Buffy Thomas

EDU 203

Patrick A. Leytham, Ph.D.

May 8, 2016

Philosophy Part II

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to define my educational philosophy and express how this approach

is beneficial to a specific disability in Special Education. It is important for educators to gain an

understanding of their educational philosophy, as it will be the guiding factor in their daily

interactions with others and how they teach.

Theoretical Framework

The educational philosophy which dictates my current beliefs about special education is

progressivism. I believe education should focus on the whole child. Children have an innate

curiosity for life and naturally ask questions as their view of the world unfolds before them. I

believe that an educator can give children a love for learning when they capitalize on a child’s

innate curiosity. The knowledge I have gained in this course reinforces my progressivist

philosophy of teaching. I learned that all children, no matter with what disability, have the

ability to learn. Children are not robots and one cannot program each child to learn in the exact

same way or at the same pace. I loved the words of Richard M. Gargiulo in the textbook, Special

Education in Contemporary Society, 5e, “It is often said that we need to see that all children
achieve at the same high levels. The same comment would never be made about athletics” (p.

580). It is that way of thinking that takes the joy out of learning for many children.

My experiences, from my observation and service hours, cemented my educational

philosophy. On one occasion, a student wanted to know if the teeth were bones. We made time

to explore the answer to that question and because it was asked by the student, the class was

engrossed in what we learned. Another time, a student had a question about ants. Again, we

capitalized on this innate curiosity to learn about ants. Both of these students were students with

exceptionalities. I was able to work with children with many different exceptionalities and each

one, without exception, was curious and asked many questions during the course of my time with

them.

Practice

Federal law has given children with exceptionalities a right to be educated in a formal setting, by

licensed educators, in a least restrictive environment. Further, they have provided the means for

families of children with exceptionalities to get the assistance they need. No longer do families

feel they need to hide their children’s differences. There is no more segregation just because one

does not fit societies “norm.” Federal law makes children with exceptionalities apart of the

“norm.” I have a love for Special Education, regardless of the disability. However, I would like

to work with individuals with Autism spectrum disorders. Some associated characteristics that

are important to know when working with individuals with Autism Spectrum are: hyperactivity,

short attention spans, impulsivity, self-injurious behaviors, obsessive-compulsive disorder,

abnormalities of mood, sleeping problems, depression, poor reading comprehension, uneven

achievement, and impaired executive functioning. Leo Kanner was the psychiatrist who put a

name to the aforementioned characteristics, “autistic,” meaning “to escape from reality,” in 1943

(Gargiulo, p. 330). Kanner’s identification of this disorder eventually enabled it to be included as

one of the categories defined under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

Evidence-Based Practices and Strategies

I would like to focus my studies on the core subjects of education, Reading, Math, and Science.

According to Gargiulo, effective programs “build on the child’s strengths while also focusing on

the child’s areas of interest” (p. 343). This just happens to fall right into my progressivist

philosophy. Teaching strategies I would include are: discussion, active learning, cooperative

learning, and integrating technology. I would monitor their progress by giving informal

curricular based assessments. The goals/benchmarks would depend on each individual child, set

forth in their IEP. Ultimately, progress on mastery of learning objectives on the IEP would be the

goal.

Human Diversity

Student success (mankind’s success), depends on the recognition that humans are diverse. To see

progress, to find world peace, the recognition and acceptance of a diverse humanity is an

essential trait. I do not recall taking the “Multicultural Self-Report Inventory” in this class,

however, I have taken a Educational Diversity class at CSN. I have always seen myself as open

and sensitive to all individuals, regardless of our differences. However, through that class, I

learned that I stereotype a lot more than I ever thought I did. Those stereotypes came from my
ignorance of cultural philosophies and traditions. As a future educator, I hope to continue

multicultural studies to better relate to my students and their families.