My Personal Philosophy of Education Essay

For many individuals, choosing a career is one of the hardest decisions to be faced with. The majority of students in college spend their first year stressing about what they are going to do with the rest of their life. I, fortunately, have known since I was in middle school that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. As a future teacher I feel that essentialism and progressivism are going to be my unique philosophies of education.

Education entails individual human development in the cognitive, emotional, creative and social areas. All children are entitled to a free education regardless of race, cultural background or handicaps. For education to be an effective part of the students life, the student and teacher must be actively and enthusiastically involved in learning. A teacher needs to be well prepared and organized. They need to know the perspective goals for each student and ways to achieve these goals. Teachers need to work with students to help them grow and develop ways to use their knowledge.

My personal philosophy of education is that children learn from different ways. Children learn by watching, listening, and hands-on activities. Different learning styles are implied in an inclusive classroom. For example, children best learn by doing and experiencing things on their own. Therefore, as an educator we accommodate the children’s needs by creating an active teaching environment. Inclusive education system enhances those different learning styles that match the child's learning needs and helped them adapt to the environment. It also has students with and without disabilities that are being educated together, giving them an opportunity to socialize with other students with different learning preferences. Gardner’s theory of multiple

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Angelou, 2009) This is a truth that I have witnessed firsthand. As a child, at the tender age of seven years, I was blessed with an educator, Mrs. Cager, whose commitment to her students was so profound until I have never forgotten her. She made me feel like I was the most important person in her classroom. Her encouraging words instilled a level of confidence within me that I still cling to and apply more than 40 years later. Her commitment is directly responsible for my personal philosophy of education also being commitment.

I began my college education in 1987. I attended two full years and one part-time year before accepting a position with an engineering firm in 1992. I was employed there for the next nine years and was promoted three times. Even though this was a good stable career, I was not satisfied. I have always wanted to be a teacher. I never gave up hope and continued to take a class when I could. In the fall of 2001, I had the opportunity to work part-time and finish my degree. I am so excited to achieve my lifetime goal of becoming an educator.

Norms and values are a reflection of society’s standards of behavior. Since society evolves from each generational perspective, the “norm” is continuously changing. As a result, the rising adults have a grave influence on how the world will evolve into the next generation. What we teach our students today will reflect the success of our future. How we, as teachers, get our messages across will definitely influence the student’s ability to apply that knowledge. From my experiences and what I have encountered I intend to incorporate the Pragmatic and Idealistic philosophies into my classroom, based on my predictions on how to be a successful teacher.

Without education, society as we know it would cease to exist. Formal education is what has made our country and other industrialized nations great. Thus, as a future educator, I anticipate the opportunity to assist in the molding of future generations by imparting essential knowledge.

The first and most important reason that I want to become an educator is because of my love for children. I cherish the thought of being involved in a child's learning process. I think that my classroom will have a mixture of the philosophy of idealism and pragmatism. I want to be very knowledgeable in my area of teaching and I love the idea of teaching what I know to my students. My students are going to challenge themselves as learners. Any problems that arise in my classroom will be handled by me the student in an appropriate manner. I also want to engage learning by using first-hand activities. Reading, writing, and arithmetic will be emphasized greatly in my classroom. I want the class

We are living in a moment of deep historical mutation in which traditional meanings are dissolving. This makes it necessary to re-think the certainties in which the Essentialist thinks. Bringing us back to the basics of life with core curriculum. My philosophy beliefs on education are based on Essentialism and Progressivism. Essentialism is grounded in a conservative philosophy that accepts the social, political, and economic structure of American society. While Progressivism has a respect for individuality, it is believed that people learn better through active interplay with others.

For me, the decision to become a teacher is more of a way of life than a career. I have always loved school, practicing at being school marm from a young age, and voraciously devouring every shred of education offered me in my career as a student. If it were possible, I would be a student for the rest of my life. And then I still would not have learned enough. As a teacher, I hope to instill this appetite for knowledge in secondary students. They are, after all, the future leaders of the world, and what better place to expand the minds of the generations to come than here in Appalachia where education programs, especially the sciences, which I plan to teach, are poorly funded and children’s dreams

Students are the key to our future. In order for them to make sound decisions in life they must be able to understand the consequences for the choices they make. My goal as a teacher will be to make sure they receive the knowledge to make those decisions. I want to be a teacher so that I can mold students to be intelligent, productive citizens in our society. I want to be a role model, someone children can look up to and emulate. I believe I am worthy and capable of being a teacher because I am intelligent, compassionate, and of high moral character. I believe I can encourage students to become the best person they can be. To achieve these goals, there are factors I need to consider, such as:

Education is the process of learning that can take place anywhere and at any time. I believe that creativity and activity as well as books and lessons are essential to the learning process. As a teacher, I hope to instill in the children a sense of knowledge and self-worth that will remain with them throughout their lives.

I want to become a teacher for three reasons. The first is, I love children of all ages and want to help them in any way that I can. The second is, I want to influence children in a positive way and help them be all they can be, much like some of my teachers did me. Finally, I enjoy the feeling that I receive when a child's face lights up, because they understand something that I am explaining to them. That feeling is enough to make me teach, regardless of the paycheck.

A teacher is a combination of the most important professions in the world: doctor, mother, philosopher, motivational speaker, scientist, counselor, and so much more. Besides a child’s parents, an educator is the biggest influence in a child’s life. A student’s educational experience is what molds many of the events of their future, which is why I want to become a teacher. I want to be a mold for younger generations, and I hope for students to remember a knowledgeable and ethical teacher.

"Some people make things happen, some watch while things happen, and some wonder ‘what happened?’ Which type of person are you?" author unknown.