Educational Philosophy

As I started reading and doing the work for this module, I realized that there are so many philosophies of teaching that people go by. I took the self assessment test on my educational philosophy, and my scores ranged from 11 to 24. It turned out that my educational philosophy and the way I view the world is through Humanism. 

Humanism

 Where educators consider learning from the perspective of the human potential for growth, becoming the best one can be. The shift is to the study of effective as well as cognitive dimensions of learning. Beliefs include: human beings can control their own destiny; people are inherently good and will strive for a better world; people are free to act but must be responsible; behavior is the consequence of human choice; and people possess unlimited potential for growth and development. There is a natural tendency for people to learn, which will flourish if nourishing, encouraging environments are provided.

I was actually really happy that I scored this in Humanism because after doing some research, I really do view the world and education through this philosophy. I believe in the multiple intelligence's and how every person learns in their own way. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and EVERYONE has the potential to grow and become the best they can be. I am not religious, and I do believe that everyone controls their own destiny, and you are responsible for your own actions. I also believe that people have an unlimited amount of potential and that everyone can strive to become better. As a teacher, it is my job to nourish and encourage the student to want to learn. You can only teach a student so much if they do not want to learn. So by creating lessons that students can relate to and are interested in, I will be encouraging them to want to learn. My environment will be a safety net for them, and I want them to feel as comfortable as possible so they are able to grow and develop.

Learning Exceptionalities

Every environment in a school should enhance student's learning. Although we have curriculum standards, it is a teacher's job to adapt curricula for every student's needs so that they are able to learn to the best of their ability. Providing a flexible curriculum for your students provides them with different opportunities to bring out their strengths. Every students has strengths and weaknesses, and as a teacher it is our job to really get to know our students and help them excel in their areas of strength, and to improve on their areas of weakness. We have discussed multicultural education and some of the certain things a teacher needs to do in order to have a responsive multicultural classroom. The same goes for special education. We as teachers need to become more knowledgeable and make sure that we know their and adapt to their accommodations. While doing some research, I came across this AWESOME website that gives us a little insight and makes us see things in a different perspective.

http://sped.wikidot.com/exceptionalities

For example, the author writes:

"We all have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. A student may have severe problems in math and science but be a gifted public speaker with a talent for learning foreign languages. A student may be an intelligent, creative learner in all academic areas, but may be hampered by a wheelchair that makes many locations and activities inaccessible. You may, for example, have students like these in your classroom".

"Jason, a tall fifth grader, can throw a baseball at eighty miles per hour yet cannot hear".

"Michael, an excellent mountain climber, cannot see".

"Susan, whose drawings and paintings show a sophisticated understanding of composition and color, reads two years beneath her grade level."

I thought that these were great examples of children who can excel in one thing, but may not be so strong in another thing. All because someone is restricted to a wheel chair, doesn't mean that they shouldn't have access to a general education classroom. It is the school's job to make sure that a student in a wheel chair is able to access a classroom with either an elevator or a ramp. Schools have to be handicap accessible now. No one is perfect, and us as teachers really need to take a step back and really assess our students. It will only benefit our students and us as well. By us assessing our students, it will help us become more knowledgeable on what the student's strengths and weaknesses are. We then can use the flexible curriculum so the students can learn in a way that is appropriate to their learning style. This goes for every students whether they are a special needs students, or they have a multicultural background, or if they are gifted/talented students. Every student should have the opportunity to shine and show off their strengths. I think that is what school is about; it is where we come to find out and bring out our strong side, and to learn and work on things that we aren't so strong with.

Multicultural Education

Being responsive to multicultural education will always be a challenge for teachers. I think teachers will forever be faced with diversity and obstacles that they will have to overcome. There are many different ways to approach multicultural education, but there are also many ways that you should avoid. When you need a multicultural curriculum transformation, you first need to ask yourself a few questions. What are the necessary steps should I take? What is the issue at hand? How do I need to make myself more knowledgeable in order to have a different perspective? It is important to educate oneself about a culture before diving into a lesson. It will not only benefit you as a teacher, but for the student as well. The student will see that you are trying to understand things from their point of view, therefore they will have more respect for you as well. I realized throughout my field work experience in college that the curriculum are becoming more and more diverse, but I feel as if they are not fully including diversity. Since schools are becoming so diverse, the students need a deep understanding of the world around them in order for them to understand their peers. If students don't understand their peers, they will not feel comfortable, causing them to segregate themselves to stay in their comfort zone. One topic I would like to focus on is discussing differences. One thing that teachers often mistaken while teaching multicultural education is that they focus on the differences between cultures more than the similarities between cultures. Obviously there is differences between the cultures, and the students have figured that out. It is important to discuss the main differences, but it is also MORE important to discuss the similarities between cultures so the students have something to relate to. Students are more understanding and are more willing to engage themselves if it is something they can relate themselves too. For example; holidays. Most classrooms aren't allowed to just discuss one holiday anymore because students and parents are more sensitive to their religions and cultures. For instance; during Christmas time, it is important to talk about holidays such as Kwanzaa and Hanukkah as well, and it is important to discuss the differences AND similarities. Discussing these holidays to a group of students in the U.S. "All of these holidays are celebrations like Christmas, so depending on what culture you are from, that is the holiday you will celebrate around Christmas time. Each holiday has certain traditions that they do everyone year. Does anyone know of any of these traditions?" The students can then raise their hands and take guesses like "All of these holidays include presents, and family parties". This way the students can relate and see the difference perspectives of the difference cultures. Teachers should not shy away from teaching multicultural lessons. There are so many ways to make it fun and exciting for the students!