My name is Justin. I'm a 27-year old returning student and excited to resume learning in school and to finally pursue my career dream. My schooling experience was entirely done in Ohio, near the capital city of Columbus. Where I went to school certainly shaped my educational philosophy, my outlook, and how I plan to teach my class. The student population was almost entirely white. Each class had about 150 in it, and each had no more than ten were minority students. We had no English language learners, and no immigrant students. It's this monoculturalism and witnessing the negative effects it can have that demonstrated to me the need for diversity in the classroom. School was never very challenging for me either. There was work, to be sure, but it was not difficult. The ease of the coursework motivated me to get it done quickly so that I could relax and just play around in class the rest of the period. It's sad to me now, because I realize how
I would've rated my technological abilities high before today. However, after seeing how much has changed and the numerous things teachers can do, I'm much less confident in my skills. For me, high school was about ten years ago, when powerpoint was really beginning to catch on. I learned basic skills and can still make a fairly rudimentary slideshow using powerpoint. Unfortunately, I never really used powerpoint in college so I never became very good at it, and I never learned any neat tools or tricks, or got to be quick at it. I like the idea of the computer revolution and feel it has a lot to offer. It requires, though, that the teacher really understands how to utilize the tools that he/she is using. It's not as simple as handing a student a new ipad and patting oneself on the back for really utilizing new technology.
Honestly, I didn't apply to CSUSM because of its mission statement. I wanted to get a teaching credential and I thought that CSU would be a good place. Fortunately, I was accepted and so I will do my credential here. That said, I agree with the philosophies that are outlined in our syllabus. For instance, I believe that student-centered education is very important, and that too much emphasis on teacher-driven curriculums and lecturing is bad for learners. I also believe in the tenet of serving the community. Ultimately, I see education as a tool for solving social problems and this tenet of CSUSM parallels perfectly with my philosophy. Along the same lines, socially just aspect of the mission statement is very inspiring. My experiences in Mexico and witnessing the various social and educational injustices have informed my education philosophy and I look forward to using education and my classroom to create a more equitable and egalitarian society.
