My Educational Philosophy     

          As a pre-service teacher, I have given much thought into the type of teacher that I want to eventually portray.  Throughout my educational career I have been exposed to different teaching methods and styles, some I have viewed with great respect and admiration and others I have viewed as less essential to a productive classroom.  Constantly there is mention of progressive or conservative education, I am undoubtedly a great fan of progressive education and the valuable impact it has on the classroom.

            The Multiple Intelligence Theory that was developed by Howard Gardner has been stressed as an important aspect to productive education, and it is an educational theory which I view very highly.  The MI theory is based around a set of eight intelligences that each individual is thought to poses.  As we know, no individual is exactly the same, and that goes for learning styles as well.  The MI theory helps to address each child on a level that best suits them and touches upon their more powerful intelligence, so no child is essentially "left behind"  So, in retrospect you can teach math through music and language through expression.  This theory is what best describes progressive education, and I intend on incorporating into my everyday classroom.  I feel that all children have a right to be reached though the intelligence that is ideal for them, and as all the intelligences are important, no one intelligence is more important than the other; just as one child is not more important than another.

           Peer mediation and conflict resolution in the classroom is also an aspect of teaching that is extremely important to me.  I feel that children learn best in an environment that they feel most comfortable and safe.  I have zero tolerance for bullying or teasing of any form in my classroom.  With all the, negative outside factors in society today that effect children, why should we allow those factors carry into their everyday learning.  Children need to feel love, comfort and respect in the classroom.  This topic was the focus and basis for my thesis, and I consider myself to a person that is knowledgable on the topic.  As a teacher it is your responsibility to create that ideal world for your students.  I want to express the importance of communicating feelings and the value of respect for each and every student. 

            Collectively I hope to embody all that I have mentioned in conjunction with making education come alive in my classroom.  A teachers job is more then just creating, and teaching a lesson.  A teacher is responsible for being an educator, parent, peer, counselor and an example for each and every student.  If throughout my entire career, I have one child come back to me the tell me that I have made a difference in their life, I will then know all the work and energy that I put into education has paid off.

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