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Jaime Sichmeller
ECE 441
Mary Bowne
March 3rd, 2017
Philosophy Paper
Throughout this world there is one thing that we know for sure will never change;

children are in fact the future of the world. Each day children learn more and more, whether it is

through the educational system, their families, or the environment. Everything that children see,

hear, or do, changes their lives in a positive ways or sometimes negative ways. A test they take, a

basketball game they lose, seeing their parent taken to jail, or having a new sibling enter the

houseall of these change the children just a little bit, shaping them into the adults that will

eventually take over the workforce when it is their time. Throughout this paper I will be talking

about my philosophy on subjects that directly affect children and the roles each subject plays in

childrens growth. I will cover how children learn, and the different roles of educators, families,

communities, and assessments. I will also be touching on my ethical responsibility to students,

their families, my colleagues, and the community. Throughout this paper I plan to shed some

light on truly the most important parts of a great educators.

Since starting my path as an educator at South Dakota State University I have agreed

with Gardners Multiple Intelligence theory. His theory states that there are nine different

intelligences, they are: Bodily/ Kinesthetic, Existential, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Logical/

Mathematical, Musical, Naturalist, Verbal/ Linguistic, and Visual/ Spatial. These intelligences

help me to separate my students by viewing them as individuals, not grouping them all together

(McClellan, Conti. 2008). My students will be different, having their own special way of

learning. There are the students who strive for lectures, the students who can just make a dance
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out of what they are learning, and the students who need visual aids and hands-on learning.

Everyone has their strengths, I believe being a great teacher is using ALL of these strengths, not

just the one I prefer.

Throughout the world there are many perceptions about an educators roles. One

individual might say, An educators role is to give me homework and tell me when its lunch

time. A parent might say, An educators role is to teach my child and take care of them for 8

hours out of the day. Some people have called educators babysitters, while others just give it

little to no thought. While these all sound a bit negative, I suppose one could argue they have a

bit of truth to them, but in reality an educator is so much more. All children learn in different

ways, it is up to me, the educator, to play on these learning strategies in order to help children

recognize their full potentials. I think this is especially important when having children with

special educational needs in my future classroom. Just like any average child, children in

special education have their preferred way of learning as well. I will have multiple lessons a day

that allow individual children to learn in the best way they can. I will use videos, lectures, hands-

on lessons, creating and using dances, songs, rhymes, equations, and nature. John Dewey was an

American philosopher who was a known believer of pragmatisms. He believed students would

learn best when they could experience their environment and curriculum, while also taking part

of their own learning (Talebi, p. 4, 2015). The future of the world is in the hands of those who

teach, so why would educators not do everything possible to ensure the children have the best

future? This means that not only is it important to learn different ways to teach the children but

also different ways to assess them as well.

Assessments are a crucial part of the education system, they let teachers know if the

children are really comprehending the material being taught. All children should be capable of
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passing the assessment the educators give them. This is extremely true when it comes to the

assessments I am going to use with my students. Maria Montessori is an Italian theorist who

believed that assessment should be based on how the children play and is assessed by checklists

and observing rather than grades (Bahmaee, Saadatmand, et al, 2016, p.151). Throughout

childrens lives however, there will be assessments given to them by others outside of the

classroom, including families. Families roles will be critical in how well children do on these life

assessments as well as the childrens values and morals.

Children may be in school roughly 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Whereas the rest of the

time children are with their families or caregiver. Families are childrens first teachers and the

most influential beings in their lives. Families help children form opinions, make choices (good

and bad), and is key in how a child grows up. My opinion is that families should be a very

imperative person within the classroom as well. Families should know what and how their

children are doing in the classroom and be involved as much as possible. According to Ardira

Ceka and Rabije Murati, family as whole, play the role of the direct leaders as well as

supporters of the implementation of the education of their childrenno doubt has a greater

influence on the overall development and creation of the human personality (2016, p. 61). As an

educator it is my responsibility to make sure that everyone and everything works together to

make a good learning environment for all children.

My ethical responsibility to provide the best learning environment for all children

including the children, their families, my colleagues, and the community. Children need to have

both my support along with their families support on how their educational obtainments. I should

involve my colleagues to get different views and opinions on the different teaching ideas and

styles I implement into my classroom. As a current member of NAEYC, I would highlight their
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amazing resources within my classroom as well. One of the things I like about NAEYC is their

message in a backpack. An example of one of these print outs would be one on family math

games to do at home with children (McLennan, 2017). This is simple math games that parents

can use in order to help children get out of school practice with the math that they may be

learning in school.

The role of an educator can be many different things. An educator could be a teacher in a

classroom, the parents at home, or the people within a community. The real role of an educator is

to foster a learning environment and make a difference in childrens lives, for the better. By

assessing what the children have learned, communicating with childrens families, my

colleagues, and different people within the community, I will do my absolute best to give

children in my future classroom the proper learning experiences that they need and deserve.
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Reference

Bahmaee, A. B.; Saadatmand, Z.; Yarmohammadian, M. H. (2016). Principle elements of

curriculum in the preschool pattern of Montessori. International Education Studies, 9 (1),

148-153.Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1086702.pdf

Ceka, A.; Murati, R. (2016). The role of parents in the education of children. Journal of

Education and Practice, 7(5), 61-63. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov

/fulltext/EJ1092391.pdf

McClellan, J. A.; Conti, G.J. (2008). Identifying the Multiple Intelligences of Your Students.

Journal of Adult Education, 37(1), 13-32. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov

/fulltext/EJ891071.pdf

McLennan, D. P. (2017, January). Message in a Backpack. In Family math game: Subitizing.

April 5, 2017, Retrieved from www.naeyc.org/tyc

Talebi, K. (2015). John Dewyphilosopher and educational reformer. European Journal of

Educational Studies, 1(1), 1-13. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov

/fulltext/ED564712.pdf