Philosophy of Education

Philosophy

As Abigail Adams once said, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attained to with diligence.” Just as students learn with ardor and diligence, teaching is also a profession learned with ardor and diligence to achieve excellence as a teacher in today’s classroom. As I have grown up in a family thriving with teachers, I have seen both lessons taught and lessons learned. Children can offer a unique reward; to see a child learn is an accomplishing and satisfying feeling. To teach is to be an intellectualist, dramatist, psychologist, and many other titles. Only teaching offers this wide range of possibilities—and what exciting possibilities these are! Teaching styles differ among educators, and it should be the goal of aspiring teachers to analyze themselves to become the best teachers as possible.

Imagine a patchwork quilt full of variation in size, color, texture, and detail in every different piece. This picture is what surfaces in my mind when I think of the nature of students in today’s world. If the quilt represents a classroom, each piece represents a student with different inter-weavings, but similar ties among themselves. My job, as teacher, is to recognize each piece just as unique and contributing as the one beside it. We must remember that each child is shaped differently, both internally and externally, and affected by circumstances that not all may experience. Their nature should be inquisitive and attentive; however, these qualities are not always the case in students today. It is the teacher’s duty to mold his or her students to be better and reach higher in school. It is the teacher’s duty to understand that each child has a different nature and...

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...s public education system requires leaders to take children into the new millennium. This new time period will hold many challenges for our children, and the instruction they will require must be from charismatic and caring teachers. Each philosophy molds the way that teachers feel about teaching and teachers, in turn, must mold their students carefully to face many different challenges. Although I believe in the basic attitude of an essentialist, I also believe that teachers must inspire and arouse curiosity in their students. As Anatole France best describes it, “The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.” I hope to be that type of teacher who awakens my students to new ideas and remains in their minds as a great inspirer for not only school, but for life as well.