My Educational Philosophy
Choosing a major is a very difficult decision to make for everyone. It has to be something that you can spend the rest of your life doing and should enjoy. When I think back to my elementary years through my senior year of high school, all I ever wanted to be was a dentist. I took the classes that would better prepare me in the dentistry field. There at the last second, I switched my major. It was first semester of my senior year of high school when my favorite teacher, Mrs. Fowler, asked me to teach Spanish to the kindergarten class at Piney View Elementary School. As soon as I walked into the classroom and saw the sixteen pairs of eyes gleaming at me, I realized that this is what I want to
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(She was a guide in the summers.) I had so much fun and also learned at the same time in her class. She plays the perfect role model for me. I hope that someday my students will feel the same way about me as I do about Mrs. Ivey.
It is very hard to pick out only one philosophy that I want to use in my classroom. I have many different views on all five of them. Although, I do know that I am not going to use the perennialism philosophy. I do not agree with that philosophy because my students should not have only one choice, which second language, that they want to learn. I believe that extra curricular activities are good for children to be open to. I also believe that students should have choices in their lives and that you cannot stick to one way all the time. Having a variety of choices in children’s lives helps them to become more prepared for the future. They can learn form their own mistakes, which I think is the best teacher. Therefore, perennialism is not a good philosophy in my classroom because I want my students to have many choices in what they do and learn.
Another philosophy I will not be using is existentialism. Since my field of teaching will be with kindergarten, I do not believe that the students will be old enough for this philosophy. I like this philosophy; I just believe that it would work better with older children rather than
My teaching philosophy is based on theorist, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. I believe that children benefit from experience. Children are curious from
I believe that all students should be given the opportunity to excel to their greatest possible potential. I also feel that there is no one hundred percent correct philosophy on education. However I do agree with many of the ideas of the six primary philosophical views. The child as and individual is the basis of my teaching philosophy. This is I feel, that each child has specific needs that need to be dealt with in a specific manner. The teacher needs to look at each child individually to decide how what is the best way to reach that child this is why my particular philosophy incorporates a variety of ideas from others such
As for Perennialism, I agree that the learning should be structured and conservative; it should relay the eternal truths; the teacher is an authority who effectively uses class time to transmit knowledge. Elements of
incorporate into my curriculum are those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who believed that everyone posses in the depth of our being certain feelings and passions, and when these feelings are first shielded from polluted influences in our culture, and then liberated and allowed to control our conduct, may we posses true understanding and virtue. I also like those of Progressivism which is respect for individuality, relevant to the needs and interests of students. Along with these two theories I think educators need to include some perennialism which is a general, liberal, humanistic approach because we all need the basics and then build upon those to discover who we are and what we want to gain from education and life. I believe we have come to a point in our society where we have lost track of traditional American virtues and what our country was founded on. My wish as an educator would to be able to bring back some of the back to basics approach into the public school system. For teachers to really be effective we should choose the
My own personal journey through my education and reflection as a student studying, teaching, and learning has shaped by beliefs in the way I learn and the way I want to teach. My personal teaching philosophy consists of several teaching philosophies. It is a mix of progressivism and existentialism. I believe in progressivism, I believe the concept that students should be provided with learning experiences that are dynamic and teach using hands-on approach. I think when a student is learning about a subject that interests them and is relevant to them, learning is improved. Lessons should boost curiosity and be thought provoking. Although, funding in some school makes this difficult due to lack of materials, teachers should attempt to improvise
An educational philosophy is a personal statement of a teacher’s goals or belief. A teacher comes to the classroom with a distinctive set of principles and ideals that affect how a student learns and expand the child’s potential in his or her venture into knowledge. I believe that education should be active, and focus on the whole child, rather than just the content or the teacher. The three (3) principles I believe that work harmoniously with my educational philosophy are the teacher acting as a facilitator to foster critical thinking, allowing the child’s natural curiosity to steer his or her learning for personal development, and
In terms of philosophy, I feel I benefit most from the pragmatic approach to teaching. This approach states that teachers feel the classroom is a community of learners, not just a teacher standing in front of a group of students. I believe this is true because it is my opinion that if the teacher is learning and exploring along with the students, the students are more likely to be involved and interested in what is being taught. I also believe the strategies of teaching by problem solving and encouraging democratic procedures are the most profitable in today’s society. My beliefs in student involved activities, emphasis of curriculum, and democratic classroom management are all part of the pragmatic approach.
My philosophy is based upon my life experience, cultural values, interpersonal relationships, interest, studies and education background. I believe the core values of my philosophy will not change, however, refined and adjusted to meet my goals. I believe learning is an ongoing progress and children are precious and unique individuals. It is this belief that drives my philosophy that all students must have the opportunity to learn and be respected.
Most of the different educational philosophies have aspects positive aspects that I can implement inside my future classroom one day. Plato believed in discovering truth and the power of individual ideas (181). His Idealism philosophy placed great value in asking questions and searching the mind of his students through discussions. Modern classrooms should promote an environment in which students are actively engaged in discussing topics. It also encourages children to share their opinions with others and promotes a sense of community and acceptance inside the classroom. Modern classrooms should always reflect modern idealists in the sharing of ideas and knowledge. Another important philosophy that should be considered is modern realism. Modern realism focuses on the core curriculum. Teacher need a sound foundation the core academic subjects to instruct students how to become problem solvers and critical thinkers. In modern realism, lectures are a means of instruction. (185). In my future classroom, I plan to incorporate a mixture of lectures, open discussions, group time, game time, and lessons that promote creativity. Lectures are an important part of the puzzle needed in keeping the
After reviewing these teaching philosophies and educational theories, many of them reflect my own personal educational philosophy and my instructional practices and choice of classroom curriculum. The four that I found the most appealing are: Realism, Pragmatism, existentialism and progressivism. I find the combination of the three very complementary.
There are five philosophies of education that make up my personal philosophy. I believe in certain aspects of every philosophy. Perennialism strives above all to develop our capacity to reason. The things of everlasting importance should be taught to people everywhere. I believe that there should be an authority figure to guide the students. The aspects of perennialism that I agree with are critical thinking, problem solving, coaching, discussion, prayer in the classroom, contemplation, and orderliness. I believe that the children should be led to use strategic thinking skills to solve problems. Moral development is included in the curriculum of perennialism. I believe children today need to be taught
In society today, the world continues its expansion in diversity; therefore, teachers must accommodate to fulfill the new developments of education. This diversity includes expanding educational philosophies that truly benefit the future leaders of tomorrow. My personal educational philosophy is one that comes from experiences as well as what I would like to see in my career as a teacher.
Across the world, every single teacher has a philosophy of education. Which is a set of beliefs that influences how students are taught. Political view, religious views and social views usually influence education philosophies. Of course, students and teachers have a different perspective in which what they believe a school philosophy should be about. Some teachers would go with Essentialism and Perennialism based philosophies. This gives the teacher the power to pick the curriculum and organize how their lesson plans based on the curriculum how ever they want. This way of teaching “reinforces a predominantly Western heritage while viewing the students as vessels to be filled and disciplined in the proven strategies of the past.”. ( McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings, LLC.) Then there is Progressivism, social reconstructionism, and existentialism. This type of philosophy focuses on classroom activities. The teachers learn the students interest and use them as guide to help the students reach their goal. The definition for progressivism educations is “Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher. This educational philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation.” ( LeoNora M. Cohen, OSU)
Educators need a starting point to understand why we think and act the way we do in our classrooms. Having a philosophy allows an educator to reflect on how to make classroom actions consistent with our beliefs related to learning. However, before we list our “beliefs” we need to delve deeper into what makes
and I would not have it any other way. Each individual student does not learn in the same way so why should I teach every lesson in the same way or style. Finding the correct balance between direct instruction and a constructivist approach can help reach a wider range of students and learning styles. Combining a strong traditionalist perspective with a touch of progressive and humanistic instruction will help to expand the influence made on our youth today.