Effective teachers have developed a sense of a strong philosophy. This philosophy defines the role of the teacher, the goals for the learners and is focus of the curriculum in the classroom. The focus and the values of each teacher are shown through their philosophy. The teacher's knowledge of their philosophy enables them to be more effective because they know themselves, and are able to incorporate their self knowledge in reaching the goals that they set for themselves and their students through the curriculum.
My philosophy of education has its roots mainly in Essentialism. I also agree with the Progressivism opinion as well. As an elementary school teacher I feel that students should have a great emphasis on academic achievement and knowledge. I intend to instill an academic emphasis as a gateway for their academic future. I will provide my students individual help and encourage them to learn by incorporating games and activities along with textbook examples. I will strive to learn individual learning styles in my students to be better able to help them excel. By giving students a broad sense of academic knowledge they can develop skills and ideas that will help them secede outside of the classroom and throughout their lives. Mastery of reading, writing, and arithmetic are skills that every child should learn and understand so that they can reach their academic potentials. I feel that Progressivism is also essential in classroom. Children can learn to work together in groups and help each other learn in ways the teacher can not. I want to make my curriculum a hands-on experience. By teaching to the students interests, I hope to make them feel more connected to their learning providing to their success. Individual and group projects focusing on student developed ideas are important for success. Field trip, games, and computer programs will be intergraded into my curriculum so that students can learn in different, unique, and entertaining ways. My focuses on these philosophies are very important to me because I feel that I can be an effective teacher by educating my students both individually as well as a community.
I hope to educate my students by developing their skills and enabling them to carry out their ideas directly. It is important for students to go beyond talk and take action. I plan to involve a community service project where students can learn how helping others lead to self growth. Students could volunteer in the school, in their neighborhoods, or in their community. Through community service projects I hope to project a feeling, understanding, and the importance of helping others. Through volunteer work I have a better understanding of who I am. I hope to instill this in my students. Being a teacher should mean being a role modal as well. I believe that the essence of education is knowledge, and skills as well as growth. As a teacher I will hope to instill an essence of action in my students. Knowing the knowledge from the textbooks and materials are not enough. Through hands on experiences and projects, students can develop an essence of growth and development inside themselves. They can also develop personal achievement. Education should concentrate not only on the academic needs but also the inner needs of the students. This provides for educating the whole child as well as their intellectual needs.
My Goals for my future students is that they learn to develop intellectually, emotionally, and internally. I hope to develop the whole person. I hope that they leave my classroom with a better understanding of themselves, their peers, their communities and the world around them. In order to accomplish these goals the students must first understand the intellectual aspects of education. I will teach them by providing them with the different aspects of an issue. I will develop their problem solving skills and help them to develop their own views while learning to also respecting the opposing view. It is important that they have projects that interest them as well as involve them so that they feel connected to the educational system and enjoy learning. I will teach my students understanding and tolerance of others ideas, believes, understanding, races, and sexual preferences. I can accomplish this by teaching the accomplishments rather than the failure in a group as well as encourage them to see others individually. I will make sure that I provide an atmosphere were all ideas are heard and encourage my students to draw their own conclusions.
Each child develops at a different rate, in different
ways, and has different skills. Through the Essentialism and Progressivism
approaches I hope to develop my students academically, internally, and
provide them with understanding. By reaching these goals through
a curriculum of academic and practical learning I can become a positive
influence in the lives of my students and provide them with the skills
to succeed while reaching my own goals.