Nick Vander Ploeg

Philosophy of Education
For as long as I can remember I have desired to be a teacher. With this in mind it
is important to note that I take my role as an educator very seriously. As such I believe that the
purpose of an educator is to prepare individuals for the world in which they live. I believe that
the purpose of teaching in an academic setting is provide students with the tools that they will
need to engage in the needs of their communities and cultures. As an educator I believe that I
am at the forefront of this purpose. As teachers we are entrusted with the highest responsibility
of ensuring that students are prepared to engage their communities in a way that engages the
needs of those communities. Teachers also play another critical role in this purpose as mentors.
Teachers, along with being those who prepare students, are also those who are supposed to
guide those students though the challenges they meet in their current everyday lives. It is with
this in mind that I inform how I choose to manage my classroom. If my purpose is to prepare
students to face life's challenges then it should be my responsibility to give them the tools to
face those challenges. Therefore, when behavioral challenges arise I choose to empower such
students with tools they need to help correct their own behavior.
It is likely that, as I begin a career in the field of education, I will encounter people from
many different backgrounds. Depending on the school district in which I will work it is likely that I
will be engaged with student from a variety of racial, cultural, socioeconomic, and religious
backgrounds. Many of these backgrounds I will likely be unfamiliar with. I know that these
diverse backgrounds will lead to diversity in the way my students will learn in my classroom. It is
difficult for me to explain exactly how I will teach my classrooms without knowing the individuals
that I will have in my classroom when the time comes. Knowing this, it is likely that I wont know
exactly how I will handle my specific classroom until such time as I have a classroom. I do know,
however, that I will have to adapt the way that I teach these students in order to best incorporate
the diverse learners that I will be teaching. The way I teach these students will not be tailored to

their specific situations, rather, the way I will teach will be tailored to the way that my students
learn best. For example, if my classroom is comprised of a children from lower socio-economic
backgrounds, I will tailor the way I teach to be conducive to how these students learn the best.
I believe that children, like all human beings, are experiential learners. They require
more than just lectures to learn the material that they need to learn. I believe that learning in an
educational setting should be more than learning the appropriate concepts and then being able
to fill in the appropriate bubbles on a test. It is these beliefs that will define how I will structure
my teaching when such time comes. These beliefs will likely affect the way I instruct my
students. Because I believe that children are experientially I will attempt to incorporate unique
experiences into my classroom. I will also attempt to tailor my instructional methods to be more
engaging for my students, so long as it is appropriate. When it comes to the way that I will
assess my students, this will be affected by my belief that, as stated above, filling in bubbles is
not an appropriate assessment of a student's progress on a particular concept. I believe that
there are more practical, as well as engaging ways to access a childs learning.
Another important aspect of my teaching career is my relationship with individuals
outside of my classroom. I believe, in order for students to gain the most out of what is being
taught it is necessary for them to have parents who are involved in their childs learning. Of
course, I realize that I cant be 100% responsible for the involvement of parents in classroom
affairs I do think it is important for me to, when possible, involve the parents in the learning that
is taking place in my classroom. I believe that having a good relationship with my teaching
colleges is important as well. Teaching, much like other professions, is one in which teamwork is
essential to the success of students.