My Philosophy : My Personal Philosophy Of Education

As children we have many goals and dreams. Eventually, the time comes when we have to make a career decision based on our interests and goals. The choices that we make now will have a lasting effect on our lives. Like most college students I have explored many career options, but I am always lead back to the education field. Teachers have a very difficult job because they have the power to shape and inspire our future nation. Although that can be an intimidating and often scary thought, it also gives me inspiration to move ahead in pursuing my goal of becoming a teacher. I have always had a passion for children. There is nothing like watching a child grow and watching their

Currently, I am responsible for managing the science instructional programs and personnel in a chartered middle school. As a supervisor for the department, I develop/source curriculum materials for teachers and collaborate with them to plan and implement instructional lessons daily. I manage the financial resources for the department and constantly monitor the teaching practices that will impact our organizational goal and vision.

While attending North Carolina Central University, I have taken classes that helped me develop the teaching philosophy I want for my future classroom. My philosophy is that no matter their background, all children have the opportunity or learning. Personally, I would love to see students reaching their fullest potential while in my class. It would be my dream to allow children with different learning levels, to be able to work in the same classroom together. This will require heavy amounts of group work, something kids need to learn for the real world. My classroom environment will be a judgment free zone. This will allow for students to freely express themselves and learn at their own pace. When teaching young children one must be prepared for all the frustrations, responsibilities, and challenges. Personally, I believe that all children are capable of learning anything, if they have the appropriate materials and motivation and direction from their teachers. It is up to me to ensure that my students are motivated and excited about learning new things.

It is true that many educators do not know what their educational philosophy is. However it is imperative for educators and future educators to know their personal educational philosophies so that they can be accountable, explain how they teach, what they are doing and why. My personal Educational philosophy is made up of four components; metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic.

My philosophy of education is that every student gets an equal opportunity to learn in a safe, comfortable and fostering environment. As I reflect on my teaching and learning principles, I realize that my mission as a teacher is based on the following thoughts: to enhance positive learning, provide equal opportunity to learning to assist closing the education gap and to use evidence based teaching strategies to present concepts in various modalities.

I have been in school for the past 16 years – including attending college and furthering my knowledge by observing other educators and their styles. Through the years I have seen and experienced things that I both like and dislike. I have seen a few philosophies that have stood out to me; that I believe I will incorporate into my classroom as a future educator, such as behaviorism and progressivism.

When trying coming up with a personal philosophy of education, I had to ask myself what the purpose of education is. To me, the purpose of education is to teach students knowledge that is needed to make it through school and to succeed in the world after graduation. Anyone can go into teaching, but not every teacher can teach. Teachers go above and beyond to introduce methods, philosophies, and strategies to help their students learn, as well as, retain the information.

My personal philosophy of education relies on the fundamental belief that every individual has inherent value, therefore designating education as an environment where students may grow in their self-worth through academic and relational support. Thus, the purpose of education is to provide individuals with the opportunity to learn about both content and about self, growing in their identity. Within this personal philosophy of education, I will further detail the aim of education, the role of the teacher and methods of education that achieve these. Justification will be provided in the form of supporting theorists: Maria Montessori, Parker Palmer, John Dewey and Nel Noddings. Furthermore, theories proposed by Plato and John

I tested into a progressivism teaching style in the “Finding Your Philosophy of Education Quiz.” While I enjoyed learning about the different philosophies and psychological influences of teaching, I prefer constructivism, social reconstruction, and progressivism due to their student-centered learning, hands-on or project based learning style, while making efforts to improve the world around them. I will be discussing why I chose progressivism, social reconstruction, and constructivism as my preferences, as well as the role of teachers and students in a democracy, how students learn, the subject matter of schools in a democracy, and the purpose and function of education are in a democracy.

My mission as a teacher is to guide students to their full potential by giving them fundamental tools that they can use outside of the classroom. This mission is directly correlated to my philosophical orientations on how students should be educated. Most importantly, I believe that the student should be at the center of instruction; Moreover, it is valuable in a child’s development to know not only the curriculum but skills that they can use outside of the classroom like social skills, technical skills, or self-concept skills. Students learn best when utilizing their strengths; I believe that curriculum does not have to have a particular outline that needs to be followed because everyone learns differently. In

I think when I made the decision to become a teacher I was not thinking the seriousness of this decision. When we become teachers we also become the molder that will shape our student to be successful in life. But when you decide to become a teacher in a Christian school you are not only shaping this student to be successful in life but we are also shaping their Christian mind to do things with a feeling knowing that they are shape and where made by the image of God. As a future teacher, I know that I have to embrace my students the way they are the way that my God created them and help them to explore this world through their life, their faith, and to challenge them to do things outside of themselves. I also need to help them to find their passion for learning and to make them realize all the gifts and skills God has given them that they can use in every area of their life. I also plan that since I will be working at a Christian school I want to make sure that my students will learn not only about phonic, math or history but I intend that they will learn about our God through this courses, too.

Dictionaries define education as the act of imparting and acquiring knowledge where the powers of reasoning and judgement is developed in preparing oneself intellectually to face life. To most of us, education is commonly perceived in a narrower sense where one has to obtain outstanding academic qualification to gain success. However, I am of the opinion that education also encompases life-long experiences, knowledge and wisdom that an individual acquires at different stages of life.

Becoming a teacher is not something I always knew I want to do. When it came time for me to start considering what my future career would be, all I knew was that I did not want to be stuck in an office behind a desk every day. I wanted to do something where I could make a positive impact on other people’s lives, and be around sports. I wanted a job that would be interactive, challenging and exciting. While searching for something that would fulfill these goals I found that teaching could do just that as long as I do everything I can to become an effective teacher who contributes to the world in an important way.

The meaning of education is different for everybody. The dictionary defines education as the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge (Dictionary). For me, in wanting to be a Math teacher, education is far more as it is unique in not only acquiring knowledge, but also in developing human interaction/ relationships and individual beliefs. I believe that motivation and pushing students to reach their full potential is essential. This can be done by first establishing a secure and stimulating environment where I and the student can learn, grow, and mature. At the core of education is establishing a relationship with the students in a way that promotes and increases learning. These relationships require respect on both sides and is necessary for the relationship to positively thrive. It is also important to me that students take an interest in the actual content and subject of their liking, rather than focus only on achieving a certain grade. Education is full of obstacles and challenges; however, it comes with excitement and benefits that I hope students can experience.

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.