A Philosophy of Education

I feel honored to be a deaf educator and to be entrusted with the enormous responsibility for the educational futures of deaf and hard of hearing children. Such children perennially lag behind their hearing counterparts in many areas, especially in English language acquisition, which itself is one of the keys to learning many other core educational objectives. A single philosophy or methodology will not serve the needs of all students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The importance of individualizing educational programs to fit the unique strengths and needs of each child cannot be over-emphasized. Varying types and degrees of deafness exist, and well as varying proficiencies in language attributed to age of onset. An optimal education plan will mandate that the child’s individual developmental stage and needs will be taken into account.

In light of this knowledge, the tasks before me are difficult and daunting, even in light of innovative teaching strategies, methods, technologies, and legislative mandates. As a teacher, I am cognizant that in order to be effective, I will need to be flexible, sensitive and compassionate, while maintaining an honest approach to individual child circumstances. This recognizes that each child possesses unique cognitive, communicative, and auditory circumstances that may require individual attention and flexibility within my classroom. The future of each child and the expectations of his or her parents deserve no less.

Aside from the core educational considerations of reading, writing and math proficiencies, each child should become imbued with a sense of responsibility, and should learn to become advocates for themselves. Much of this process lies with the classroom teacher to appropriately structure the classroom environment, and serve as a good role model for each child to emulate.

The tasks before me are arduous, but clear. Each child in my classroom will be guided to become responsible citizens and productive members of society, and to attain, and hopefully exceed the educational goals that have been established for them.

Next Page

Home