There are five influential philosophies that can influence the way the classroom is shaped. The first one being Essentialism, which is the knowledge of our civilization through core courses in the traditional academic disciplines. The values of this philosophy include, facts, problem solving, promoting reasoning, and common culture. If you are a member of this philosophy you would feel all students should follow the same curriculum of math, science, history, foreign language, and literature. The next philosophy of education is Perennialist, which organizes their school around books and ideas. They are similar to essentialism, but have a more philosophical perspective. A teacher that uses this philosophy has goals to develop rational thinkers by questioning, disproving, and testing the thoughts of students. The next philosophy of education is Progressivism, which organizes teaching around curiosity, and real world experiences. Teachers that follow this tend to have strong emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking, experiential learning, and will do hands-on activities. Social Reconstruction emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy. Teachers will focus on a curriculum that highlights social reform as the aim of education. Lastly, Existentialism is helping children find meaning and direction in their lives and the belief that individuals should take responsibility for themselves. When I become a teacher, I would use all of these philosophies where they need to be used to make my classroom an environment students love. I want structure in my classroom and believe students should learn all the required curriculum like math and reading. As a second grade teacher, the students should have math facts memorized and be able to read to the second grade level well. I would make these activities fun

and eager to learn by playing games that involve numbers and reading different types of books that are interactive. I will also take my own learning experiences and put them into my classroom. I believe that having real world experiences and real life examples is a great way to learn about words, phrases, and problems. This would help my students with taking responsibility because they would connect their own real world experiences to the problem. Most importantly, everyone in my classroom would be treated equally and with respect. I would teach my students that they need to be kind to everyone and be aware that everyone has feelings. We are all friends in the classroom and outside of the classroom. With how my classroom would look, I would have lots of colors and posters everywhere with motivational quotes. I would never discourage a student, I would always use positive reinforcement to keep them encouraged. For example, if a student was not cooperating, I would thank the other students that were doing the right thing, so hopefully the student would then follow directions. To keep the classroom engaged, I would make chants that rhyme, for example, “Are you ready, kids?…Aye, Aye Captain!” They are fun and can get the classroom to pay attention. My overall goal is to make my classroom as comfortable as possible with many options, so all students are satisfied. I would take my students’ input and listen to them because I could always be doing something that is hard for them to understand. By doing that, they would be speaking up for themselves and verbalizing when they don’t like something or want something to change. My everyday schedule will be organized, but I will be open if something needs to be changed or switched. Or if the students visibly need more of a break, I will take that into consideration. The mental health of children matters way more than doing school work. I want to create an environment where if someone is struggling with something, they can comfortably come to me if they want to talk about it. I believe that understanding the balance between staying on task and getting the required things

done, but also having fun with the students will make the perfect environment in the classroom. This can be done by using the five philosophies of education, essentialism, perennialism, progressivism, social reconstruction, and existentialism.