Philosophy of Education

I believe every child has the ability to learn and be successful.  Each child that steps foot in a classroom is a distinctive individual who needs a safe, caring and motivating environment that promotes emotional, social and intellectual growth. My goals as a teacher are to serve as a guide in facilitating learning and help my students realize their capabilities so that they can reach the fullest potential in these areas.  I feel that I can reach these goals by creating an environment that is conducive to learning. That is, an environment where my students feel comfortable asking questions can work together and genuinely care about the well-being of their fellow classmate. It is also my desire to build a relationship with the parents of my students as learning does not stop once students leave the school.
By serving as a guide to my students I am allowing them to explore learning. I believe that   providing students with adequate resources and a gateway to knowledge will allow them to learn independently. Children learn better through doing activities [1]. It is my duty as a teacher to encourage students to find genuine problems which excite their interest, problems which can be explored and solved by engagement with the curriculum [2].  I can stand in front of a class and tell my student over and over again how to solve a problem. After that lesson, there’s a good chance they may forget. If I simple provide my students with a concept that peaks their interest and enough information for them to explore the problem on their own and come up with a solution, we can then go over what was done right and what we may need to change in order to reach a proper solution.   It is more likely my students will remember because it is something they have done on their own.
According to Dewey, a free person is one who could frame and execute purposes of his or her own life [3]. Overtime and with more practice, I hope to create critical and free thinkers by allowing my students to learn on their own and introduce them to “more effective techniques, greater self-reliance, a more thoughtful and inquiring disposition more capable of persistent effort in meeting obstacles [4]. My plan as a teacher is to incorporate lessons into my teaching that will help me reach my goal of creating “educated people” which, according to Dewey is someone who has the power to gain more education [5]. I’ll only teach most of my students for one year so I want to instill in them those values that will last throughout their entire educational journey.
For many years there has been poor performance of U.S schools in comparison to school systems in other countries.  There is a dire need for a change in curriculum based on the “needs and interests” of students [6]. Society and the world we live in are ever evolving so therefore, our curriculum should change and evolve as well.  Public education was created with intent of creating individuals who were industrialized and carried as senses of nationalism [7]. Around the 1830s there was a there was a religious struggle between the Calvinist and more liberal sects, economic upheaval between the rich and the poor and industrial discourse between Irish immigrants and native workers [8]. It was these disharmonies that influenced Mann to create the common school. It was his belief that the common school would improve the religious, economic and industrial conflicts [9]. Today, when we teach we seek to do more than create industrialized nationalism. We should seek to create independent thinkers,   responsible citizens, passionate and caring individuals. The focus should no longer be fixated upon creating a person that is good for society but helping to create a person that is good for self. Like Dewey, I believe that traditional schooling fails to stimulate the intellectual capacities of most children because it does not take into account the nature of the child [10]. I believe education should focus on the individual as well as society.
Similar to the schools in Prussia, education should take place in a class where students feel loved and cared for [11]. Teachers should get to know their students and spend time building relationships with them.  In chapter 3, it is said that when a child’s mental is affected by fear he becomes withdrawn and less luckily to engage in the classroom [12]. Through my experiences in the classroom as student and observer that students are inclined to participate in an environment where the teacher shows respect and care to them. They are also more likely to respect a teacher who they know cares about their well-being. Schools should not be “static in subject matter, authoritarian in methods, and mainly passive” [13].  I have had experiences with authoritarian teachers and those experiences where not so great. In fact, I was in more trouble that school year than I was my entire tenure as an elementary/high school student. My experiences with authoritative teachers were the complete opposite. I was focused; I excelled and I felt more comfortable, safer and respected as a human being in my classrooms. I believe that educating is about creating the best possible learning environment for my students so that I may get the best results. I plan to do this by giving my students an environment that they flourish in. I seek to create an environment that has rules and standards but also gives students an opportunity to learn from each other and reflect on experiences. Being able to reflect is a key element to learning [14].
When students are in an environment where they feel safe, it’s one less thing they have to worry about and gives more room for them to focus on the tasks at hand. Traditional school not only failed to encourage students but it penalized students for behaving in accord with the facets of their nature [15]. Going through my tenure as a student and especially in the beginning, we were taught to be quiet and listen to the teacher. Children are interactive beings so to surprise that nature and expect them to be able to focus is haphazard. It’s almost as if students were being prepared to lead a life of slavery rather than a life of free individuals [16]. When students are focused and motivated they work harder and when they realize that they can achieve a goal, they become motivated for more.
Helping my students realize that they are capable of success emotionally, socially and intellectually will start on the very first day on school. Throughout the school year I will foster these capabilities by allowing my students to go through their emotions so long as it does not hinder learning nor put anyone in danger. An idea from one of my past teachers that I plan to adopt is the unity circle. Students will gather in a circle once a week and express issues, problems, concerns, give constructive criticism as well as compliments to their fellow classmates. This kind of setting will provide a safe no judging environment for students. It will also help build relationships because what they are essentially saying is, “you can work on this area but you are great in this area.”
Building relationships is an integral part of school because we meet new people and build new relationships throughout our entire life. It is function that will benefit both the individual and society. I felt the classroom where I completed my field experience had the ambiance of a small community or a big family. Students will inevitably encounter obstacles and problems in reaching their goals, and such problems should be solved by children working together under the teacher’s guide [17]. The students cared for one another and they helped each other stay focused. It is this, ‘my brother’s keeper’ mantra that we need to instill in our students instead of constant competition. Not to say that all competition is bad but when you teach students to care for one another you are teaching them to be good people. Society needs more good people who genuinely care about one another.
Schools have a role in the production of social change, but can’t be the main agency of change [18]. This very idea is the reason for my last concept in my philosophy of education. Students are in school approximately 8 hours out of day, sleep for another 8 hours and the last 8 hours are divided between transportation, extracurricular activities and family time. Therefore, in most cases students spend more time with their teachers than they do their parents. We are responsible for building character, socializing students and developing their intellect but, not solely. It is a combination of support from the parents and teachers that allow students to be most successful. This is why I plan to build relationships with the families of my students so that we may all focus on the goals we have for our student’s success. It is too often that parents do not feel comfortable at their child’s school and I plan to alleviate this feeling as much as possible by being available to the parents of my students and sending home weekly or monthly newsletters so that they may stay abreast of their child’s work. I want parents to know that they share a role in child’s success. Being involved in their learning is the best way to achieve this goal.
In my opinion, in the next 10-20 years I see schooling being primarily focused on preparing our students for test taking. I say this because over the past 10 years I have seen a substantial increase in the amount of test students take in an effort to make U.S schools more comparable to foreign school systems. In my short amount of time in the classroom this school year, I have noticed almost 90% test prep and the 10 % learning with a goal of educating, enlightening and inspiring. I know that there are standards and rules for every school and certain amount of time allotted for teaching each subject. I plan to be creative in lesson planning so that I may prepare my students for the substantial amount of tests they will take but also instill in them independence, critical thinking, respect and responsibility by carrying out the task I have previously mentioned as necessary for optimal learning.