My Philosophy of Education: Essay Sample

Introduction

Throughout history, I have had a legitimate interest in education. To my view, teaching is among the oldest professions known to humans. It is common that children are born when they are illiterate and ignorant of several things (Archambault, 2010). With education, students can overcome illiteracy and ignorance since they gain a lot of knowledge from learning. According to Dearden (2012), children begin the road to education by learning basic skills like reading, writing and interacting. Education has been found to have had various benefits to the individual and the society as a whole. For instance, it equips and prepares learners with the required skills to fulfill their dreams (Dervin & Machart, 2016). Education is also an avenue that prepares children or learners to think for themselves so that they can make moral decisions in life (Emmons & Kelemen, 2015). The manner in which educators teach the learners is rooted in some philosophies. Today, educational philosophy has become the foundation of teaching and learning styles. Through this philosophy, educators can develop various principles to increase the quality of education.

My philosophy of education does not focus on one philosophy, but, rather, is the outcome of many influences like the personal and professional experience of observing and teaching others as well as the instructions and a mixture of philosophies that the traditional educators use. I have tried to capsulate this philosophy in various belief statements. First, I believe that learners are people who come up with unusual abilities and needs in class to show the aspect of responsibility in their learning process. Many educators describe the need for education based on their values and experiences (Erbas, 2013). Because learners have different beliefs, it is possible that their experiences in today's schools might also be different. In my perspective, schools sometimes emphasize on test scores while defining the purpose of education. However, this should not be the case because, to me, the use of education is something more than the examination.

Second, I believe that the objective of education is to inflict a learning desire and teach students how to think for themselves instead of what to think. I also believe that school should provide a way to equip learners on how to develop their thoughts for them to become productive members of the society. Next, I believe that the primary role of educators is to facilitate learning and create opportunities for learning to increase the chances of learner's success. I believe the learning institutions are public places that must be conducive to the student's to acquire knowledge. I also believe that the teacher often participates in shaping the character of a student every time he or she interacts with the person. I believe that educators have a common knowledge that they should transmit to the learners in a logical, regimented way.

Lastly, I believe that if I am to be a good learning facilitator, I must grab the significant opportunities that can help me expand my education. One of the opportunities is giving myself time to be a critical thinker. These statements of beliefs are the cornerstone of my contemporary philosophy of education. I aim to leave children with the enthusiasm of asking questions regularly to gather more information and knowledge that helps them in becoming better citizens. `My beliefs concerning education entail the whole person. Therefore, this belief will be significant while considering my teaching behaviors.

I intend to teach the elementary grades 1-4 because I want to improve the lives of children as they engage in early education. By doing so, I will perform the fundamental part of helping them realize success in life. Upon being faced with the work of writing my philosophy of education, I made various efforts to narrow the source of my philosophy to two simple ideas namely; progressivism and essentialism. Nonetheless, I came to notice that my teaching and learning philosophy is based personal experiences and other ideas. I then focused on the attempt to identify the strongest point of my beliefs regarding learning, teaching and what I have observed in education.

For that reason, my ideal viewpoint on how schools should be vis-a-vis curriculum is based on a few key points. First, an excellent curriculum needs to allow learners to practice equality (Garrison, Neubert, & Reich, 2012). Second, an excellent teaching should establish a warm, safe environment where students seek to achieve a common goal (Hamlyn, 2010). It should also give students a chance to think critically and solve problems appropriately using the knowledge gained in class (Hirst, 2010).

Next, a curriculum should buttress respect for diversity and make learning relevant to practical issues (Hogan, 2017). In this perspective, I think that the education should be included in every curriculum. Next, teaching students ethical behaviors like positive attitude, respect, honesty, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring, self-discipline and other moral concerns makes education better (Kohli, 2013). In this context, the teacher performs the role of modeling the behaviors of the learners. Therefore, it is safe to note that education helps the learners to understand and practice core moral values.

Another thing that makes good teaching is engaging students in the class (Lang, 2011). From my experience, engaged learners are always active and quick to understand every concept in class. They also participate actively by asking relevant questions and pointing out constructive issues in the learning process. In the end, engaged students become responsible and self-motivated learners who can set goals and attain them (Lazaroiu, 2013). Teachers should also allow students to perform the role of an explorer. Ideally, exploring the physical world and interacting with other learners give the students the opportunity to come up with new concepts, skills, and knowledge that can help them achieve their goals (Lundqvist, Almqvist, & Ostman, 2012).

The development of philosophy depends on its articulation. Once outlined, it must be measured against various known standards that determine its validity (Macallister, 2012). I intend to weigh my education philosophy against the criteria established by the philosophy standards. The first of these principles requires my philosophy to be based on my experiences. For that matter, I have an experience of five years working as a Resource Educational Assistant in a public school. Working in this organization has enabled me to observe teachers and how they offer education. From this level of practice, I have established a philosophy that concentrates on a student as an individual. Through my view, I have noticed that learners carry different skills to class. My philosophy supports these experiences as it values their benefits in the learning institution.

Although my philosophy is brief, its outlook is comprehensive. Most importantly, it counterbalances the needs of the individuals through the belief that a classroom must be conducive to learning. Equally, the increasing duties of the students in being responsible for their education as they grow up balances the childhood demands with the maturity demands (Malitowska & Bonecki, 2016). This philosophy is stable in every aspect. Asking learners to be responsible for their education means that they are being taught the need for being responsible in life (Marples, 2012). As such, the philosophy aims at developing a sense of self-worth.

As a teacher, if I have to facilitate learning, then, it is important to create a safe and welcoming environment for education. Additionally, this philosophy includes its focus on my self-development in learning. If my philosophy is progressing, then, there is no doubt that its evolution will ensure that it remains current and adapted to any place of practice. Likewise, if I have to develop my knowledge and proficiency through constant education and practices, my philosophy will mirror the present style for better learning. The above attributes need to encourage tyros to be prosperous in their lives.

Because my philosophy integrates compassion to the best education in the modern learning institutions, it can fulfill its adherents. For that reason, my philosophy will help the students to meet their needs. I will also be pleased since individual development will be influenced by the fervent of extensive education and experience (Parkay, Stanford, & Gougeon, 2010). Based on the evidence provided above, I can conclude that my philosophy of education is reliable on the principles of philosophy.

As mentioned, there are two belief statements in my philosophy that I would like to support. I will defend these believes using two main philosophies that are in line with my philosophy of education namely; essentialism and progressivism. The first stage in defending the above statements is to prove that the beliefs are based on the traditional educational philosophies. One conviction that I intend to protect is that apprentices are people who come up with uncommon abilities and needs to class, and the educators should back them to become responsible for their education more so as they mature. I can support this belief using the philosophy of essentialism.

Essentialism refers to the back-basis education approach that intends to equip the learners with the essentials or tools for academic knowledge (Marples, 2012). This philosophy guides the teachers to instruct the students on the traditional ethical values and intellectual culture. The importance of essentialism is that it instills the learners with the adequate knowledge of becoming an independent and model citizen (Merriam & Brockett, 2011). Personally, through the essential approach of teaching, I have come to learn about the economic, political and cultural structures of the society. This has enabled me to grow into an intelligent adult with my opinions and the ability to make informed decisions.

Regarding this philosophy, Moss & Lee (2010) stated that every person has his or her internal history that drives them to decide their future. Adherents to this philosophy hold that education is the process of realizing and improving what has been discovered in the history of humans. The part of this philosophy is supported Nyberg (2010) who suggests that learning is the critical responsibility of a student. Therefore, for learners to bring unique abilities and needs to class, they must first have the necessary knowledge required in education as indicated in the philosophy of education (Parkay, Anctil, & Hass, 2014). With the basic knowledge, the educators can help the students to become responsible for their education until they become mature and be responsible in life.

The second belief that I will defend is that a teacher performs the primary role of being a facilitator of learning and providing learning opportunities to catalyze the student's success. The philosophy of progressivism supports this belief. This philosophy is grounded in traditional American philosophy, and it holds that education should concentrate on the individual and the content learned in class (Smith, Knapp, Seaman, & Pace, 2011). In addition, it stresses that students involved in active experimentation can test their ideas. According to Schofield(2013), progressivism follows the idea that p...