My Philosophy of Education
I think that the most important skill that teachers and schools can have is knowing themselves and knowing their students. This means knowing what one's own capabilities, expectations, limitations and strengths are as well as knowing students' capabilities, expectations, limitations and strengths. This is important because it is necessary to know where someone is coming from so you can help them move forward. There are many things that go into knowing your students and knowing yourself.
Developmental forces play a large part in education. Teachers need to be aware of these developmental forces because they dictate what a child has the capacity to accomplish. Certain things are unfair to expect of children because it is not developmentally appropriate and therefore the child can simply not do what a teacher is asking of him or her. Both internal and external development is important.
External development refers to things like growth and gross and fine motor skills. Growth allows students to interact with their environments in new ways and see the world from new heights. This is not something teachers need to worry about as much, unless a child is either growing faster than slower than others and is therefore being made fun off. Gross and fine motor skills are important because they strongly dictate how a child interacts and functions in the environment. Gross motor skills involve running, walking, climbing and dancing. Even though these are skills are generally considered to be of no concern to teachers because they are considered unimportant in an academic setting I think it is important for teachers to encourage these skills and allow children opportunities to enhance them. Fine motor skills are required for tasks like writing, cutting, building and taping to name a few. These are areas that are crucial for success in a classroom. Teachers need to help children work on these skills.
These external developmental forces influence the internal ones such as cognitive and psychological development. If a child has poor gross and fine motor skills they may fall often or break many things this may lead to feelings of guilt instead of autonomy or inferiority instead of industry depending on others reactions. As a teacher I need to be aware of this and respond to accidents in a positive, non-judgmental way that does not lead to negative feelings. As a teacher I would need to recognize that sometimes a child cannot write because they do not have the fine motor skills that such a task requires. In a situation like this a teacher needs to be patient and provide the child with developmentally appropriate activities.
Teachers also need to be aware of internal development as well, because some children are not developmentally ready to learn certain things, like reading, symbolism, and sarcasm. However, teachers also need to not hold their students back. A teacher wants to try and teach to a child's zone of proximal development. Challenge the child, but not present them tasks that they cannot do at the time. And it is crucial to remember that just because they are not ready at this time, does not mean they will never learn it.
Teachers also need to know when the periods of myelination occur, because these are periods of great growth in children's cognitive capacity and should be capitalized on.
Children learn best when their interest in learning is fostered and encouraged. I am always distressed by classrooms where teachers squelch children's natural curiosity by discouraging questions and stories. I think that teachers should set up “mysteries” for students to solve, like why does the candle go out when put under a jar, or why would people travel hundreds of miles and leave their families and friends behind? These are two questions that then put children in a position to explore and discover the answers on their own through hypothesis and experiments or research.
It is also important to link learning from experience either shared or individual to new information. This causes there to be more connections to the new information and more connections leads to greater chance of remembering. Subjects can be linked to experience by asking questions, illustrating themes, and inquiry learning but unless it resonates with the child it will not stick. A good way would be to say something like, “Think of a time when you felt left out,” as a way to talk about segregation.
Another great way to build connections is to read books. Many novels bring to life the issues and historical events studied in class. Even though the books do not always project a completely accurate view of events, they provide a good framework for connecting learning. I also think that it is good and appropriate to use pop culture and movie references like talking about Finding Nemo when studying the ocean. This helps the knowledge resonate for kids. Often young children will make these connections on their own saying things like, “That fish is like Nemo!” or “I once saw that fish in a zoo”. My overall point is that children learn best when the knowledge is meaningful and interesting for them.
I believe that the purpose of education should be to develop in students an appreciation of knowledge in students. Also, we should teach them big, overarching concepts that they can fit the details in. I feel it is important to teach both details and concepts. Details make learning interesting and come alive, but that the concepts are really vital and what students remember over the long term. I think learning concepts is especially imperative since our goal is not to create Jeopardy! champions but successful members of the community.
I think that the skills of critical thinking and analyzing are especially essential in today's world. The development for appreciation of knowledge is crucial because it creates life-long learners and hopefully, if students are excited about learning, they will take initiative to learn. It is also important for students to learn how to be successful learners. We sometimes take the skills required for learning for granted and this is a mistake. One main goal of education should be to teach students how to learn.
The teacher should be a guide and a nurturing figure for students. That being said, they are the authority figure and should make sure that the environment is safe for all students. Teachers should also respect their students and treat them like human beings. Students will then respect the teacher in return. Teachers should also have high expectations of all students and convey these expectations to the students. This means that children should not be placed in obvious ability groupings that lead children to think, “I am stupid because I am in the stupid group,” etc.
Teachers should form a team with administrators, parents and counselors, and the goal of this team should be the success and growth of the students. I think it is important that a teacher having difficulty with reaching children, or specific children can feel like they can turn to the administrators, parents and counselors for advice, help and support. If administrators, parents or counselors have any concerns about students or a teachers methods they should be able to talk to the teacher in a respectful, constructive manner.
I think a good way to build parent- teacher communication is with a notebook that teachers write in and send home with students weekly. Then parents can read what the teacher has written and write back to the teachers with concerns or praise. This is a technique that is employed in Japan and has had much success. It involves parents in the education and provides them with updates and allows them to communicate with teachers. Even if they work and their schedule does not allow them to stop by the school to talk to the teacher, they are still able to connect with their child's teacher.
I believe a good teacher is someone who loves learning and who is a good learner. Teachers need to be learners so they can pass the skills of learning on to students, but also because teaching is a job that is ever changing. Therefore, teachers need to learn from and respond to their students. Teachers need to be creative problem solvers who use what they know about learning, themselves and students to develop solutions. In order to respond correctly, teachers need to know their students.
Knowing students involves understanding development, culture, and individual differences. Understanding development is critical because it helps teachers know how to best challenge their students without frustrating them. By knowing his or her students a teacher can bring them into the optimal zone of proximal development.
Teachers also need to have patience, because learning takes time. Some students come from a background where they have had little opportunity for learning and therefore need more help. This requires teachers to look at the student, recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and then guide them to learning with patience and kindness. Teachers also require patience because sometimes children do mean things to each other. Teachers need to use patience and understanding so they can respond in a constructive manner that benefits all involved, rather than lashing out.
To be an effective teacher and to provide an effective and worthwhile education teachers need to know their students including; where they are developmentally, how they learn best and be in communication with their parents. Teachers also need to know themselves. This means knowing their own background, and knowing when they are having their own issues and so that they do not take them out on the their students. Once teachers know their students and know themselves they can help students become life-long learners who intrinsically enjoy learning.