Educators Struggle with Philosophy

According to Merriam-Webster (2016), philosophy is “an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs” (para. 1). Most people have a philosophy that is either a vague, general idea or a distinct guiding principle that is based on beliefs relevant to the individual, to their patients, families, communities, and colleagues. The beliefs that comprise a person’s philosophy influence the choices that person makes. Many base their choice of profession on their beliefs, thereby ensuring that the principles of their career are consistent with their personal expectations. For example, getting a job or taking actions that are inconsistent with someone’s beliefs is one of the causes of stress and burnout. Therefore, it is healthy for individuals to clarify their philosophy to help guide them to make choices and to live a life consistent with their

Philosophy is a theory on how we think things work and how we understand or interpret our world. (Learnersdictionary.com 2015) Philosophy consists of thoughts and ideas that makes sense of and interprets life experiences. All types of disciplines whether academic, religious or scientific etc., make their assessments or assumptions from a particular way of viewing the world. This world view is our philosophy. Whatever we perceive with our senses is influenced or shaped by this “explicit or implicit philosophic background” (Loomer 2015). Life is experienced through a theoretical framework whether people are mindful of it or not (Peterson 2015).

As a student of education, I have been able to gather many ideas and opinions about practices and ideals I want to implement in my future classroom. My philosophies about education are still being formed and continually change with every class I visit and with every educator I encounter. My ideas, admittedly, come from random experiences and intangible texts, but as I gain more experience in the field through my courses, my philosophies about teaching will become more clearly defined. These few ideas I have now will undoubtedly be added upon as I enter student teaching and my professional career, nevertheless, they are concepts of which I hope to never lose sight.

The teacher can only dream that maybe he or she will be able to help a child to find his or her place in the world and make a change to the betterment of our society. In composing my philosophy I will share why I am compelled to teach and my philosophy in regard to the education process. I will also reflect on the professional aspects of my future career; as well as, the steps I will take to assure that my knowledge and ability to be an educator will suit our ever-changing society.

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

My philosophy of education is to ensure the dynamics of the classroom providing continued support to ensure a positive learning environment, while providing instruction for all learners and to inspire my students to be productive members of society.

In my philosophy I will talk about the goals of teaching and ways to accomplish them. Also I will describe how I feel about public education, what kind of teacher is the best,how young children learn and develop,how best i plan to teach them and what school system works the best because of

Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline(Webster.) The value theory or value system is the system that is used in order to determine how one determines the importance of things, ideas and people. Philosophy can be a hard term or subject to fully grasp, while in actuality the word directly translated from Greek is love for wisdom. If it can be understood that philosophy is simply the love for knowledge and understanding, one could see that philosophy is essentially the study of learning how to learn, or best understand any given thing. The term philosophy

Throughout my time in Messiah College's Teacher Education Program, my beliefs, values, and knowledge of education have been challenged, reflected upon, and changed. Another way to state the latter is that my philosophy on education has been shaped by the experiences I have had within the education system at Messiah College along with surrounding school districts. The way in which teachers design curriculum and instruction have a direct correlation to the individual's philosophies of education. Having a philosophy provides teachers "with framework for broad issues and tasks, such as determining the goals of education, subject content and it organization, the process of teaching and learning, and, in general, what experiences and activities to stress in schools and classrooms" (Ornstein, 1991, p. 102).

Like a good business plan, every teacher should have a personal educational philosophy in place. Witcher, Sewall, Arnold, and Travers in Teaching, leading and learning: It’s all about philosophy (2001) say that a

There are many factors that could influence an individual’s philosophy and someone’s philosophy of education. In the book, Those Who Can, Teach, written by Ryan and Cooper, they state, “In developing a philosophy, we draw many influences: our experiences in life, our religious views, and our reading of literature, history, current events, and our culture” (Ryan & Cooper, 2013, p. 286). These are just some of the few factors that help develop someone’s philosophy and philosophy of education. Understand and developing the proper curriculum will ultimately show if the students understand your teaching.

Your philosophy determines the way you will handle certain situations and, make difficult decisions in your future as a teacher/coach. It is the way you view experiences in our lives, the way we view people and our relationships with them. Without a philosophy you might feel the pressure to please other people and try to make everyone happy. Everyone has their own way of thinking and handling situations and being certain of your philosophy will help you relieve yourself of thinking whether you are making the

Aristotle once said, “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” Teaching enables students to gain the intelligence needed to excel in life. I believe that a teacher’s philosophy of education is a crucial role in his or her approach to leading students on their educated path. A philosophy of education is the set of beliefs that every school and every teacher stand behind. The certain philosophy that one chooses provides the answers to many vital questions, such as the purpose of schooling, a teacher’s role, and what should be taught in the classroom.

Developing a philosophy of education is more than asserting a love of wisdom in the theory and practice of teaching. It may be heartening to feel, but it lacks backbone. For a philosophy to have weight and merit, it needs truth, logical strength, and soundness. (Hughes 19) My philosophy of education asserts the following premises that if we teach: learning as relational; creativity as skill; and knowledge as design; then, we create an instructional approach that is cross curriculum. The logical strength of my argument is delivered after each premise has been explained, and the proof statements of each are proposed as truth claims. In doing so, my philosophy of education is a sound argument challenging

In my classroom I teach about real life, real experiences and real injustices. I use these real discussions to help students make connections between prior and new knowledge. I teach students to think deeply, to ask questions and to defend their opinions even when they are talking to me, I teach them to own knowledge, to be confident and identify evidence to defend their positions. As an educator the most valuable thing I can give my students is to show them that even I at my best am a student always willing to learn and grow. The philosophies