My Philosophy of Education

 

One of my personal goals in life is to be of help to others and to make some kind ofdifference in their lives. I knew this is what I have always wanted to be involved with, but I didnÕt realize it until I came to college, and learned more about myself. Since then, everyday I experience something new which brings me one step closer to the notion of why I want to work with children for the rest of my life. Through taking many classes, and observing and teaching lessons at schools, I now have my own personal understanding and theories of how I want education to take part in my life and in my role as a teacher.

 

So why do I want to study children and spend time trying to figure out and teach them? After reading up on Piaget, and his strong opinions of children, it has influenced me more toward one direction of thinking. I truly enjoy children so much simply because of the way they make me feel. They are so unique and diverse, and they can teach so much to adults, and can leave us in amazement of some of the things they can come up with. They are unbiased, and usually always tell the truth from what they see, and how they are treated. They are each of us, before we were contaminated by media and crisis situations, which have hardened opinions on what the world has to offer. They help us find our identity that we lost long ago, and that is how I think we are able to relate to them.

Since I hope to have an impact on childrenÕs lives, teaching is the best direction to go in, since they spend half of their time growing up in school. Not only do I want to teach them the skills and information they need for the world, but also values and morals. I am a very big family person, and I look forward to reinforcing those rules that they hopefully are receiving at home. There is so much poverty in todayÕs world, and if I could fix everything, I would in a second, but unfortunately IÕm not Wonder Woman. The younger children are, the better chance they have of being saved before it is too late for help. This would be why I want to teach and deal with the younger grades, like 2-6. They are still in that molding phase and a right inspirational push, could make a world of difference.

In my classroom I want to portray a certain atmosphere. I want it to be a comfortable environment, with the students still giving respect towards one another, while trying hard at their work. One thing I truly hope to accomplish is a good relationship with my students. I want there to be that trust level with me, and I would love them to come to me if they need anything at all. These are just some of the ways I want to set up my classroom to establish this tone.

One skill I could never live without is communication, and when working with people it becomes very beneficial in many ways. I want my students to work very often in peer groups, and IÕm going to begin this by arranging their desks in tables or chairs. Through this they can meet or become more acquainted with their classmates, and they are there for each other academically if one looses place during a lesson. Social interaction is also very important in life, because we are going to have to deal with people for the rest of our lives, so why not start getting used to it now? Peers can learn so much from each other, and in my opinion, this makes the room seem friendlier with group seating.

Another thing that as a teacher will probably bother me are childrenÕs generally short attention spans. To solve this I think one of two things should be done: getting up and stretching every 2 hours or so, or having a snack time to rejuvenate them until lunch. In addition in keeping the class flowing, I want to use every type of teaching method possible to keep it exciting. Of course lecture will be one of them, but I also believe in a large amount of group work, arts and crafts, experiments, day trips, show and tell, television, the radio, and acting on stage. I have many plans to bring in new ideas to keep their attention focused on learning.

One thing I am not too fond of is standardized testing. I know they have to be given to test everyone for an equal chance, but I think a person can be tested on so much more than that. People are beings that are involved in a great deal, and I donÕt think a regular test like that is liable to tell you what type of student they are, or how smart they are. Everyone is created equal, and people have different callings in life. The ability of sheer brilliance is not required to all students. I only wish there was some type of morality test we could give, and really stress the moral part of living a good life. Grades can go only take a person so far, before they move onto something else, but being a moral person can last and bring you a lifetime of happiness.

I have heard one of the worst parts about being a teacher is dealing with the parents. In order to try and maybe avoid this or help the situation, I want really interact with them, and get them involved as much as possible with their childrenÕs lives. Whether is be to come to school every so often and sit in the back, or to invite them to school functions that take place during the day, or to have them take part in the childÕs homework or projects. This also helps their relationships at home as well, and forces them to bond over very important issues. A good learning experience begins in the home, and continues to help them as they go down the path to adulthood.

One thing I never want to do is yell in my classroom. I know the responsibility for thirty-some kids can be very nerve-racking, but there is nothing more that I dislike than rudeness. I do believe in discipline and fair punishment, such as time outs and no recess time, and I will never tolerate fighting of any kind under any circumstance. They will learn their lesson if I ever catch verbal or any kind of physical abuse anywhere in the school. I have experienced too many bad experiences in the public school I attended, and I donÕt ever want another student to ever experience that humiliation or pain.

Something I would really be interested in doing to promote self-esteem and moral development in the classroom would be to introduce the students to theater. This would not be very extensive because I know most grammar schools donÕt have any type of drama program, but I would like to at least do skits. This way the children could possibly make them up from a time when someone else hurt them emotionally, and how they felt, and then solved the problem. If it goes well in front of the class, they could even do it in front of the entire school. Being in the spotlight like this is very positive and reinforcing for children, and I think they would really get a lot out of it.

I also feel it is very important to motivate the children to do their schoolwork, and do well in it. I like the reward system of a number of stars, or something a student can collect and gain to work toward a goal of some sort. This motivates them to do well, because I think every class would love a pizza or an ice cream party to celebrate a certain number of books read, their homework all completed for a long period of time, or good grades on a test.

When I teach one day, I hope to accomplish all these thoughts for my classroom, and that I am able to make the best out of any situation. Children are little angels that just need to be directed in the right path along with some love and encouragement, and they will grow up to be great people. I hope that I am able to get through to and help at least some of my students in my career. As the saying goes, ÓTo teach, is to touch a life forever.Ó