Philosophy of Education
The single word “teacher” does the profession no service. A teacher is really a combination of the most important professions in the world: doctor, mother, philosopher, motivational speaker, scientist, counselor, and so much more. Besides the parents, an educator is the biggest influence in a child’s life. The age span in which children are in school is the most impressionable years of their lives. A student’s educational experience can mold the events of his or her future. That is why I want to become a teacher. I want to be a mold for younger generations, and I hope for students to remember a knowledgeable and ethical teacher.
The overall purpose of education is to provide the knowledge and some of the experience that a student needs to survive today. The world is harsh and fast-paced for newly graduated young adults to enter blindly. All the student has to take is the educational background that he or she has been provided. It is imperative that critical thinking and problem-solving strategies are taught. In this way, I am a Progressivist. I believe education should be relevant to the future and to life in general. Decision-making is a hard task for even the most experienced. A young adult leaving home for that first time has no idea what decisions to make. Educators should teach students about life applications such as: cooking simple foods, changing a tire, or balancing a checkbook. I also hold an Essentialist idea of the classroom. I want to be the authority figure and I want the respect of the children. I not only want it for myself, but for other adults also. Children need to be taught to respect others and to show general consideration. It seems like this type of teaching has been left out of learning programs and now even young children are involved in fights at school.
I believe knowledge is relative—dependent upon person, place, and time. This is why I also believe that the role of the teacher is so important. Children learn by example and are extremely impressionable.
4. Post, The Huffington. "JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Accused Of Overcharging Military Veterans." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 May 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
On Thursday, August 21, 2014 it was announced that the Department of Justice has reached a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America Corporation. This was the largest civil settlement with a single entity in American history (Sienkiewicz, 2012). The settlement with Bank of America Corporation was from when the company knowingly marketed and sold toxic loans (“Bank of America to pay $16.65 Billion in historic justice department settlement for financial fraud leading up to and during the financial crisis | OPA | department of justice,” 2014). However, at the time it was not only Bank of America that was being unethical. Two other major financial companies; Country Wide Financial and Merrill Lynch were also
Forgiveness is incredible. The ability of a human being to summon up the power within themselves to not harbor vengeance and anger in their heart over the wrongs done to them, including traumatic, painful wrongs, is stunning. A person struggles not to admire someone with perpetual forgiveness in their hearts; however, at the same time, forgiveness is not the only way. Although forgiveness is incredible, human beings are not obliged to forgive and are not less righteous for not forgiving. Both Roxane Gay and Sophronia Scott engaged the topic of forgiveness with eloquence, intelligence, and ultimately, differing opinions; ultimately, I find myself somewhere between the two of them. While I do not believe that we should allow anger and resentment
“I don’t think that the attitude of the great religions to the question of forgiveness differs to any great extent. If there is any difference, then it is more in practice than in principal. You can only forgive a wrong that has been done to yourself. (Weisenthal 1997 pg. 81) It takes a lot to forgive a person who has wronged you but we learn that forgiveness is an act of strength and a gift that we give ourselves to be able to move on with our lives. It is a waste of time and energy to hold on to
For generations teachers have been developing our future through harmony, wisdom, and intellectual adventure. A teachers' role in society is to help our youth grow and further their understandings in the principles of life. The expository essay The Role of the Teacher by Irving Layton provides a different perspective on education in the 21st century. Similar to Layton, I firmly believe that education is for the expansion of the young mind and nothing should restrict a student's ability to do so. Layton touches on a view where teachers need to be passionate about their jobs, however, teachers are not always responsible for every action the school makes, but the responsibility may lie in the hands of the school board. Layton also displays his concern for the decreasing rate of young readers and the use of humanities and how that will affect society. Personally I have been influenced by teachers in my own family. There have also been other teachers who have influenced me like I have also had other educators such as in my math course where the diversity in the techniques and skills used affected my overall experience.
In a society where kids must go to school up to the collegiate level, teaching is an impactful career choice. Teachers help contour the minds of future leaders of the world. Furthermore, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students to the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in life, and teachers lead students to make informed decisions on any topic the meet in the future. As a teacher, a person must relinquish their knowledge onto students. Finally, they must prepare their students for all the obstacles they will face later in life.
There is no more critical role in our current society than that of a teacher’s. Teachers help shape the minds of the future. Tomorrow's engineers, scientists, politicians, and educators are all greatly influenced by today's instructors. Without teachers society would not be anywhere near where it is now, and only a select few would have access to learning. Sadly however important teachers are in human civilization, they are still drastically understated, unrecognized and under paid.
Becoming a teacher was not something I always knew I wanted. As I approached an age where I really started considering what I would like to do for a career I only knew that I did not want to work in an office behind a desk all day. I wanted a job that would be interactive, challenging and exciting. I also knew I wanted a job that would be important and would somehow contribute to the world in an important way. I thought being a teacher; particularly a teacher in the primary levels would fulfill those hopes and goals assuming I dedicate myself to becoming an effective teacher who has a positive influence on the lives of my students.
As an education major at State College, I’ve decided to become a teacher for several reasons. As I progressed through elementary, middle, and high school, many of my teachers were great role models for me. This has inspired me to become a role model for someone in the near future. My love for science and math has also influenced my desire to teach and make a difference in a child’s life. I want to teach students the subjects that I love so much. I want the feeling that I helped a child accomplish or learn something they couldn’t understand. One of the main reasons I want to become an educator is because I feel education has really lost teachers who truly love teaching and those who truly love teaching and those who have the desire to make a difference. I feel I can really help make a difference in the education world and bring back the love to teach.
I think that the nature of knowledge is relative. Not all children can learn in the same environment. I believe that if a child is put in an environment in which they cannot learn they should be placed in another environment so that they can. Some students learn at a slow pace and others learn at a fast pace. Then there are the students that learn better by lectures and others that learn better by activities. If you mix these children in the same class, than there are usually some lost kids in the class? I know that in my experiences with school, I would have never made it in a normal classroom since I learned so much slower than the other kids did.
When I look back to my young developing stages in life, I always ask myself where would I be today if it wasn’t for my teachers? Teachers are the ones who build our future generations. Preparing children and teens for higher education. Also playing a huge part in shaping children’s lives, enlightening them, and educating them about society and the world around them; the types of things that a parent doesn’t have time for, or just lacks the knowledge of. I think teachers are what help make this world go round.
As we reminisce and reflect back either on our childhood or academic career, we tend to have that one teacher who was memorable to us in some way - for their sense of humor, their stellar personality, or perhaps having that charisma and charm no other teacher had to make a difficult subject and it 's concepts fun to learn. While knowledge is power, I firmly believe that it is rather the exchange and distribution of knowledge that is power. When one can educate the masses there is no doubt that together we can accomplish great things. Becoming a teacher would mean the opportunity to be able to witness the shaping and molding of the minds of the future generations and the satisfaction knowing that you have helped your students set themselves onto the right path and provide guidance towards the creation of a better tomorrow. Choosing to become a teacher will allow me not only to educate my students, but also educate myself to be a better teacher throughout my career. I believe it is a function of human nature to want to change the world for the better. In adulthood, I have learned that the improvement of the welfare of the world must begin with
I believe that education should be looked as as a desire to acquire all possible knowledge, not as a requirement or something that can be formally examined by standardized tests. There are numerous ways that children learn and I want to be able to encourage as much learning as possible for each child. I believe that using many methods of instruction is the most effective way of teaching to these various ways of learning. These methods include group work, hands-on activities, buddy work, etc. Assessment of children should follow the same idea. When children get the chance to perform on different assessments, they can adequately show their strengths and weaknesses. I do not wish to rely on tests only to assess the students in my class. Some types of assessment that I think should be inlcuded in a classroom are journals, presentations, projects and interviews. I also think that the classroom should be run with the help of the children. By distributing jobs among the children and everyone participating in the classroom, the students will form a sense of togetherness. This will eventually create a community within the classroom. I feel that this community of learners is essential for the students to perform effectively and efficiently. They will feel comfortable in the environment and will not be afraid to take risks or ask questions. The teacher will also be a member of this community and will not be seen as unapproachable or as the only leader.
My philosophy of education is a combination of essentialism and progressivism . I feel that knowledge can be learned from a textbook, but I also want my students to use other means of knowledge. I fell in certain times, I should be the center of the classroom and other times, the students should be the center. Education is about the students and I am there to guide them through their journey. I think it's important to let children learn by exploring. By doing this, they choose what information is important and should be retained. When it comes to learning, students should always be in the center. The teachers are only there to mentor and improve upon a child's skills. In my mind progressivism with a mix of essentialism is the best philosophy for me to follow.
First, I realized that, teachers carry a lot of weight on their shoulders and have great responsibilities. They have to balance the curriculum, students, parents, lesson plans, common core, and upper management and still maintain a professional demeanor. Second, educators must follow a strong code of ethics. They must be professional at all times with students and colleagues, keep confidentiality, not have or show any prejudice or bias, maintain safe and positive learning environments, help students with problems, and hand out disciplines accordingly. Lastly, I found that when you’re a teacher, your education never stops. Teachers are always trying to improve their own education and professional growth, both for the benefit of their students and for the benefit of themselves.