Philosophy of Education

EDU4000

Professor Pierantozzi

Morgan Ewart
November 12, 2016

As an educator, I would want my students to be like plants in a garden. They start

out as, unique, free, choosing and responsible creature and is made up of intellect and
emotion (Patricia D. Jersin). A student who is free and creative learns through the
ideals of Romanticism. Self-discovery I learned that through the philosophy of
Romanticism in education, I would want my students to achieve free discovery and
creative individuality. My role as the teacher is to encourage students to look within to
come up with their own conclusions. I would also want my students to be encouraged
not only to find one answer for themselves, but to use cooperative learning to come up
with an answer that they believe is correct with others. Constructivist theories are clearly
connected to the idea of getting students involved with their learning and this is where
my personal philosophy will help my future students reach their individual and academic
goals.
How will I be able to relate with my students? I was a child that wanted to figure
out the answer freely, and not to be told this is the way you have to do it and if you
dont, it is wrong; especially in the subject, Math. I understand what differentiation is
now, but as a young student I struggled with the essentialism philosophy of some of my
teachers, and I felt that they did not differentiate math problems for me. They believed
there was only one way to find the answers. I struggled in math because of this
experience. So, I know what philosophy did not work for me, and what may not work for
my students. When I discovered the Romanticism philosophy, I remembered where I
had the most freeing, creative, and wonderful experience of my life. It was Kindergarten.
My teacher was a true believer in free choice and self-discovery by allowing us to
choose for ourselves, and if we did not accept it, she allowed us to make our own

mistakes. I learned valuable lessons in that year of school. I now believe she was my
role model because I often think of how I learned in her class. I would like to emulate
her when I am a teacher. I have passion, understanding, and experience that will make
me an effective teacher.
In order to be an effective, I will need to create this kind of classroom where
students feel free and comfortable. One instructional strategy I would want to
incorporate is Socratic Dialogue. I believe that Socratic Dialogue will help students
come up with an answer themselves and feel confident with their answer. Critical
Thinking is another strategy I would want to include for the free discovery aspect of
learning. Even though I may work in private or public school will try to incorporate as
many romanticist teaching strategies as I can because I want the students needs to
come first above my own needs. I understand that educators must teach within
guidelines, but they can also incorporate strategies to help them self-discover who they
are as learners. That is the most important aspect of being a good teacher. I want to ask
myself first, what is the best for my students, how do they learn best? As a teacher, I
hope to adapt to the childrens learning style because everyone learns in a different
way. Students come from all different backgrounds; they need to know how important
they are inside and outside of the classroom.
A major influence on the Romanticism philosophy would be Maria Montessori.
Maria Montessori created a school specifically for free discovery and creative
individuality. As a Romanticist I researched Montessori and her teaching style and I feel
that is the best way for the students to learn, through discovery. Montessori said, any
child who is self-sufficient, who can tie his shoes, dress and undress himself, reflects in

his joy and sense of achievement the image of human dignity, which derived from a
sense of independence. This quote is the core of my philosophy. I chose early
childhood education because this age of discovery is where a teacher can incorporate
Montessori principles in their teaching the most. I believe that when I become a teacher
I will use as many skills needed to fulfill the goals of success within the child, especially
when they find the answer for themselves and are confident to carry that out into the
world with them.
If I can shape the young minds of children to have a more positive experience
with education, then I feel they will be more successful in their future education. This
takes me to my values of individuality. Individuality is an important aspect in education,
especially for the early years. My Kindergarten was part of a Kindergarten through
Eighth grade parochial school. My teacher went to the principal and got permission for
her class to not have a dress code. We did not have to wear uniforms even though we
were required to. My mother told me that the teacher explained her philosophy about
free expression and individuality. She believed that students should make decisions
about what clothes they want to express themselves in, what colors to wear and so
forth. Young children need choices, and they need to know the consequences when
they chose poorly as well. This is where classroom management will be built on doing
the right thing in and outside of the classroom. Young children are naturally honest and
want to be good citizens. I feel that students should have a choice in not only how the
learn, but how to make their own decisions about right and wrong. If I am proactive and
set this environment early on, then students will do better. Setting the rules ahead of
time creates an environment that promotes respect and autonomy. I would create the

rules together with the children and they will learn democratic principles early on. I feel
that the classroom community should be a place where they feel encouraged to make a
choice in how they learn and how they feel about learning.
Overall, my philosophy of education is Romanticism because I want my students
to be encouraged through free discovery and eventually achieve self-confidence
because they discovered something for themselves. This then helps them ultimately feel
accomplished and positive towards learning. My goal as a teacher is to help my
students realize who they are and how to achieve in and outside of the classroom.