Carmen Arias
Professor Saladino
EDU 201
Philosophy of Education
Throughout my academic journey, my peers and I were always asked what we wanted to
do when we grew up. I had always answered different careers ranging from a veterinarian to a
firefighter. Even after I graduated high school, I could not narrow down what exactly I wanted to
pursue. After listening to one of my former professor’s journey through college, I realized I
should pursue what matters most to me and that was education. I understand that the school
system can be unpleasant with the policies in place, the wages, and the demand a teacher must
fulfill, but I also understand that these students need a teacher despite all the complexities of a
school system.
After reading the chapter that focuses on the different philosophies of teaching and
completing the portfolio project, I found that the philosophy of education that dictates my beliefs
on education is existentialism and progressivism. My understanding of why these philosophies
dictate my beliefs is because I still have a hard time finding the meaning in my life and my
experiences, but hopefully my classroom environment and lessons can help guide the students
into understanding their own meaning of life and formulate a deeper value in their education.
Then the focus on progressivism, I want my teaching methods to involve the whole classroom
and have the content of a lesson have meaning to the students and base a lesson on their interests.
Regarding the history of education, I just want my classroom to be an environment that will
allow the students to grow positively.
Some strategies of learning that I would implement would be to enforce cooperative
learning with their peers and pausing between lessons to allow reflection on the material. In my
own experience, I was taught to memorize and not always conceptualize the content of the
lesson. I want to enforce a way for the students to understand that they should be taking these
new ideas and find meaning that will follow them throughout their life and eventually build on
the content in the years to come. Student diversity is a very complex aspect of teaching as it
pertains to the individualism of each student and their background, and I would try to understand
each student’s individual life by asking them to work with their families in writing down
traditions and holidays. My strategy for student variability would be to implement different
methods of learning for each student to experience and learn the material, either through visual
learning, kinesthetic learning, or auditory; eventually I would allow each student to complete an
assignment depending on their preferred method of learning. Behavior is a big concern of mine
as I would try to implement this independency in each student and allow them to correct
themselves after understanding the choices they made and the impact it has on themselves and
others. Operant conditioning works well with the younger individuals and it would help to bring
awareness to a desired way of behavior and is something I would implement to an extent. I
would implement exit-tickets and a reflective journal in which they summarize what they’ve
learned and are still struggling with for strategies on assessments.
To move forward in this career, I will need to complete my associates at the College of
Southern Nevada and then continue my education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Then
I will need to complete the PRAXIS exam and earn my licensure to teach here in Las Vegas.
While I am completing my education for this profession, I plan to become a substitute teacher to
further my experience in various amounts of classroom. I believe I need to work on how to
communicate vaguely with children when needed, as I tend to advise anyone who asks for it but
that may not sit well with the parents. There will be situations where I should interject a lesson or
advice, but sometimes I do find myself saying too much. To move forward in this profession
passion, empathy, and patience are essential qualities an individual should possess. The
profession is not an easy career nor is it the most desirable, but for me it is what I truly believe is
my purpose.
