My Philosophy of Education

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I believe that when students are comfortable, whether it be with a teacher or just a setting, they will learn much more quickly. Therefore, I think that it is extremely important to create an environment that is safe and comfortable for the students. Because of the “laid back” atmosphere, I think that my model for discipline would fall under the umbrella of constructivism. The reason is that I believe that students need to be able to learn in a way that relates to their lives in the present day. Students will retain the information they learn much better if they are able to connect that information to an aspect of their lives. The other key aspect of the this construct is that the students need to be allowed to come up with their own meaning at times; this will allow them to connect information even better than if the teacher is pointing them to the connections. Reading and writing becomes a crucial element in trying to employ this type of learning.

The question then becomes, “How does this type of learning take place?” It is my belief that if the classroom atmosphere is that of a community of learners then the students will be able to come up with their own meaning, help others to that end, and then see how much that type of learning has benefited them. I believe that the site funderstanding explains this idea best when they say that, “Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the issues around which students are actively trying to construct meaning” (Constructivism). During the years that a child is in school they are, in my opinion, most actively trying to construct meaning from their day-to-day lives. This most clearly relates to the fact that they are continuously trying to come up wit...

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Works Cited

"Constructivism." Funderstanding: Education and Training for Active Learners. Funderstanding. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .

Duemer, Lee, and Doug Simpson. "At The Crossroads: Altercations and Transformations in Philosophy of Education." Journal of Philosophy & History of Education 60.(2010): 184-190. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

Guilherme, Alex, and W. John Morgan. "Martin Buber's philosophy of education and its implications for adult non-formal education." International Journal of Lifelong Education 28.5 (2009): 565-581. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

McMillan, Wendy Jayne. "'Your thrust is to understand' - how academically successful students learn." Teaching in Higher Education 15.1 (2010): 1-13. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

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