Running head: ROMINE PHILOSOPHY ON EDUCATION
ROMINE PHILOSOPHY ON EDUCATION
Deborah Romine
University of the Cumberlands
EDOL 562 Dr. Creekmore
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Running head: ROMINE PHILOSOPHY ON EDUCATION
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Throughout my life, I have dealt with a great number of professional challenges. Of those
challenges, I feel the one that required the most perseverance came early in my teaching career.
Due to the fact that I was not an Education major, I was required to complete an alternative
certification program. This program consisted of a number of different education courses,
classroom observations, professional development, and observation hours. This was a difficult
task. Not only was I a full-time teacher and coach, I also had children and a husband that needed
my time and attention as well. My children are older now and though they still need their mother,
they are more involved in independent activities. It is through these experiences I have been able
to develop my professional teaching philosophy: all students are capable of learning given the
right environment and motivation to want to learn. My job as an educator is not only to prepare
my students academically for their future, but to help mold them to become productive members
of the community.
Learning involves the acquisition and modification of knowledge, skills, strategies, attitudes
and behaviors. (Schunk, 1996) As an educator, mentor and coach, it is my responsibility to find
a way to reach all of my students in order to help them learn in and out of the classroom.
Students have different academic needs as well as learning styles. Differentiation without
alienation in the classroom is necessary to foster student success. Motivating the detached
student can often become an obstacle. Student’s needs have changed over the last several
decades; not only their needs but their learning styles. Successful engagement in the classroom
depends on the following: interaction (virtual and personal relationships), exploration (inquiry &
problem solving), relevancy (real-life), technology, authentic assessment (Taylor and Parsons,
2011). Student engagement is a serious issue that is ongoing in today’s classroom. It is not just a
problem for the detached child; for the low achieving child or for the child that is not
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“expected “to succeed; it is a problem for all children. My first high school course was a Physics
class. I taught that class the way my high school teacher taught me; page after page of notes and
practice problems. I didn’t realize how bored my students were until I realized how bored I was.
Block scheduling allowed me to change my approach at the semester. My students were most
grateful, as was I. Inquiry became our new best friend. Learning became relevant and thus more
enjoyable; not just for the students but for myself as well. Once you lose your students desire to
want to participate, they lose they desire to want to learn.
Communication is the key to academic success in the classroom. A vital piece of teacherstudent communication is feedback. Teachers need to provide performance feedback and
maintain lesson momentum (Roshenshine & Stevens, 1986). Students need to understand not
only when they have done well, but when they have made mistakes. It is important to correct
mistakes without ridicule. Guide the students in the direction they need to succeed. It is not
enough to inform them when they are wrong or have completed a task incorrectly but to give
suggestions on how to complete the task correctly.
Student discipline is vital to classroom management and student success in the classroom. I
firmly believe in handling behavior issues in class, unless they are non-negotiable. I outline a
routine discipline plan with my students the first few days of class so they become immediately
aware they are responsible for their own behavior. I believe that parent involvement is also a
vital component to discipline issues in the classroom. Phone calls and emails to parents and or
guardians prove very helpful in quelling unwanted behavior and is often the end of the problem.
Establishing a mutual respect from day one will generally eliminate most routine discipline
issues.
Participation in continuing education and professional development throughout the school
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year is necessary in order to stay abreast with current curriculum standards as well as educational
reforms. Our students change from year to year as should the way we approach them. We can’t
give the same lesson in the same manner year of after year and expect our students to succeed
Excellence is a more appropriate goal!
A philosophy in education is something I believe should be flexible; it has to be able to
grow and change as you mature with your profession. Having said that, classroom management
needs to be consistent; show no favoritism among students. Give students a voice. Make
learning relevant. Incorporate technology, independent experiences, student’s backgrounds and
cultures and make it learning fun. Lay the ground work to help establish a mutual respect from
day one. Flexibility comes with curriculum. It is imperative to remember that not all students
are the same; not all students learn the same and not all students bring the same background
knowledge to the classroom. Set high expectations for all students; do not lower them but change
the approach that helps students to achieve those expectations. Allow students to progress at
their own rate helping them to develop and utilize the skills that will best help them to succeed
not only in the classroom but later in life.
Running head: ROMINE PHILOSOPHY ON EDUCATION
References
Rosenshine B. & Stevens R. (1986). Teaching functions. In Schunk, Dale Learning theories
(2nd ed., p. 419). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Schunk, Dale ( 1996). Learning theories. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Taylor, L. & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving student engagement. Current Issues in Education.
14(1).http://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/745/162
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