| My philosophy
of education has been influenced by John Dewey’s theory of Progressivism. I believe in the importance of the role that student interest plays in learning. I believe that we should attempt to educate the whole child, helping develop not just cognitive growth but emotional, physical and social growth as well. I believe this can be accomplished by using developmentally appropriate practices to ensure that we are fostering growth in all important areas at all times. Schools are an institute that can support children not only in learning but in growing as human beings as well. I believe that children play an active role in the learning process and that we as teachers need to foster that role and encourage it by allowing students to help direct curriculum, discover new concepts and explore the world around them. This also means that students will not be meeting their best potential sitting at desks and listening to lectures. They will be able to reach their potentials only when they are allowed to engage the topic in meaningful and diverse ways and by personalizing the information and processing it on a deeper level. I believe that the purpose of education is to create lifelong learners out of its students. This can be achieved by fostering curiosity, supporting growth and exploration, and teaching children about the learning process itself to help them develop their own methods, ideas, and strategies for learning and processing new information that they can take with them into the world. I think that discovery learning (specifically guided discovery) is a wonderful method by which students become eager to learn and explore. Along with this is the goal of equipping students with enough basic skills and information so that they can fully appreciate, study and learn from their later experiences. This means that schools need to be responsible for teaching things like reading, writing, math, history, science and other core subjects that students will need. We need to not only teach these subjects but to create in our students the feeling that they have a firm grasp, perhaps even a mastery, of these skills and to support the growth of their self-esteem in these areas as well. I believe that schools also play a role in shaping responsible citizens. This does not mean indoctrinating children with a set of beliefs, ideals and rules. It does include teaching them about the rules, ideals and beliefs of their culture or cultures and then teaching them to think and decide for themselves how they want to fit into the culture. I believe we need to teach students to questions current beliefs and systems, and to decide in an informed way what they believe. Teaching students to question and think for themselves are some of the most important skills a school can impart. I believe that teachers are responsible for widening their student’s knowledge base in directions other than core curriculum as well. We have a responsibility to educate about other cultures, about tolerance and acceptance and about empathy. I believe that the role of the teacher in education is that of a guide. We need to guide children in their discovery of the world. We need to provide scaffolding where necessary to help students to grow and teach them strategies they can use in later problem solving. We need to inspire learning and exploration in new directions. I believe this can be achieved by providing thought provoking materials, new concepts and questions about the world for students to seek the answers to. We need to create a disequilibrium in our students so that they are constantly striving to adapt to new information. I also believe that the role of a teacher is that of role model. We need to model to our students the behaviors and skills that we want them to possess themselves. We need to model things like honesty, empathy, and care as well as things such as love for learning, problem solving and learning strategies. I believe that the role of the child is that of active partner in his or her own education. I believe that they are ultimately responsible for their own learning experience, and that we need to help them grow and develop their ideas and skills. I believe that the child has not only responsibilities to their own education, but also rights that they can expect to be honored by the school and teacher. I believe that the rights of students include being respected, having a safe learning environment in which to experiment and grow, and to be given access to high quality information and materials to help facilitate the learning process. My philosophy of education is also tied up with my own reasons for becoming a teacher. I want to teach to inspire children, to be a mentor and support for all children and especially for those children who may not have another adult to trust and seek support from. I want to be a teacher to change the education system one step at a time, by affecting policy change in the way we view intellect, in the way we educate and the way we assess. I want to eliminate prejudice in the classroom and the school. I want to do for students what my best teachers have done for me. This includes affecting change in children’s lives, impart a love of learning and to form relationships with children from which we both can grow and benefit. I want to teach to continue my own learning and growth, through my own research as well as learning from the children all they have to teach. My philosophy is tied up in all these things and is constantly evolving and changing to encompass new ideas and beliefs. I hope that this growth and change will continue throughout my career as a teacher as I encounter new techniques, philosophies and children. I hope that my philosophy can help me serve every child better, and to always try to serve every child best. |