Michelle Spinelli

Philosophy of Education
What do you want for your birthday sweetie, says mom. I want magnet men, a white
board and dry erase markers, was my response. If you asked me at the age of six what I wanted
to be, I would have told you I have no idea! When you are a kid, you do not realize that you
actually know exactly what role you are meant to take on in this worldeven though youve been
molding yourself for it all along. I would go home and teach lessons on my white board that
were identical to my teachers lesson in front of my imaginary classroom and would feel no
connection to the possibility of becoming a teacher. From such an early age, I was able to
exhibit learning in all different styles such as: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Remodeling the
classroom activities was a kinesthetic way of learning the material by teaching it to myself. In
order to teach the material myself, I had to see what activities the teacher did and listen to how
they phrased their questions in the classroom. Since then, I have learned quite a bit about
students and my perspective on the role of a teacher has shifted. I now think of teaching as an
artistic practice, the teacher is the creative artist and the lifelong learner is the outcome.
As a teacher, I will believe that every student can learn. There are students out there who
think they cant learn because they didnt do well on that exam. It takes a special teacher who is
willing to take the time to get to know each and every one of their learners; however, in the end it
is true that everyone can learn. The role of a teacher is to facilitate the process of learning by
nurturing the unique needs of each individual. It would be nave to believe that every pupil
interprets, learns, and understands the same way as one another. We are born our true selves and
as students go through the schooling process it is common to produce exact replica minds. I
want to be able to guide my students to develop their own mind with only 40 minutes a day. I
will approach this goal by being an active role in their lives. The students who are artistic would
be encouraged to show me their understanding of the content through a creative medium. A
student who dislikes science would be encouraged to relate the content to something they do like
since everything in this world is relative to one another. If a student does have an interest in
science, I would go beyond the classroom and have the student do scientific research or meet
scientists who are involved in the field. I believe it is counterproductive to simply utilize one
style of teaching. The teacher is to use their knowledge of the students and to create a way for
them to understand the material. I think students should be stimulated in the classroom in
various ways at the same time. Students learning biology should be taught by fully immersing
themselves in the material: using images and videos, doing laboratory activities that get the kids
moving, and doing creative projects. A teacher should not be standing in the same place the
entire class time; instead, they should be moving around the room helping students with their
activities. That is not to say there will not be moments where the teacher has to stand in front of
the class and impart information, it is to be done in moderation, as is everything else.
Once a teacher formulates creative lessons, it is up to the students to use the resources
they are given to transcend their learning. The student must set goals for themselves throughout
the school year that they desire to achieve. It helps the students when the parents have a strong

involvement in their childs education as well. A parent should aid a student in their learning
process as well as motivate them to work hard and meet their goals. The teacher needs to be
communicating with the parent on how the student is doing emotionally, behaviorally,
intellectually, and how they can work together towards the students goals. School as a whole
should be a safe place for growing minds to transcend into curious, intellectual, and humble
members of our society.
School should not be a one dimensional place that is only about learning content; instead,
school is a place for students to: develop communication skills, find out what they are interested
in and what they are not interested in, meet people, join extracurricular activities, and much
more. I think the curriculum is only one small part of what school is all about. There should be
an equal balance between the importance of the academics and the importance of the student as
an individual learner. The teacher must know their content area in order to teach it to their best
ability. The teacher must also know how their students learn or how their day is going in order to
adjust their lesson accordingly so they can retain all the information they are being taught.
Students who are not fully engaged in the lesson may as well not even be in the classroom.
So where do magnet men, white boards, and dry erase markers fit into all of this? I had
teachers encouraging my creativity through their diverse teaching methods. I became inspired in
the classroom to want to recreate the magic, so I had to have all of the things my teachers had, so
I could do what they did. I am ever changing as time goes on, my eyes remain the same;
however, the images that materialize within my brain evolve with myself. My viewpoints on
education are definitive at the moment, but that is not to say that remains the case forever. When
I am teaching bright young souls my whole world will change. Students often spend more time
with their educators than they do with their own families. This means us teachers have the
power to impact lives forever and that is what I want to do.