Philosophy of Education
I believe that everyone has a calling. I have concluded that my calling is to be a Special Education Teacher. Through out this course we have studied many different topics and gone in-depth with many issues in the education system and our current educators around the world. There are many different aspects to the philosophy of education and mine in particular. We will look into the role of the student, the purpose of schools in society and my specific philosophy of education, teaching strategies and attributes, how we can prepare our students to be globally competent students and how the learning environment and class room management can affect students.
When a student walks in the door on their first day of school they turn into a fragment of the population that we call students. There are expectations that we have for our students as they fulfill their duties as learners. When students are in elementary school they are so excited to be there and learn. We need to take full advantage of this and help their little brains soak up as much as possible. As a student gets older the nature of them will change and I want to make sure that they can be as excited about school on their first day of kindergarten to after they have taken their class exam in whatever level of education that is. I expect my students to be willing to learn and accept the challenges that they will face during their education path.
A philosophy of education is a set of ideas and beliefs that guides teachers’ actions and provides a framework for thinking about educational issues. Throughout the world there are many schools that are completely different from each other depending on many things including; the country of school, whether it is a private or public school, the area that the school is located, the faculty, and background of the students who attend. I believe that we need to focus on the individual student and the success of the individual. A positive atmosphere can make or break the curriculum and the success of the students. I also believe that the US needs to change the social reconstruction and what specific things should be emphasized.
Have you ever been around someone who is always negative and always bringing your mood down? Imagine having a teacher be like that every day. Many students have to deal with a negative environment and this tends to affect the students and create a negative image towards school for them. I believe having a positive atmosphere in a classroom can really change a student outlook on school and many different life long lessons. I believe that positive behavior and affirmation can really drive a student to want to succeed and complete that goal. There are many teachers out in the world today that only teach to get that paycheck and therefore tend to be negative and not really care about their students. Those students are really getting the short end of the stick and not realizing what is possible. Being enriched with positivity in school and just positive behavior can really change a person’s life.
The US has an act of congress called the No Child Left Behind; its goal is to set higher standards and establish goals that will improve individual outcomes in education. I personally think that the NCLB doesn’t help an individual at all. We as future educators need to focus on the specific need of each individual. Not everyone is going to learn at the same rate we have to accommodate each student to what they are capable of and what they specifically need help with. A positive atmosphere will really inspire and give students the drive that they want and need to succeed in school, the classroom, and for their future life.
There is a lack of Social Reconstruction in the education system today. I believe in the educational philosophy of social reconstruction, asserting that schools, teachers, and students should take the lead in addressing social problems and improving the society. With social reconstruction the primary teaching method would be discussion. I know from a personal experience that when you discuss things in class vs. reading a textbook you pick up much more information on the topic at hand. You are going in-depth and have much more critical thinking about the topic when its discussed in a group setting. Group projects and student collaboration will really help student learn but also develop communication skills that they will need down the road. Schools and teachers need to comprehend that more discussion time in classes will really benefit the student and isn’t that what our goal is as educators?
I believe that a highly qualified teacher has certain qualities and attributes and these are called teacher’s philosophies. Having a spark inside you to want to educate and make the world a better place one student at a time has to be on the top. You must be able to teach all type of students and not give attention to certain students over others. Also being able to teach the same thing but multiple ways so that a student who learns differently from his/her classmates can all learn and understand concepts at the same time. A great teacher needs to be organized, educated, caring, respectable, understanding, reliable, charismatic, smart, engaging, and fun!
A teacher is the barrier of knowledge. They should be student centered, pushing students to achieve more than they had imagined. You can never stop learning things and many forget that. I believe effective teaching strategies that I use would be to bring more critical thinking into the classroom throughout each lesson and not just here and there, if it is constant the student will gain much more knowledge. I also want to have a great relationship with my students and I want them to know that I am always here for them in any situation. I plan on working with EBD students and typically there are much more outside of school issues with these students and they need to be able to trust me and understand that I am there to talk and support them with whatever issue may arise. Teachers also must have a strong communication with the parents. Education and learning goes outside of the classroom walls and making sure that the student, parent, and teacher are on the same level will help everyone in the long run. I will always do what is best for my students and sometimes parents will not agree but I am willing to take that chance if it means that they will have a better future because of it.
We are in the 21st century and that consists of a different type of educating and learning as students. I want to prepare my students for the world now and what they will come across and make sure they are prepared for these situations. The US unfortunately is behind the rest of the world in global competence and I want to change that. I grew up in a public school in suburbia and rarely would we discuss or even go over global issues. If you go over to China the students there are globally informed and know what is going on in the world around us. I hope one day our students can get to that level but there is so much work to be done. Tony Wagner writes in his book The Global Achievement Gap about how students from across the world are much more prepared that American students and will be taking the jobs that we have worked hard for. We need to step up our game and define new survival skills for the future. This includes the 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and learning and working with people from other cultures, understanding other nations and languages, and being globally competent.
Another factor in being in the 21st century learning is technology. There have been so many drastic movements in technology that sometimes it can be hard to keep up. We need to teach students how to write emails and letters that don’t contain “text vocabulary.” I believe that many teachers were have been in the field for quite some time should really learn themselves about this new technology and understand that students can learn easier with it. I know I personally have a much easier time doing this on a computer because I am so comfortable on one and use it so much. We can’t live in the past we need to move forward to the future and that consists of new teaching tools and strategies that are up to par with this fast world paste.
To have a good learning environment a teacher must be organized. This doesn’t always mean that every little thing is neat in their classroom. A teacher’s philosophy impacts a learning environment and your classroom management. I’ve learned from working in a first grade class that if you aren’t organized and prepared the students are going to take over and get out of hand. As we saw in the Science Express each station had their own everything and it was also clearly labeled and color coordinated. The teacher I had my field experience with had the exact same concept. There were 5 group tables in the classroom and the students were assigned to a group or table. Each table had its own tools and utensils so that when doing an activity the students weren’t running around the room or waiting to use something. There was also a cubby or box for each students to hold their take home mail, homework, assignments, or anything that needed to be kept safe. At the end of the day the teacher would pass out each students’ folder and they would go over to their cubby to grab the things they would need to bring home. This helps the students and teachers not loose things and stay organized. There was a lot of structure and routine in the day’s activity and this really helps students stay focused and keeps the teacher sane.
I want to become an educator to change students’ lives. Everyone deserves that chance and opportunity. I want to change the education system today and break the cycle of failure that we have some how come across. I have learned that I was placed on his world to help people and change lives. I want to break the cycle of students who come from bad homes and families and show them that they don’t have to be like that. There are many more options out there then what they have come from or know and they just need someone to believe in them and show them the possibilities. I know I can do this by my teaching philosophies and I hope that other teachers will realize this as well. My purpose in life is to change lives and I am more than excited to have the opportunity to do this and am excited to change the world one day at a time.
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