Philosophy of Education

My Philosophy of Education

Purpose of Education
Teachers should teach children things that are important and will be relevant to the students for their future. Also, teachers should encourage learning on their own through experiences. I believe students learn better when they can learn on their own and through their own trial and error. However, teachers should be responsible to attend to and focus on the children. Also, the things being taught need to be understandable and interesting to the students.

Students should assume responsibility for their own learning. If they don’t understand something they need to ask questions and let the teacher know they don’t understand. When the teacher is informed of students not understanding then the teacher can adjust the way the material is being taught so these students can understand. When students graduate they should know the fundamentals of the past, future, and present. Also, they should be able to function in the “real world” and know how to function and continue throughout their life successfully. Students should feel confident, knowledgeable, and comfortable with themselves.

Curriculum
When teachers teach the required curriculum they should be able to make an impact on each student. There is much diversity among students and teachers should know the diversity in each of the students. If teachers do not know the differences among their students how can the teacher impact the student and give educational opportunities for each student. Every student’s needs need to be met and understood or they won’t understand the curriculum.

Instructional Strategies
Every student learns differently therefore different types of strategies should be used. If teachers don’t use multiple strategies then some students will be “left out” and never understand the teacher and the material being taught. However, there is one strategy that I know is effective to all students and should be used all the time, visual instruction. When pictures, drawings, videos, and etc. are used students understand the material better because they can see it. For example, I teach swimming lessons to young children and in my first year of teaching I would explain water safety rules verbally. However, I could tell that my students did not understand, so I began using a children’s book that explained water safety. When I read the book the student’s engage and actively participated along with the book because they could “see” what was being taught.

Assessment
To assess whether the students understand the material, two different test should be done. First an informal test where the teacher would give a verbal question or command and the students would have to respond. Depending on the response of the student would determine if the student understood. For example, if kindergarten children are learning about shapes and informal assessment could be done. The teacher could tell the class to draw the shape in the air with their hand. The teacher would then know who understood by who drew the shape correctly or incorrectly.

Another assessment that could be done is a formal assessment. For example, a third grade class is learning cursive writing. The teacher could give the students a few sentences they were to write in cursive. Those students who wrote the sentences correctly in cursive the teacher would know they understand and those who make mistakes would know they still need more practice.