Philosophy of Education

Philosophy of Education

The teacher's role in the education of youth is both valuable and essential. My belief is that not only is it important for teachers to teach basic core skills in reading, sciences, and mathematics but more importantly the value of respect, understanding, and acceptance. The teacher should be the bearer of inspiration and knowledge, encompassing students as individuals and integrating their prior knowledge with their future learning. The teacher's overall goal should be for the students to reach adulthood fully equipped to live in a community and be able to make informed choices about his/her own life.

Many equate education with schools, but education occurs everywhere in all stages and forms of life. Education is not just in schools but rather is a part of everyday learning. Children consume a vast amount of knowledge and information from the time they are born to the time they enter school. Education starts in the home and once the child enters school, the teachers role is to act as a guide providing resources, avenues of exploration, and understanding. In John Dewey's My Pedagogic Creed, he states that education 'is the process of living and not a preparation for future living,' implying that education never ceases; it is a lifelong journey. Education should not be based on routine; teachers must allow students to explore their own potential through flexible teaching and dialogue, resulting in a strong teacher/student relationship based on respect and understanding. Too many times teacher are expected to teach what is prescribed by outside sources, for example, the government. How much are they really involved in the education system? Teachers are expected to teach a in a certain manner and students are expected to learn the same material in the same amount of time. What about Bill in the back of the classroom who has a learning disability that has not yet been classified? He is to do as well as his classmates because that is what is 'expected of him.' As a result, Billy develops a lack of self-confidence feeling unworthy and inadequate because he could not complete the task in the same time as his classmates. And in many instances students like Billy are overlooked and regarded as 'poor students'.

I believe in a democratic system in which students have their own voice and are not forced to conform to some typical, average standard. Dewey stated that 'knowledge is a part of the mind that just simply needs to be discovered.' Rather than teaching 'superficial' information, teachers should encourage their students to use their minds abstractly; to use their imaginations and creativity in order to find their own beliefs instead of teaching for the next big exam. When a teacher 'teaches for the test', students memorize the information but do they really retain the meaning? They acquire the information in rote form and may be able to give the definitions but do they really understand it? After all, isn't it a goal of the teacher and the education system to enable students to apply their new learning to situations outside of the classroom?

In closing I would like to share another quote by Dewey, "The qualities that great men have are extraordinary because they seek knowledge that does not come from conformity, but from their own minds and hearts. If every teacher contained this type of greatness then they would be exceptional teachers, and they would find greatness in every student." As a teacher, I would like my students to inherit significant values; respect, understanding, a positive attitude toward learning and its role in personal fulfillment, and to regard education as an ongoing life-long process.

Tiffany Clift
tiffanyclift@yahoo.com
last updated May 11, 2005
Plattsburgh State University