My Special Education Philosophy - Essay Example

Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Special Educational Philosophy 1 Introduction 1 Educational Philosophy 2 Philosophies Not Selected 4 Emotional, Physical, Mental and Social Disabilities and Educational Philosophy 5 Implementation of Special Educational Philosophy 6 Mission Statement as a Special Educator 7 Conclusion 7 References 8 Special Educational Philosophy Introduction Philosophy plays an important role in every person’s life due to which, it is regarded as extremely important by different people. Educational philosophy is a form of philosophy that is adopted by teachers for teaching their students. Educators have different educational philosophies with the help of which, they teach their students. Educational philosophies play a crucial role in the success of obtainment of knowledge. For students with special needs, the special educational facility is needed and the teachers are required to give importance to all the students with special needs. The special educational philosophy that I have opted deals with the attainment of practical knowledge and facilitation of the students with an environment in which, they are free to interact with their teacher. Also, the students are considered as individuals. The teacher learns every time with students. Students with special needs and disabilities should be dealt in a way that is encouraging for their learning. Educational Philosophy Educational philosophy is a philosophy that every educator keeps for teaching students. For students with special needs, a special educational philosophy is required. Educational philosophy is very important in terms of an adopted methodology of the teacher. A teacher should not be involved only in teaching but learning as well. A good teacher is one who is always ready to learn and facilitates his/her students with an accommodated environment that is well structured in terms of learning and teaching. The students should be allowed to interact freely with their teachers so that they can share their problems with their teachers and can ask questions in case of not understanding anything told by the teacher. I feel that students should be allowed to make practical experiences in terms of learning because practical learning is the best form of learning and teachers can enable the students with special needs to learn with practical knowledge mostly. My educational philosophy takes into consideration constructivist theory of teaching students because it is the theory that takes practical needs of students into consideration. According to my perception, the teacher should facilitate his/her students to learn through practical learning. The students should consider themselves to be in real environments while performing a task of learning. Each and every student should be considered as an individual and he/she should be dealt accordingly. A skilled teacher will not consider all the students as one unit but individuals with separate skills and everyone with a talent of his/her own. For students with special needs, positive attitude of the teacher by the help of importance to all students is very necessary for the betterment of the students. Constructivist theory of teaching students with learning disabilities concerns more towards equipping the students with learning that is meaningful and according to the real-life circumstances (Lerner, 2003). This theory is very supportive in students' learning because due to applying this theory, they are capable to switch from a classroom environment to real life environment easily because of the situations that are adapted for students to help them in learning. Constructivism is a philosophy that informs that a person is able to learn with his/her recently and past experiences and constructivist theory is attached to it (Polito, 2005). A student with special needs will learn quite easily with his/her recent and past experiences with different scenarios and this will only come through pragmatic means, which is practical learning. Students with disabilities get easy and quick knowledge through practical experience of all the situations. In constructivist theory, students are facilitated with practical skill and easy knowledge with the help of which, they are able to learn and act accordingly. Students are not made to memorize all the concepts and details but to go through them practically (Polito, 2005). Therefore, my educational philosophy is that practical learning is the best kind of learning and that the teachers are also learners. For teaching students with special needs, practical methodology for learning and teaching should be employed. Philosophies Not Selected I have not selected the philosophies of education that give much importance to theory and theoretical knowledge. This fact cannot be negated that theoretical knowledge is also very significant in terms of teaching students with special needs but with practical knowledge, they are able to learn quicker and easier. The behaviorist theory of teaching is more concerned with theoretical knowledge and the teacher divides the learning tasks into chunks and then instructs them to learn the divided tasks one by one (Lerner, 2003). The teachers’ skills are needed in terms of direct teaching in the behaviorist theory. Behaviorism philosophy deals with the development of behavior as a sign of learning. The behaviorist philosophy can be defined as a philosophy that deals with the transformation of behavior as an indication of learning (Greenberg, 1992). According to my perception and understanding, this philosophy is not fully applicable on enabling students with special needs to learn. The changing behavior of students with special needs cannot be regarded as a sign of learning. There can be many reasons for transforming behaviors and learning cannot be considered as the only reason for changing behaviors. Cognitivism philosophy is a philosophy that deals more with brain knowledge and learning. According to cognitivism philosophy, the mind is a storehouse of information and learning comes because of knowledge that is already stored in the brain (Greenberg, 1992). The brain acts as a source of the memory system that can be employed for information processing. This philosophy is a science-based learning philosophy (Polito, 2005). It is not fully applicable for students with special needs. Emotional, Physical, Mental and Social Disabilities and Educational Philosophy The educational philosophy that I have opted deals with emotional, physical, mental and social disabilities of students with special needs. With practical needs of learning and obtainment of knowledge and with proper consideration to students' individual needs, the students with special needs will be dealt properly. When the teacher will accommodate the students with important and will facilitate them with an environment that is accommodating for students' learning, the students will get access to knowledge and information easily. With practical accessibility to knowledge, the students with disabilities will learn quicker and easier due to which, they will be encouraged. Due to practical performance of tasks, the students will also get physical exercises and those students who are unable to do any physical activity or are physically disabled will be allowed to do other practical tasks such as use of computers and visual aids. Emotionally and mentally disabled students will be facilitated with practical knowledge that is far easier and accommodating as compared to theoretical knowledge due to which, they will be able to perform the assigned tasks in less time and with ease. The practical knowledge provided by the teacher and experienced by the students themselves is quite fruitful for students with emotional, physical, mental and social disabilities. Moreover, each and every student will be dealt individually. With the help of practical learning, the students with special needs can be accommodated with the technological rich form of learning as they will be facilitated with audio-visual aids that are very helpful for the students with special needs. Technology has not only revolutionized other forms of society but teaching and learning also. The students with special needs will be able to do everything practically due to which, they are able to learn much more easily. Implementation of Special Educational Philosophy My educational philosophy is easily implementable in the inclusive classroom and in a self-contained classroom. With the help of practical significance to learning, the students with special needs will be best taught with practical learning techniques. The students will be provided with chances to learn as if they are present in a real environment. They will be allowed to inform about their problems and needs to their teacher and they will be encouraged by their task performance. Each and every student will be dealt separately for his/her specific needs. Students will be given facilities to learn practically by the help of audio-visual aids. They will be facilitated to make use of computers and will be allowed to use computers. The software installed on the computers will be for the students’ convenience. Along with theoretical knowledge, they will also be facilitated with theoretical knowledge to a smaller extent as to inform them with the information linked to a practical performance. They will be allowed to make use of the things about which, they will be informed also. The students will also be taken to places where they can learn practically such as the zoo, construction places, manufacturing factories and other places for obtainment of knowledge. Mission Statement as a Special Educator I will facilitate students with special needs with required practical knowledge and skills that are required for the obtainment of suitable knowledge. Conclusion My opted special educational philosophy is very constructive and I feel that the students with special needs are going to get benefit with it because all the needs of the students are considered in it. With practical knowledge, students will get access to knowledge more easily and will learn in a manner that is also effective for them. Practical learning can be considered as the best form of learning and each and every student should be considered an individual who has special needs that require fulfillment. References Greenberg, D. (1992). Education in America, A View from Sudbury Valley. "Special Education" -- A noble Cause Sacrificed to Standardization. Lerner, J. (2003). Learning disabilities: Theories, diagnosis, and teaching practices. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Polito, Theodora. (2005). Educational Theory as Theory of Culture: A Vichian perspective on the educational theories of John Dewey and Kieran Egan. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 37 (4). Read More