Sean Atkins

My Philosophy of Education

Summer of 2023, in June I was replaced by a robot at a warehouse job, so I decided to

take a job at a psychiatric hospital. The position was titled Mental Health Technician monitoring

adolescents with mental health and behavior. The hospital has a private school on property that

the patients attend regularly to complete education credits. By the end of August, I completed

the hiring process at Clark County School District for the Substitute teacher position. Along

my journey of life and previous experience of learning about those who have contributed to the

idea of becoming an educator-teacher has always been in my life. With several

family members already in the education field, seeing the commitment they have to teaching

students have inspired me to be interested in the field. I believe with my previous work

experiences of working in Milwaukee Public school system as a maintenance worker then

spending sixteen years as Biomedical Technician with developing my skills in customer service,

mechanical aptitude, logistics, self-motivated professional, leadership, organization, verbal and

written communication, inventory and auditing procedures I bring unique skills to the teaching

professionals from the healthcare field like understanding empathy of children, insight of

emotional intelligence of children, interpersonal relationship building and motivation to

accomplish education goals that students need. Another experience that has inspired me and

helped me understand the teaching environment was my field observation in a Clark County

middle school. Observing teachers, staff and students journey together the education process ,

school culture, and school schedule trying to meet the standards applied by the state of

Nevada was beneficial.

This leads me into what is teaching in the educational field. Most teachers have an

educational philosophy and psychological orientation belief that guides their teaching everyday

in school environment and classrooms. Let's start with the five philosophies of education then I
will explain my beliefs; which is 1) Essentialism- teacher centered, students accumulated

knowledge of our civilization through core courses in the traditional academic disciplines, 2)

Perennialism-teacher centered, little flexibility in curriculum, student learn from the “Great

Books” which focus on enduring themes and questions. Also considered the cousin of

Essentialism but the difference is Perennialism has more “rigorous standards”, 3)

Progressivism-student centered, concerns ,curiosity and real world experiences, formulate

meaningful questions, devise strategies to answer questions in the real world, 4) Social

Reconstruction - student centered, encourages schools, teachers, and students to focus their

studies and energies on alleviating pervasive social inequities and reconstruct society into a

new and more just social order. Concentrate on the needs of the students.

5) Existentialism-student centered whose purpose of education is to help find the meaning and

direction in their lives and it rejects the notion adults should or could direct meaningful learning .

My educational philosophy is to quote Bruce Lee “Empty your mind, Be formless.

Shapeless. Like water. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend”. Depending on what

level of teaching assignment that I am working wll determine which philosophy I use to teach.

My education philosophy is to master all five philosophies of education. High, middle,

elementary, private, and charter schools have different school cultures and the ability to adapt

to the schools’ environment is a must. Example with secondary education students are at a

stage that preparation is for the university or college academy so the teacher’s philosophy can

be Perennialism, “little flexibility in curriculum but be rigorous standard” and Social

Reconstruction, ”social inequities “ for the students so they can be admitted to the university

level of choice. The middle and elementary school is a foundational stage for students building

blocks to meet the secondary standards of educational philosophy depending on what of

school would be Essentialism-core courses, Existentialism-help children find meaning and

Progressivism-concerns,curiosity and real world.

against students for what ethnic group they are from is a major issue and can lead students to

harmful educational pathways. My knowledge of the negative historical laws placed on minority

groups like the Plessy vs Ferguson Supreme Court ruling creating “separate but equal “ thus

unequal education for African-Americans for over 100 years until the Brown vs. Education

ruling reversed it gives me insight that biases have to be eliminated so students/children can

thrive in the school educational environment .

At this point I would like to discuss the different teaching strategies and instructions I will

implement within the classroom. As I am currently a substitute teacher, I will always follow the

lesson plan laid out by the permanent teacher with some creative additions that can add a little

life and variety for the students. Whether substitute or permanent teacher there are critical

teaching strategies to be used everyday in a classroom; first and foremost is that I would

implement classroom management to set clear and concise guidelines for the students to

follow and reinforce everyday in class. I believe that behavior, attitudes of students must be

managed before and during class while strategies of lesson plans are being implemented.

Strategies in teaching would be Brainstorming - group discussion to produce ideas or solve

problems, Dove rules- don’t judge other ideas because evaluation comes later, Volume of ideas

as many as possible in a time limit, KWL Chart-What do I already know-What do I want to know

and What

have I learned. Venn Diagram- a graphic organizer that helps students visually and organize

and identify relationships between bits of information and Concept Mapping - webbing ideas.

Every student learns at a different level and is from diverse backgrounds. My approach

to teaching students is to review their assessment tests, learning differences, and whether they

have an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) and incorporate that knowledge into

strategies of lesson plan. I believe that cultural awareness is a valuable source and strategy for
teachers to master in assisting students with a comfortable and familiar educational

environment.

I’m looking forward to the future of my career by continuing my education with being a

student at College of Southern Nevada- secondary education program, University of Las

Nevada -Paraprofessional Pathway Project (PPP) courses and taking courses and training

offered at Clark County School District. My previous university education experiences were one

and half year at Milwaukee Area Technical College Major was Fire Science (Firefighter) and

four years at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with my Major was African and African

Diaspora Studies , Minor -History, Psychology and two certificates one in Study of

Complementary and Integrative Health, the other in Cultures and Communities gives me a well

rounded educational base and qualities for my teaching career.