My Personal Philosophy of Education

Deciding that I wanted to be a teacher didn’t take much effort; deciding what kind of teacher I want to be however, takes much more thought. There are numerous educational philosophies, most of which can be traced back to one of four major perspectives: idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism. All of these philosophical systems have an impact on educational thought; however, I find it hard to choose

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

To be an effective educator, I believe one must have a foundation of moral and ethical principles. An educator should support the learning environment, while being flexible and teachable. He or she must also lay a foundation of beliefs on how individuals learn, seeking to enable individuals to reach their optimal potential. My personal educational philosophy begins with believing all children are unique individuals, with different emotions and different styles of learning. An educator has the incredible challenge of attempting to meet those needs. As an educator, I believe all children deserve the opportunity and resources that would better enable them to reach their maximum potential.

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

I believe that I can pass along my own wisdom while simultaneously helping them to develop a knowledge base of their own. I believe that I can get through to students and allow them to reach new realizations. I believe that I can help them to see the process of schooling as an experience that is both interesting and enlightening. What follows is my interpretation of the teaching profession. It details the methodological and ideological frameworks that I would use to construct a learning experience that is meaningful for students.

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

Education is defined as the lifelong process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and values through either formal means, such as schooling, or informal means, such as firsthand experiences or vicarious experiences gained through reading books or discussions. Every person that is or wants to be a teacher has his or her own educational philosophy. We all have our own views, methods, and curriculum that we were taught when growing up. A lot of people may have the same teachers in school, but all of them learn different things from that teacher.

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.

The word philosophy is described in the dictionary as the search for human life. There are many different aspects of philosophy: ethics and logic are the main two along with aesthetics, epistemology, and metaphysics. I shall be discussing two of the five in my paper. As a professional educator, I have many different views that I will use for my long term goals and in my teaching profession.

As a student studying to become a teacher myself I feel that philosophy is a vital in my attempt to understand myself and my relation to society as a whole. Every teacher needs to understand themselves and their relation to society so that they can understand the children they teach coming from every possible background and family life.

A person’s philosophy is defined as, “A theory or attitude held by a person that acts as a guiding principle for behavior.” If a person’s philosophy shapes his or her actions, then it is vital for any professional to have a good philosophy in their profession, so their actions follow suit. Therefore, it is important for an educator to have a solid philosophy of education so that his or her teaching is effective and right before God. Six important components of an educational philosophy are metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, the nature of the learner, the school, and the teacher. However, the foundation that holds up all six of these philosophical components in a strong christian educational philosophy is God.

The learning experience should be that of a collective nature where students are able to indiscriminately relate to the information, re-teach the information and have a balanced incorporation of all the learning centers in society; including the home and the church. The goal of this incorporation is to create a balanced learning environment that facilitates holistic development in the young mind. As professionals entrusted with the shaping of young minds, teachers must facilitate learning and personal, spiritual, ethical and academic development. My philosophy for education is a multi-part philosophy that encapsulates the idea of holistic and inclusive learning. The philosophy caters for the overall shaping and development of the young mind and includes aspects of balanced training, incorporated teachings and it generally focuses on training students to become teachers.

In the field of education there could arise many philosophical ideas of each individual teacher. Many of the past philosophies have been and still are used in today’s education programs, such as the Socratic method. My philosophy will also contain some of the many philosophies of the past and possibly the future. I will state the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of public education, method, and curriculum according to my own philosophies, which also may be based the philosophical ideas of previous individuals.

When understanding education there are many different ways which the purpose of education may be applied and defined. My personal philosophy of education is, 'educators must nurture/guide students within the academic field, to that the aims, goals and results during this task of educating or being educated are achieved '. This philosophy is used to understand that both teachers and students play an integral role in education. Academic performance, classroom methods/practices and also meeting the requirements of both the senior secondary Australian Curriculum Framework and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Framework are examples of these roles. This essay will discuss in detail how my personal philosophy of education, reflects on the role of teachers and learners, the aim of education and the methods and practices used in the classroom. Jean Jacques Rousseau, Paulo Freire, Locke, and Plato/Socrates are the four theorists that shall be used within this essay, to support claims and justify statements regarding this philosophy. John Dewey and A.S Neil are two non-supporting theorists that shall be used in contrast to justify this philosophy.