McKenzie Turley

EDU 201

Philosophy of Education

I am choosing this profession because I want to make a difference in children's

lives and help mold our future. The kids coming into schools today will be the ones that

someday run our country, so it is important to me that they get a good and well

balanced education to start with. My teachers in the past, good and bad, have helped

influence my decision. I want to be able to be a mentor to the kids I teach and someone

they know they can trust as some of my teachers were to me. I also want to be able to

erase some of the damage that bad teachers have caused, I want students to be

excited about their education and see the classroom as a safe place. I do not have a lot

of experience in this field, but I do plan on getting more when everything can be open

again. I have 3 younger siblings so I know that working with children can be difficult, but

is something I love doing. I am still very new to this career path, so I do not have a lot of

knowledge on the school systems, but I have been learning so much in the classes I am

taking. I feel that there are a lot of things in the school systems that need to be

changed, and I hope I am able to make a difference.

I believe that all students have the right to a good education, no matter where

they are from, their parents financial status, or what type of person they want to be.

There was a lot of discrimination in our countrys past and I feel like that is something

that is still going on today. There have been a lot of great strides in eliminating it from

our school systems, but we still have a long way to go. Like I stated before, the children

we teach today are going to be the leaders of society in the future, so we should teach
them about acceptance and trust rather than separating them into different groups

based on things they have no control over.

For instruction, there are a lot of strategies I plan to use to help my students.

When I was younger, I knew that I learned better when I was doing hands-on activities,

so I plan to use those types of activities as often as possible. Young students do not

want to sit at a desk all day, them being able to get up and do things around the

classroom has a strong impact on their ability to learn. A reward system is also helpful

in getting them to remember to turn in assignments and remember the rules of the

classroom. It is important for me to also have a few different ways of teaching different

lessons, some students may be able to read it and understand it while others may learn

better by seeing it drawn out, so I plan to have a few different ways to do everything so

that each student has a chance to understand it in a way that matches their learning

style.

I think patience and understanding are very important qualities to have in this

career. When doing my field observation, I noticed that some students do need a lot

more time to grasp concepts than others and it can seem frustrating for the student. The

teacher I observed was amazing at working with students individually and trying

different tactics to see what helped them the most and that is something I want to be

able to do. I plan on volunteering at the library in my town again once I can, they have a

few programs there where you can read to kids and do activities with them. I also plan

on trying to get a job working either in a school or somewhere that works with children

to be able to get a feel if that is something I truly want to do every day.