Philosophy of Education- Written from a Teacher's Perspective

A person’s philosophy of education shapes what one thinks about education, how one delivers what he thinks and why one thinks the way he does about education.

My experience as a teacher and guidance officer has led one to think about education and develop a philosophy that centers on the learner.

I believe that education is preparing the learner for life and not just life – but a well-balanced, well-adjusted life. I also believe that students should be able to cope with and deal with life’s challenges, they must have a purpose to life, a code for right and wrong, a passion to fight against injustices and at the same time appreciate beauty, the aesthetics and traditions.

In my view, a philosophy that is known or unknown to the to the teacher influences teaching styles and method. I have never really given serious thought about philosophy at education during my career until this moment. In retrospect, I would have taught my students to be disciplined in all aspects of life. I have used as a theme, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ because I believe in fairness and justice. My students have also learned too to discover, to experiment to be a team player and to realise they can think for themselves and make informed choices.

As a guidance officer, I have helped students to understand that life is beautiful, but there are also so many challenges to which they have the inner resources to handle. I constantly explain to my students that their life must be balanced – it should include a little of everything.

My philosophy assessment results in some ways reflect my beliefs about education. I had very close scores in three of the educational philosophies (Perennialism - 17; Progressivism – 17; Reconstructionism – 18). This is rather interesting because I like the traditional way of doing some things, for example, telling stories to children. Added to this, some things like good manners never change and yet I welcome the modern constructivist way of teaching and learning.

Students should be exposed to diversity and reconstruct what ideas they would have had on certain issues. A very simplified example is that all over the world, rice is consumed; it would be preposterous to think that the only way to eat rice is with a fork or spoon. The students that interact with others and experience other cultures would have a balanced life.