My Personal Philosophy of Education

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In this essay, I will explain my educational philosophy—the set of beliefs, principles, and precepts that make up the foundation of my conduct as a teacher. I believe that there are three main purposes of education: (1) developing good citizens, (2) encouraging personal self-growth, and (3) preparing students for success through job preparation and the teaching of life-skills. These three objectives are similar to the thoughts of the noted educator and philosopher Mortimore Adler.
I believe that my purpose as an educator is to guide students by providing them access to information, rather than being their primary source of information. I will give my students the tools they need and the opportunity to think for themselves. I am a strong believer in hands-on activities because I believe that you learn more through experience than you learn through a lecture. My ultimate goal is to help them discover a love for learning the same way my teachers did for me.

Developing Good Citizens
I believe that my goal as an educator is to focus on helping students develop character and prepare for active citizenship. According to Joel Westheimer and Joseph Kahne, there are three types of citizens: (1) the personally responsible citizen, (2) the participatory citizen, and (3) the justice-oriented citizen. I believe that all three types of citizens are the kinds of citizens educators should want their students to become. With this in mind, I will promote the duties and responsibilities of these citizens in my classroom curriculum. I will give my students opportunities to be good citizens throughout my daily lessons.
I believe that one of the best ways I can teach good citizenship and character is to be a model of it. “Children have n...

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...4. Think Win-Win
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

Works Cited

Adler, M. J. (1982). The Paidea proposal: An educational manifesto. New York: Collier Macmillan.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Hackschooling makes me happy: Logan LaPlante at TEDxUniversityofNevada. (2013, February 12). YouTube. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY
Kahne, J. What Kind Of Citizen? The Politics Of Educating For Democracy. American Educational Research Journal, 237-269.
Kingsbury, K. (2008, November 21). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Schools. Time. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1861074,00.html
Labaree, D. F. (1997). How to succeed in school without really learning. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

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