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Philosophy of Education in Math
By: Brian Lee
I have the deepest concern for students today. My concern and my hope stem from
knowing that students can grow and teachers can change. For example, many students have
turned away from education, preferring a less demanding lifestyle. Many of their parents lack
sufficient education. Therefore, those parents do not have a real sense of a good education,
except for recognizing that education can help their child have a better chance at getting a good
job. Additionally, some students have become reliant on the internet, friends, and teachers for
information, and have become lazy. Therefore understanding the role of the learner and the
teacher, creating a learning environment that involves parents, good classroom management and
communication, and curriculum beyond what appears on standardized tests, plays a major part in
my educational philosophy.
A teacher is one who students can look to as a role model, seek advice from, and feel
cared for. I believe that meeting the affective needs of my students is an essential part of my
classroom. The teacher’s responsibility is to know the students by finding out what works for
them and how they learn. Make it part of the job to push them ahead a little at a time. I believe
that teachers are simply resources at student’s disposal. Teachers’ main goal should be to have
high expectations for all students and to develop a relationship that builds trust and respect.
However, students need to be able to learn on their own and with their peers, as teachers provide
them with structure and guidance. I believe that all students are learners, and should be proactive
about their learning. I believe students need to learn how to struggle constructively, how to
reflect, and how to reason on their own. Students’ main goal in education should be to have the
hunger and passion to learn, grow, and mature.
I am dedicated to making my classroom a safe and challenging community that will
engage my student’s parents in a one-on-one relationship. I think teachers must value and foster
relationships with parents and family. The power of having all-important adults working together
to raise a child is vital. It is imperative to keep parents informed and actively engaged in their
child’s education. The parents’ main goal is to be involved in their child’s education every step
of the way. I think teachers have a responsibility to educate and inspire good parenting within the
community.
I think classroom management is the most important part of teaching in a classroom.
Classroom management creates an organized structure with rules and procedures that allow
learning to flow. It must first start with an organized teacher. When a teacher organized, it yields
for crisper transitions during class and saves time. Organized teachers know exactly where to
look for missing items. Using Binders are a great place to start for me. A teacher binder, student
binder, and substitute teacher binder will organize all major events, grades, lesson plans, and
need to know info. Also, I want to be consistent with my students with Classroom Procedures. I
always want to have the learning target and agenda for the day on the board so they can copy it
down in their notebook everyday as they walk in. I want to have bell work on the board ready for
them to work as soon as the bell rings. I do not want to take up time doing attendance, so I would

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expect my students to come in and grab their stick by their name. Mrs. Nelson, I believe, takes a
logical and natural approach to dealing with students. She does not advocate being a strict,
disciplinarian, authoritarian teacher, but gives strategies to help teachers work with students to
control their own behavior. Mrs. Nelson believes that you should use kindness to retain students,
but still be firm (Nelsen, 2006). This is more of my attitude towards classroom rules. I would
have five simple straightforward rules. No profanity including put down words like stupid or
dumb, no inappropriate touching, no talking when someone else is talking, no electrical devices
or headphones, and no horseplay.
Motivation, participation, and determination are encouraged through an engaging
curriculum. A curriculum that is versatile and challenging feeds each individual student.
Observation during instruction, questions during instruction, student self- assessment, and pre-
assessments will be some of the most important processes I will use. I would like to assign more
projects, rather than rely solely on standard tests, because I want to make sure my students
understand the material. I believe that projects allow students to express their learning in
multiple ways. I would also like to give out assignments where the students can choose a
medium to demonstrate their knowledge of a given subject or unit for extra credit. By
differentiating instructions and providing continuing assessment, I will help students achieve
their goals. I agree partly with Jerome Bruner’s curriculum theory: “To instruct someone... is not
a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather, it is to teach him to participate in the
process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge. We teach a subject not to produce
little living libraries on that subject, but rather to get a student to think mathematically for
himself, to consider matters as a historian does, to take part in knowledge-getting (Bruner,
1965).”As a math educator, I see my role as a guide, leading my students in a quest to obtain
knowledge and encouraging them to utilize it for a bright future. I strive not only to share my
knowledge, but also to ignite in my students a passion for learning that will last a lifetime.

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Works Cited
Bruner,J. S.(1965). The growthof mind. American Psychologist ,1007.
Nelsen,J.(2006). Positive Discipline. New York: Ballantine Books.