Artifact #2: Personal Philosophy of Educational Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kofi Annan, of Ghana said, “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family” (nobelprize.org). My ambition to become an educator stems from a desire to help children grow into productive and successful adults. I am a mother of six children. As I have guided my individual children through the different stages of their childhood, adventures, adversities, and educational experiences, I have come to realize that all children have similar basic needs. Along with food, water, shelter, and clothing, children have the need to be accepted, protected, nurtured, and an innate desire for knowledge. Every child has the ability to learn and mankind can only thrive through the power of knowledge. I was a very shy child growing up and knowledge did not come easily. I had two elementary teachers that made a profound impact in my education. Their kind, friendly, and patient demeanor encouraged me when I felt inferior to all my peers. Even though my learning came more slowly, those two teachers taught me that I did have the ability to learn. Through many years of raising children and volunteering in their schools, I discovered that I have an inherent ability to nurture, encourage and teach children—in the same manner in which those two teachers touched my life. Although not a gifted learner, I made immense progress as I discovered
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
“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.
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.
This paper is my personal educational philosophy statement. It represents my ideas and values about teaching and learning; it reveals my personal teaching beliefs and their relation to the five major established educational philosophies; it shows my role and responsibilities in educational process. I place great significance on personal style of instruction and its influence on curriculum implementation. The paper also highlights my career aspiration and orientation.
Many people in history, as well as my mentors, have influenced my personal learning philosophy about early childhood learning.
I am attending Concord College to further my education. After graduating with an Elementary Education Degree, I would like to teach in an elementary school in Southern West Virginia. Preferably, I would like to teach in a kindergarten environment. While teaching I plan to further my career with a Master’s degree. I would like to be able to reach those children that aren’t as fortunate as others. As a teacher I will not only teach the children, but they in turn, will teach me. Education is one of the most important aspects to the success of the country. It is important for everyone to feel a part of that success; therefore, I feel strongly about teaching students to succeed.
My whole childhood I always dreamed about being a teacher. During school breaks, weekends, and summers, I would set up a “classroom” in my basement and my friends and I would play school. I would be the teacher most of the time. It takes a very special person to be a teacher, not everyone is teacher material. You have to be very patient, kind, and caring of all students you work with and encounter through your day and year.
I believe that teaching is one of the most important professions in the world today. From the very beginning, until present time, teaching has been around. The book of Genesis speaks of God walking and talking with Adam in The Garden of Eden, God was teaching Adam. I will be proud to, one day, be a part of this great calling.
I came out of school thinking that I wasn’t very smart. However, I always remember my Kindergarten teacher and loving the experiences she gave me and how she made me feel. My 5th grade teacher made me feel the same way my Kindergarten teacher did, special and able to conquer the world. I wanted to give that same feeling to other children. I wanted to be able to see their eyes light up in understanding and give them the confidence that they could do anything and be anyone they wanted to be.
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that in my future I wanted to become a teacher. I always looked up to my teachers, especially the ones I had in elementary school. I even played 'school' with my friends and pretended I had my own classroom. I loved being in charge. During a summer, I was given the opportunity to work as an Energy Express mentor and work with a group of eight children. This was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever been through. I was a mentor to help guide the children, and by the end of the summer I felt as if I had really accomplished something. I am planning to pursue a career in elementary education. I love children, and just knowing that as a
Education is inevitable. It is all around us because we can learn from virtually anything. When you are cooking, dancing, talking or any other activity you have actually had to learn several things to be able to do them. In the educational perspective, I am a pragmatist and I tend to follow after Dewey's footsteps. The concept of Pragmatism is one that developed in the 20th century. My philosophy is based on the idea that learning should involve real-life situations. Learning becomes more concrete to a student when they apply it to real-life situations, as where learning things that do not connect to them has more of an abstract sense. Personally, I would have to agree with Dewey when he said, "I
I believe that education extends far beyond the classroom walls, and involves many more people than students and teachers. People should be learning wherever they go, and should continue learning long after they’ve graduated from high school or college. Education isn’t something that can be quantified with tests or report cards, but is instead something that people carry with them. It’s a survival pack for life, and some people are better equipped in certain areas than in others. People with a solid education are prepared for nearly anything, as they will be able to provide for their own physical, emotional, and aesthetic needs.
My personal philosophy of education is most closely related to progressivism, which is a school of thought advocating that truth is determined by function. Progressivism is an educational philosophy focused on providing students with the skills and knowledge necessary not only to survive but also to succeed in a contemporary and competitive society. William James and John Dewey are accredited for developing the characteristically American philosophy of education that is progressivism.
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.
As children, we absorb information and learn from experiences that mold us into who we are. Many individuals impact a child’s life, but the most powerful and influential role lies in a devoted teacher, a teacher provides growth to students as a gardener would to a garden of flowers. Each child can bloom into a thriving flower so long as you water their garden with optimism, love, patience, and guidance. Throughout my educational experiences I was lucky enough to have educators who poured their knowledge and optimism into me, and now I would like to reciprocate that back to students who are in the position I was once in. Balancing life and school is hard enough for a student, but a powerful and caring teacher can steer you in the right direction. In this autobiography you will read about my educational background, experiences that influenced my decision to become a teacher, and what I believe the role of a teacher should be in a student’s life.