MadisonMackewicz

Dr.Monsour
Philosophyofeducation
25April2015

Ibelievethateverychildhasequalopportunitytolearnandgetaneducation.For
myself,asafutureteacherIwantteachingtoprovideandopportunityforcontinual
learningandgrowth.Oneofmyhopesasaneducatoristoinstillaloveoflearninginmy
students,asIsharemyownpassionforlearningwiththem.Ifeelthereisaneedfor
compassionate,strong,anddedicationindividualswhoareexcitedaboutworkingwith
children.Iwantmyclassroomtobeacarefreeandajudgefreezone.Iwantmychildren
tocomeinandwanttolearnwithopeneyesandanopenheart.Ifyouputyourmindtoo
ityoucanachieveit.

Withsuchademandandneedforthesechildrentogrowupandbewellroundedin
allaspectsoflife,theFrameworkfor21stCenturyLearnerswasdeveloped.It
emphasizedtheimportanceofhavingchildrenbeingabletosucceedinboththe
classroomandeventuallymovingintotheworkforce.Thecorevaluesarebasedon
criticalthinking,problemsolving,communication,andcollaboration.Iwillincorporate
thesecorevaluesintomyclassroombyhavingmanyopportunitiesforchildrentowork
independentlyandinsmallgroupsorlargegroups.Ithinkworkingindependentlyhelps
childrenorpeoplebecauseitmakesyouthinkforyourself.Whileinsmallorlargegroups

yougetotherpeoplesfeedbackandgettothinkofotherviewsandotherpeoples
understandingofsituations.

Manytheoristsdeservecreditforhelpingmaketheeducationsystemthewayitis
today.Afewparticulartheoristswhohavereallyinfluencedmypassionforteachingand
myteachingstyleareJeanPiaget,LevVygotskyandJohnDewey.Isharethesame
beliefsasPiaget,VygotskyandDeweyandplantoincorporatebothbeliefsinmy
classroom.
JeanPiagettheoriesareviewsofhowchildrensmindsworkanddevelop.Ihave
beenenormouslyinfluenced,particularlyineducationaltheory.Hedoesnotthinkthat
childrenunderstandeverythingatonetime;insteadtherearecertainpointsatwhichtheir
mindtakesofforcomprehendsandmovesintocompletelynewareasandcapabilities.He
realizedthesetransitionsastakingplaceatabout18months,7yearsand11or12years.
Hethenhashisfourstagesinlife.Thesestagesarethefourdevelopmentalstages.The
firststageiscalledsensorimotorandrangesfrombirthtoagetwo.Inthisstagethe
childrendifferentiatesselffromobject.StagetwoisthePreoperational,whichisfrom
twoyearsoldtosevenyearsofage.Thisstageiswhenthechildrenlearntouselanguage
torepresentobjects.Stagethreeisconcreteoperationalfromagesseventoeleven.Inthis
stagethechildrencanthinklogicallyaboutobjectsandevents.Thelaststageisformal
operationalandthisisfromelevenandup.Inthisstagechildrencanthinklogicallyabout
abstractpropositionsandtesthypothesessystemically.Theyalsobecomeconcernedwith
thehypothetical,thefuture,andideologicalproblems.

LevVygotskystheoriesstressthefundamentalroleofsocialinteractioninthe
developmentofcognition,ashebelievedstronglythatcommunityplaysacentralrolein
theprocessof"makingmeaning."Groupworkandsocialinteractionshouldbethe
forefrontofeducationbecausechildrencanshareideasandlearnfromeachother.
Childrenwilldevelopmoreconfidenceinboththemselvesandtheirpeerswitheach
groupactivity.Iwilltrytoincorporatethesebeliefsinmyclassroombyseparating
childrenintosmallgroupsandhavethempreformtasks.
JohnDeweystheoriesarebasedonprogressivelearning,whichislearningbydoing.
Childrenlearnbestwhenyoucanrelatesomethingyouareteachingtosomethingthey
haveexperiencedfirsthandorsomethingtheyareabletodo.Deweyalsobelievedall
childrendeserveanequalvoiceinandoutoftheclassroom.Mystudentswilllearnby
doingbecausetheywillalwaysbedoingsomethinghandson.

Theteachersfirstresponsibilityintheclassroomistocreateacaringandpositive
communityoflearners.Studentswilllearnbetteriftheyfeelsafeandlovedbyboththe
teachersandtheirpeers.Iasateacherwillmakesureeverystudentsneedisputbefore
myownandmakesuremyclassroomisbothinviting,safeandlearningfriendly.I
willpromotepositivepeerrelationships,developingandreinforcingclassroomrules,and
nurturingpositiverelationshipswithstudents.IntheclassroomIwillalwaysbefair.I
thinkthateverychildshouldhaveasay.
Mydreamclassroomwouldincorporatemybeliefsandphilosophies.Myclassroom
wouldnothavedesksbuttableswereagroupcouldsitat.Therewouldbealaptopat

eachseatalongwithanIPAD.Ithinkthatchildrenshouldinteractwiththecomputerand
knowhowtoworktheInternetbecausesoonthatisgoingtobetheonlything.Butonthe
otherhandmychildrenwillnotbeaddictedontotheIPADS.TherewouldbeaSmart
boardatthefrontoftheclassroomaswell.Iwillhaveaspeakertoplaycalmingmusic
whilestudentsaretryingtodoworkbothindividuallyandingroups.Also,Iwillhave
manyhandsonactivitiesintheclassroomthatstudentswillbeabletobothplaywithand
learnfrom.Iwillhavebeanbagchairsandfunplacesforthechildrentositnotjustboring
chairs.Iwillswitchtheclassroomupeachsemester.Ithinktheclassroomshouldalways
bedecoratedintheholidayorseasonthatwearein.Ithinkitsgoodtogetawayfromthe
boringclassroomlook.Thechildrenshouldwanttocomeintomyclassroomeveryday
andthinktothemselvesIwonderwhatMrs.Mackewiczwilldototheclassroomtoday.
AsateacherIwouldneverstandinfrontoftheclassroomandtalkforthewholetime
becauseIdonotthinkchildrenlearnthatway.
Iwilldevelopastrongandlastingrelationshipwitheachofmystudentsparents.I
willsendhomeapersonalizedweeklyreportofeachstudentsprogressandorlackof
progresstotheirparents.Ithinkitsgoodtolettheparentsknowwhattheirchildrenare
doingeveryweek,becausemostkidsgohomeandtellthereparentsIdontknowwhatI
learnedtoday.IwillhaveaFacebookgroupwithmyclassesparentssoIcangivethem
dailyupdatesonwhathappenedintheclassroomandwhatthestudentslearned.Parents
canalsoemailmewithanyproblemsorconcernsandIwillansweritassoonaspossible
withadetailedanswerandsolution.Ithinkitisamusttohaveastrongconnectionwith

theparents.Itnotonlyhelpsthechildrenbutalsoshowstheparentsyoucareabouttheir
childrenandalsothattheyareinvolved.

Iwillcreatealessonplanfollowingthecommoncorestandardsandimplementing
bloomstaxonomy.Bloom'staxonomyreferstoaclassificationofthedifferentobjectives
thatteacherssetforstudents.Itdivideseducationalobjectivesintothreedomains:
cognitive,affective,andpsychomotor.AgoalofBloom'staxonomyistomotivate
educatorstofocusonallthreedomains,creatingamoreholisticformofeducation.My
lessonplanswillcontainmanygroupactivitiesandhandonactivities.Theywilllearn
fromeachotherandincorporatetheirleaningstobothgroupworkandactivities.Ilearn
betterhandsonbutIknowallchildrendonot.SoIwillalsohaveinmylessonplan
readingontheirownanddoingprojectsorpapersindependently.

Asafutureeducator,itiscriticaltoremembertoenjoystudentsandeverythingthey
havetooffer.Sometimesitcanbeastruggle,butifsomethinggoeswrong,thereis
alwaysawaytofixtheproblem.Nomatterwhat,thereisalwaysthepowertomake
change.Nevergiveup!