Danielle Kovach
Philosophy of Education
Ignacio Estrada once said, “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should
teach them the way they learn.” This quote was presented to me in my junior year special
education class and the professor asked us to ponder it. I began to think that this quote reflects
they type of teacher I need and want to be. The teacher I need to be is the one who teaches the
way my students learn and not how I think the material should be taught. This quote also is
representative of the type of environment that I nurture in my classroom. I believe that the
environment should make the children feel comfortable and safe in order to learn. Also, I want
my classroom to be a cooperative learning environment where each child knows that they have a
special talent or gift that they can contribute to the group. In addition, as a teacher I will do
whatever I can to cater to all of my students individual needs. I believe the purpose of education
is to frame the minds of young children with the content, skills, and knowledge needed in order
for them to succeed in the future. My role as an educator is to inspire my students and provide
them with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in my class, in future classes, and in
their lives.
One of the joys of being an elementary school teacher is the ability to watch the children
in your class grow and develop throughout the year. The children, although they live in the same
town, come from various backgrounds. I believe that it is the teacher’s job to recognize these
differences and bring the children together by establishing a community amongst the children.
Children learn in different ways, have a variety of interests, and different strategies may be
required to help them succeed. As a teacher I believe that it is my responsibility to address my
students’ physical, emotional, psychological, and learning needs. Academically it is my task to
identify the areas in which each one of my students succeeds and struggles and to form my
instruction based upon this. Parents are a wonderful resource to help a teacher get to know her
students. As a teacher I will strive to establish a close relationship with the parents of my
children because I am responsible for their child’s success among many other things. I will work
to keep the parents of my students involved in the learning community and keep them updated on
their child’s progress.
Once I have provided my students with a comfortable environment to learn, it is my
belief that the teacher must try to keep the students engaged and motivated to learn. As a teacher
I will use active engagement strategies, such as total participation techniques, to ensure that my
students are involved in each part of a lesson. In addition, I will try to incorporate cooperative
learning as much as possible so the students can work together to use their individual skills in a
group setting. I will also seek to use guided individualized and group instruction in both reading
and writing so the students have the opportunity to practice the skills they have learned. In
addition to this, I will use differentiated and individualized instruction as needed to help my
students to succeed.
Instruction and assessment go hand and hand. Assessment allows the teacher to see if an
individual student or the entire class has grasped the material at hand. As a teacher I will design
my assessments so they can be both formal and informal and occur during a lesson or at the end
of one. I will formulate my instruction based on the results of the assessments that I provide my
students. In order to involve my students in their own assessment, I will help them to review the
rubrics I have designed and grade themselves; aiding them in self-assessment, and allowing them
to self-check their own work.
Children should enjoy coming to school to learn and have fun while doing so. My
classroom will be fun, exciting, and inviting so that students feel confident to learn. My goal is to
inspire my students and have them look forward to coming to school each day and to be ready
and eager to learn.