My Personal Philosophy: My Philosophy Of Education

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I believe that behind every great teacher is a teacher that inspired them to be in the classroom. Merriam Webster defines philosophy as “a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live” and education as “the action of teaching someone, especially in a school, college or university”. Your philosophy of education is just that, your ideas about how to teach. There are no right or wrong answers. Sure, there are more “hirable” answers, but the joy about writing your philosophy of education, is that it gets to evolve and grow with you as you gain experience as an educator. How exciting is that?
Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning. Noam Chomsky describes the purpose of education as follows, “Education is really aimed at helping students get to the point where they can learn on their own.” After all, education is a lifelong journey. It is not a single destination or a simple transaction. Education equals power, the power to create and fulfill your own destiny. Mark Van Doren, a profound influence on generations of students, described teaching as “the art of assisting discovery.”
Effective teachers impact lives. As an educator, I hope to make a difference to one student, to one classroom, at a time. The First Days of School by Wong & Wong states “Teachers universally say they go into teaching to make a difference. You more than make a difference. You ARE the difference.” My role as an educator is to get to know each student as an individual in order to understand their individual unique needs, learning styles, backgrounds, interests and abilities. I believe that there are six key elements to creating a well-rounded philosophy of education; passion, learning, creativity, guiding, engagement and listening.
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...s are active learners. I will involve them in hands on activities. I will invite them to explore. I will encourage them to wander and to wonder.
Being an educator requires an act of listening; listening is a vital aspect of school and life. You must observe and listen to your students in order to build on their prior knowledge, skills and interests. I will teach and implement the HEAR strategy (Halt, Engage, Anticipate, Replay), which offers concrete steps to focus on and improve listening, in my classroom.
Teaching is complex. It often requires educators to juggle multiple tasks and goals simultaneously and flexibly. It is not a profession, but a calling. Behind every great man and woman, is an educator who inspired them. There is no place I’d rather be than in the classroom. “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry Adams

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