Sarah Bensalah
EDU-101-01
Personal Educational Philosophy

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela). All my life I have always enjoyed helping people. I have also always had a strong connection with children, mentoring and understanding them. I believe that teaching is all about helping the child perform for their success. I could not think of anything but wanting to work with people on a personal level and actually being able to leave an impression that will stay with them. A job that was not just a “job” but more of a passion, something I could not wait to finish my degree and do for the rest of my career. This brings to my personal educational philosophy. The purpose of education is teach my future students things they can be able to use in the classroom and the outside world, as an elementary school teacher I can do this with the various subjects. For example math in everyday life is essential and I want them to understand the purpose of it not just to understand how to add and subtract to pass their quiz of the week. But be able to feel confident in the grocery store to understand how the amount they are paying for and why is it the price it is? Spelling and vocabulary words are two things I want to be able to teach very well so they can feel confident not to always use the auto correct on the computer to write their papers in life down the road. I strongly believe to teach the children things that will be useful to them whether it is this week’s test or the rest of their life education is fundamental of life. The role of the student in education is for them to do the best they can do on their work. I expect the highest amount of effort in their studies, I do not anticipate every child to be an A+ student but if they put 100% effort in then that is exactly what I am looking for. Just to show up to class with a great work ethic and positive attitude to learning. As long as that happens I will do anything in my power to give my 100% to the child’s education. I remember when I was younger sometimes I did not understand the material but my teacher would tell me “show me that you can attempt to do this and that is enough for me”.
Just the effort of trying to do the work sets the tone, so as the teacher I can work on the parts the child did not understand. For example on a math test I will allow the child to go back and make corrections for additional points because I want them to understand the material not penalize them for not. I feel as though this is a good way to keep them motivated to progress and do well. By going back and making those corrections they can grasp the essentials of the topic. My role as an educator is a big role to fill but I am ready to be adequate for that position. I have a passion for both my students and education I can hopefully demonstrate that in my classroom. I actually do care if he or she understands the material I just covered. I really do not care how many time I will have to sit there and review it whether in class or afterschool for extra help. I will make sure that my door is open for them for anything they will need. I want each and every student to feel comfortable to talk to me about what they are struggling with so I can make it clear. That also goes for if they just need to talk to someone in the school who they can trust and feel at ease with about issues that are not teaching related. If they are feeling bullied or having distresses at home I want to be able to assist them with whatever they need. “The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differs from the dead” (Aristotle).I really want to be that teacher that makes an impact on the student’s life, so that years down the line they can go back and say Ms. Bensalah was the best teacher. If I can have my student’s think that I really went out of my way to make their education better in every way I could possibly do for them