

the era of teacher bashing due to teachers following a progressivism approach. I believe it was

not the philosophy but the quality of the teacher because in the 1990s teachers gained leadership

skills in their classrooms. I am going to gain my leadership skills by teaching based on the

students interests and needs and not the way authority figures prefer.

Everyone learns through all learning styles, but it is a factor of which they learn greatest

from. My preference in learning is visually. As a teacher, I will not let my students get affected

by my preference of learning. I plan on implementing all learning styles into my lessons, so the

children are able to learn at least something from the content, including technology. Since 3rd

grade is the year where testing starts, I want to put the effort in teaching activities based on the

test without actually teaching the test. Even more, my classroom is going to be filled with

students from different cultures, so I can use the first week of school as an advantage for getting

to know the backgrounds of my students. By doing this, I can do my research on unfamiliar

cultures to avoid any issues for my upcoming lessons.

Special education has become common in the general education class for students who

have special needs. To fulfill the needs of these children, I must first have them gain confidence

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by seeing the student as a person and not his/her disability. In other words, I am looking at the

things they are able to do rather than what they cannot do. Although, if I were to see any of my

students struggling with the content, I would follow the process of an IEP (Individual Education

Plan) by doing the pre-referral to notify the students family. It would be great if every child had

an IEP, including those who are not disabled, because it makes it easier for the teacher to see

what the student is capable of doing. However, I need to be prepared to come across parents who

would not want their child identified, so I must adjust my classroom practices in a way that will

fulfill my students needs. For those who have ADHD, I will provide a place where they can

safely pace themselves back and forth to get their energy out. Students who have trouble hearing

or seeing, can be placed in the front of the class, or they can have the privilege to move. To

create easier access to the classroom for students who are physically impaired, such as those who

use a wheelchair, I can keep my door open at certain times. These are just a few adjustments but

insuring the safety of my classroom will help all of the children feel confident and less stressed.

When the childrens needs get fulfilled, they can participate in any lesson I have to offer.

There are some teachers who think that sexual orientation in a student is not really

important. I disagree with that statement because it is something that is a part of the person.

Without that part being accepted by the teacher, it can make the student feel uncomfortable to

learn since they feel unsafe. I know that students that are gay, lesbian, bi, and transgendered,

apart from having a disability, are the ones who get the most bullied. There is a zero tolerance

with bullying because of the harm it does to the child not only physically but mentally and

emotionally, which can lead to suicide. To handle this situation, I would have a lesson on

bullying prevention activities and awareness other than reporting it. I believe it is best to give a

bully leadership duties in a way that would enable him/her to help others. Adding to that, I know

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that it is not appropriate for a teacher to pry in the students sexual orientation by asking, so for a

solution I would have a rainbow flag in my classroom to let my students know that it is a safe

environment.

Gender stereotypes have been one of the things I hate most because of the confusion it

causes about the persons identity. To deal with gender stereotypes, I would always mention to

the whole class that it is okay to do things that are for the opposite gender. I believe that by doing

this my students gain confidence in achieving their own identities. In addition, anything that is

boy vs. girl affiliated would not exist in my classroom, such as boy line, girl line. I know that it

will leave less stress to any students who are transgendered. I want to make sure that any respect

I give to a boy, is the same respect I give to a girl and vice-versa. Equality will be the key to

making sure that each child is not more or less than another.

My class is going to be diverse with students from different backgrounds. These students

can have a nationality of being African American, Native-American, Hispanic, Caucasian,

White, Pacific Islander, Asian, and more. Some of these students will know English but some

will not speak it. These students are known as either ELL (English Language Learners) or ESL

(English as a Second Language). To meet the needs of these children, I am going to use many

visuals and hand signals to teach them English. However, I would not want them to forget their

native language, so hopefully by doing weekly activities for each culture, I can encourage them

to stay true to their heritage.

I want all my students to learn to accept themselves first and understand that they are all

special in their own way. In addition, students learn when the lesson or activity is fun and

amusing, but to do so, the teacher needs enthusiasm. I also believe that each student should have

their needs met in order to learn sufficiently. This is the way students are motivated to learn.

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When the teacher is full of energy and is there to help the students realize their individuality, the

students will be motivated and want to learn. However, it is also necessary to enforce the rules

on the first week of school in an authoritative manner, so the students know who is in charge.

Other than that, I want to create a democratic environment.

The ideal classroom I plan to have is a themed classroom based on Harry Potter filled

with colorful posters, organization, and my students work. It will encourage them to continue

working hard and putting in the effort. I would keep reminding my students of their hard work

displayed on the walls and give praise for something they did that was fantastic. The most

important role of a teacher is being a friend and mentor but also a second family for the student.

Family is important for the students because they learn to take care and protect each other.

Parents are included in the family by learning to interact and make an impact on their children

rather than to punish them by laying down the bad news. Hopefully by establishing a family idea,

it will abolish the bystander effect that occurs in bullying.

To become a teacher, I must make sure all my grades are above a C, so that I can transfer

to UNLV to earn my Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. I will also prepare

myself for the Praxis exam whenever I finish all math classes and English classes by studying. I

also plan to continue my education and obtain a Masters degree in Psychology. Moreover, I

have gotten experience in my Education class in high school by working in the preschool and

doing an internship in a 3rd grade class. I have also gotten experience recently observing a 2nd

grade class and 4th grade class in the things I plan and do not plan to do as a teacher. I also had a

chance to help those who are less fortunate by interacting with the parents and children. I feel

that as long as I maintain a positive attitude, just as I did with the parents at the shelter, I can do

the same as a teacher and build good relationships with parents. With children, I have learned

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that I am good with them as long as I am enthusiastic and attentive to their needs. There are areas

of myself I want to improve on. Those areas include working with ESL students and kids with

special needs, so I will do more volunteering in the future that involves kids who are ESL and

kids who have disabilities. I know that if I further my education, gain more experience in

classrooms and the community, and fight for my students education, I will become a successful

teacher.