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Tabitha Nelson

Professor Baker

Edu 201

13 April 2024

EDU 201 Portfolio Preparation Artifact # 3 – Philosophy of Education

It was not an easy choice for me to land on this profession. I have been in the service

industry as a bartender and server for 10 years, and even though I have been very grateful for the

opportunities presented to me and the money I was able to make to support my family, I knew it

was not my forever career. I racked my brain for months; I would tell my husband “I do not want

to work in restaurants anymore!” I just never could decide what it is I wanted to do. I did,

though, know what life I wanted. It was very important to me that I chose a career that would fit

in with my lifestyle. I knew that I wanted a career that was on the same schedule as my children,

or at least very close to it, I wanted a career that I could make similar money to what I made

now, and I wanted a career that I could live anywhere in the country and still be able to work. At

first when I went back to college I chose to go for accounting, but three semesters in I knew it

was not the right choice. During those semesters, I kept having thoughts on maybe I should

become a teacher, I even thought well if accounting does not work out, I can teach with a

bachelors degree in another field, but I was so determined to become an accountant that I never

gave attention to those thoughts. Last fall was when I had to finally accept that accounting was

not for me, and that I needed to follow my gut and become a teacher.

There are many reasons that make me feel like this is the right path for me. Really though

I just want to give children an amazing experience in school. I feel like one bad school year can
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really change a student’s mind on whether they want to be there, just like one amazing teacher

can teach children to love school. I want to be that teacher; I want kids to leave my classroom

when school is over and be excited for the next school year to come. I remember different

teachers throughout my childhood, one teacher taught us how to count money by printing out

large fake money, and every time we got good grades or good behavior she would give us some

money. At the end of the school year, we had to count our money, as long as we counted

correctly, we were able to “buy” items from her treasure box, I left with posters, pencils, toys,

candy, and so much more. I had another teacher in 4th grade that took us outside to cook hot dogs

with tinfoil in the hot heat, she always had fun science projects for us to try. I also had an art

teacher in 9th grade that had us look at ourselves in a spoon and draw ourselves. It was probably

the most challenging and exciting art project I ever did in school. When I was homeschooling my

children for the first year of their education I fell in love with the light in their eyes when they

understood a concept, or when they could finally read a book they had been eyeballing for

months. I look forward to sharing those moments with every child who walks through my room.

I also look forward to spreading love and kindness to my children, hoping they can take it with

them and spread it into the world.

During my observation hours I really got to see what it would be like in the classroom,

and I left there even more excited than when I first started. I will not lie and say that I was not

nervous, because I was. I was afraid that the kids would not like me, I was nervous that I would

get in the teacher’s way or be a nuisance in her classroom. I did not let the fear and nervousness

take hold of me. I got down and asked students’ questions. I showed up for all my hours, and I

always asked questions if I was not sure about something. I still hold some fear that I will not be

a good teacher, but having the students run up to me and tell me how much they missed me every
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time they saw me, or how much they loved having me there helped ease my anxiety and made

me feel proud to be there. Who knew it was the students that would help me feel comfortable

there. I am not naïve to the challenges that teachers can and will face, as I saw some during my

observation hours, but I feel ready and determined to tackle them with as much grace as possible.

Watching my assigned teacher reminded me of my two friends who really urged me to get into

teaching; I can see why they love it so much. I am so happy that I took their advice and

embarked on this path towards education.

When I think about educational philosophy and psychological orientations, I know that I

find myself in the middle of both progressivism and constructivism. I believe it is not our job to

just be teachers, but it is our job to be educators. Anyone can teach that two plus two equals four,

an educator helps students understand why. I feel it is important to stand back and let students

take the wheel sometimes. Let them make mistakes, collaborate with friends, problem solve, and

most importantly have fun doing it! I feel the best approach to learning is a hands-on interactive

approach because it gets the students involved. I could sit in a building and listen to someone

ramble on and on about a subject, but if they were to involve me, put something in my hands,

and ask me to help them I would be so much more inclined to learn. I know that as a teacher I

will get my students involved while learning.

When I reflect on the history of education and bring it into my classroom my focus will

be giving everyone an equal opportunity in education. Whether they are rich or poor, black, or

white, from the United States, or from somewhere else, or whether they are a boy, or a girl. We

saw the movement for equality in 1823 when Alexander Lucius Twilight became the first person

of color to earn a bachelor’s degree when he graduated from Middlebury College. In 1852,
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Massachusetts became the first state to make formal schooling mandatory for all children, and

another important time in history when Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court

unanimously ruled that separate is inherently unequal and declared segregation in American

schools to be unconstitutional. Everyone deserves my same attention, my same focus, and my

same respect. I feel the biggest thing we have learned from the history of education is how so

many students were denied the right to education, and I will never let that happen in my

classroom.

I will approach student learning by first setting the climate of my classroom. I will use

this when I approach the way that I teach, and how I interact with students. It is important to

make students feel welcomed no matter their learning differences or the diversity of my

classroom. When it comes to diversity, I feel one of the most important elements is caring, and

showing your students that you care no matter what. When it comes to student variability, it is

important as an educator to be flexible, what works for one student might not work for the other.

To do this it is important to run assessments that way you know where each student is at, and if

they need extra help, you can be there to guide them. If students need extra help, it is important

to reach out to other educators if need be.

I think my favorite instructional strategy I saw during my observation hours was centers.

The teacher had centers for both math and English. English was in the morning, and math was in

the afternoon after lunch. They were both set up fairly the same. It would involve splitting

students up and having some work on the computer, some play games pertaining to that subject,

and other would meet with the teacher for small group instruction. I felt like this really gave the

teacher an opportunity to instruct smaller groups that she paired together based on their academic
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level. I felt like this created a positive classroom environment, gave the kids a chance to socialize

and move about, while she helped other kids who needed it. I also think moving kids around

throughout the year to give them opportunities to find other classmates they work best with is a

good instructional strategy. Another instructional strategy that I enjoyed during my observation

was every morning the teacher I was observing took 10 min of the days for the kids to talk about

their feelings that morning, they got 5 minutes to discuss feeling with each other, and then she

would call on 3 students to share with her. I felt like this gave the students the ability to get

things off their chest, or just talk with friends before the school day started.

I feel there is still so much for me to learn when it comes to teaching, but I am keeping

my ears and heart open to receiving new ideas, advice, and education. I plan on keeping my life

open to education for my entire career, because I truly believe you can always continue learning.

I am so excited to become a teacher, as well as excited to continue taking classes for my degree.

I have learned so much just from this one class. I have learned the importance of quality

education for all, excepting and understanding diversity in the classroom, that there is different

teaching techniques and philosophies, the importance of creating a community in the classroom,

the importance of flexibility when it comes to students, and the best of all, be willing to learn

from your students.

Some steps that I plan on taking before getting my license is first and foremost finishing

my bachelor’s degree. After I finish my associate in education at CSN I will then transfer over to

UNLV to get my bachelors. In January I will be applying for my substitute license so that I can

start substituting while I finish my degree. I think it will help a lot to immerse myself into the

field before I am given my own classroom to run on my own. I plan on taking many steps to
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become the teacher I aspire to be. One will be continuing my education into master’s in

education. I will also take classes and workshops throughout my career. I will ask questions

when talking to colleagues and be open to constructive criticism. I also believe that I will love

this career, and that will also play a huge part in my quality of work. I feel that the skills I have

as a teacher, like being compassionate, having patience, being organized, having critical thinking

skills, good management skills, and being a good listener will help me in my field. I look

forward to my journey, as well as all the information I will be learning to set me up for success

in my role as an educator.