My Philosophy of Education: Combining Progressivism, Essentialism and Behaviorism

My Philosophy of Education: Combining Progressivism, Essentialism and Behaviorism

Upon being faced with the task of writing my philosophy of teaching, I made many attempts to narrow the basis for my philosophy down to one or two simple ideas. However, I quickly came to the realization that my personal teaching philosophy stems from many other ideas, philosophies, and personal experiences. I then concentrated my efforts on finding the strongest points of my personal beliefs about teaching and what I have learned this semester, and came up with the following.

The first and most important of the three formal educational philosophies that have been major influences on the formation of my own philosophy is progressivism. Progressivism is based on the belief that people learn best from what they consider to be relevant to their every day lives. In other words, students learn best from personal experience, hands-on experiments, and from interacting in groups with those around them. However, for these small groups to be entirely effective, they must be chosen at random; basing the groups on race, gender, sexuality, or social background will defeat their main purpose.

The use of progressivism in the classroom broadens students? points of views and expands their abilities to understand differences in opinions. Furthermore, it inculcates students with a vast array of knowledge about their surrounding environment and everyone in it. Without the use of the progressive method, it is almost impossible to thoroughly educate children on complex topics such as racism, religion, and people that come from different societies, nationalities, or ethnic groups. A lack of knowledge of this sort le...

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... student?s academic career.

On top of everything else, teachers must possess an irrepressible yearning to motivate and educate children. Some children receive very little praise and motivation outside of the classroom environment. This puts a new responsibility on teachers to make sure that children (especially those who are underprivileged or disregarded by friends and family) get the attention and motivation they need in order to achieve. This can make all the difference in a child?s ability to do well in school.

Knowing the characteristics of an exceptional teacher, along with realizing the challenges that teachers face to become effective and respected are daily motivation for me. They inspire me to become a more educated and knowledgeable person, which will allow me to become the admirable, successful teacher I know I can be.