Artifact 3 - Philosophy of Education

RUNNING HEAD: ARTIFACT #3 PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Artifact #3 - Philosophy of Education
Elisabeth Whitefield
College of Southern Nevada
EDU 201
Susan Bridges
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I am choosing the profession of elementary education because I have a passion for learning and I
want to be able to share the same excitement and enjoyment that I find in discovering some new
information with kids so they can be excited about school. I was inspired to pick this career path
by some of my high school teachers who reignited my spark. I was always a great academic
student and I have always flourished in a school environment, so I feel like it’ll be a challenge
and my obligation for me to pass that on to younger generations. When I did my field
observation with Ms. Turner, I got to experience what teaching is like while doing this distanced
learning. I got to experience firsthand how teachers and students are adapting to virtual
classrooms and the things that have changed since I was in elementary school. The coolest thing
for me was seeing just how smart and independent first-graders really are. They were able to do
so many tasks by themselves and stay on track even in small groups.
When I was reading the chapter on educational philosophies, I decided that the ones I felt most
aligned with were the constructivism and the progressivism philosophies. My own ideals about
teaching are that the learning process should focus on the student as a whole and that you should
allow and guide students to discover the ways that they learn best and what they are inspired to
learn about. Of course, teaching in larger groups makes this teaching style more difficult,
because you have several individuals who all think and absorb information in completely
different ways, so the best you can do is make your teaching adaptable. This year has been a
huge reflection on how the education system in the U.S. is set up and some of the flaws that it
holds. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many schools to shift to a distanced form of learning,
where everything is done online. I think that this event has really forced me to examine my own
ways of learning and how I need to be adaptable as both a student and a future teacher.
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Some instructional strategies that I want to bring into my classroom are visualization and the
inclusion of technology. In my life, I’ve noticed that many people need to see and do things for
themselves in order to get a better understanding of what they are learning. If students have the
ability to see how something is done or how it works then they get the chance to do it
themselves, through practice or acting it out, and they’ll have an easier time retaining the
information. As for student diversity and variability, I believe that it is important to be
knowledgeable about the different ethnic, religious and social groups, as well as having an open
mind so that you don’t allow your personal biases to affect the way you teach or impact your
students and their learning. You need to be able to empathize with the way your students are
feeling about the things around them, and be a stable adult role model in their lives while they
are your students so that they have a place to feel safe and comfortable, regardless of their
situation.
Some skills that I’ll need in order to succeed in this career field are passion for my subject
material, or passion for my career as a whole, dedication to my responsibilities and tasks that
help keep things running smoothly in a classroom, and patience with my future colleagues,
students, and myself. I believe that to be a great teacher, you need to have empathy to ensure that
you can learn to understand how your students are affected by their educational experience. It’s
so important to me that kids feel seen and that they have at least one safe space for them to grow
in. School was my safe place for many years because I had some great teachers that allowed me
to blossom in their classrooms. I want to be a teacher like that. Someone who shares all of the
great things about learning with my students. As for continuing to pursue this career path, I plan
to continue my education and earn my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, for starters.
My long term goal is to earn my master’s degree in Education so that I can be a more effective
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teacher. I have a list written down of all of the tasks I need to accomplish in order to obtain my
teaching license in the state of Nevada and I plan to continue working my way down that list.
I’m very excited to be a teacher.

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RUNNING HEAD: ARTIFACT #3 PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Artifact #3 - Philosophy of Education

College of Southern Nevada

so many tasks by themselves and stay on track even in small groups.

information. As for student diversity and variability, I believe that it is important to be

I’m very excited to be a teacher.

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