Philosophy of EducationMy philosophy of education is learner-centered; The better a teacher knows his students, the more effectively he can adapt teaching strategies to their needs, abilities and goals. Students can help inform the content, pace, starting point, ending point (i.e. goal), and teaching style an educator chooses that are more relevant and more engaging for them. When a student is engaged or included in a lesson, they are more responsive: they want to actively participate because they have some interest in their learning. However, teaching children does not happen in a vacuum and learning is not limited to the confines of a classroom. Many external influences impact learners and must also be considered when making educational choices, for example ethnicity, politics, environment and religion. Not all students are the same; they vary in terms of age, gender, knowledge, abilities and past experiences. Amidst all of these differences, there are underlying commonalities that help establish the framework for my educational philosophy. Looking back on more positive learning experiences, I realize that I was more active and responsive to lessons when teachers made an effort to engage students and personalize the task each time. hand. I remember my first grade teacher starting a lesson on vowels by writing them on the board for illustration and reference; then ask each student to pronounce their name and say or list the vowel(s) it contains. At each identification, she showed the corresponding vowel on the board. The class became excited as each student took a turn and was encouraged. There were commonalities and personalization that hooked the students. When my turn came, I was perplexed and a little hesitant; my name is...... middle of paper......, K., McClelland, A., & Safford, P. (2011). Human diversity in education: an intercultural approach (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Freiberg, H. J. (ed.). (1999). Beyond behaviorism: changing the paradigm of classroom management. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Freiberg, H.J. and Driscoll, A. (2004). Universal Teaching Strategies (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Rogers, C. and Freiberg, HJ (in press). Freedom to Learn (4th ed.). New York, NY: Merrill. Sheets, R. (2009). What is diversity pedagogy? Multicultural Education, 16(3), 11-17. Retrieved from the Education Full Text database. Weinberger, E. and McCombs, B. (2001). The impact of learner-centered practices on the academic and non-academic outcomes of primary and secondary students. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.