Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

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Self-Reflective Practice in Philosophy of Education

Introduction

Reflective practice is one’s ability to reflect on different action thus resulting to engaging

in a procedure of continuous learning. In this case, it involves the ability of paying more

attention to the practical theories and values which include daily actions, by examining practice

reflexively and reflectively. The term teaching philosophy is a documented reflection that is

based on specific examples in order to demonstrate and articulate personal beliefs about learning

and teaching. The statement details are based on day to day practices thus reflecting and

informing about the approach of teaching. The main aim of this paper is to bring out a better

view about the nature, process, ideals, and purpose of education.

From my view, a philosophy is not a description or a curricular description based on the

teaching styles, rather it is a statement based on the ideas and beliefs that underlie personal

thinking. It is a set of beliefs that regulate ones actions. In this frame of mindset, one tends to

wonder about the meaning of different things, and about the quality of perception and

understanding of an event or a situation. That is why philosophy is mostly based on calling into

questions both new ideas and the other ideas that we normally take for granted. Thus resulting to

confusion and undermining of information. That is why we engage in philosophy in order to get

a clear and evaluated information that is worth believing in. Philosophy is a constant search of

clarified meanings and justification of purposes. Education philosophy is an application of

sustained attitude of questioning events and ideas that have a practical and significant

educational consequences. All types of teaching expresses an educational philosophy in the sense

of reflecting about given values and assumptions. My philosophy of education will outline my

set of beliefs about the nature, process, ideas and purpose of public education. However
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education is a complex concept. To start with, education is made up of both process and

achievements. It covers various notions about the roles of a teacher and the learner. Whereby for

different people, it represents different ideas about the content to be taught like; skills,

knowledge and dispositions. And also the meanings of learning and teaching. Therefore my

philosophy about education will be based on the roles of a teacher in learning, the true purpose of

a school, the best ways in which students learn, and what should be taught in schools.

The true purpose of a school

A school being an institution where learnings takes place, there is the main aim of

providing full possible development of every learner for a creative living, productively and

morally in democratic society. Even though there are the main purposes of a school which are

pragmatic, and they are; intellectual purposes which includes development of reading and

mathematical skills; political purposes which covers the immigrants’ assimilations; economic

purposes mainly based on job preparations and social purposes that covers the development of

moral and social responsibility. Before the state constitutions, legislative requirement’s or

formalized research, philosophers had already thought of a great deal of bringing out the

different purposes of schooling and education. Diverse philosophers like; Plato, Mo Tzu, John

Locke, Aristotle, Confucius and Rousseau had an extensive writing on the roles and purposes of

schooling and education in different societies. Them being the early thinkers, had common ideas

based on what the existence of schools should do, even though each of them had different

perspectives depending on the roles of schooling based on cultures and civilization.

In the modern times, American educational philosophers like George Counts, John

Dewey and Mortimer Adler each have proposed a detailed and systematic arguments considering

the purposes of schooling in the American society. According to Dewey arguments, the main
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purpose of a school is not to prepare students for a useful life, but it is to teach them skills of

living pragmatically and adapting immediately in new environments. By contrast, Counts, a

progressive educator started criticizing Dewey’s philosophy by claiming that, the weakness

found in progressive education depends on the fact that, there is no elaborated theory on social

welfare, unless the theory be of extreme or anarchy individualism. According to Counts the

purpose of schooling was more or less based on preparing people and equipping them with skills

of living independently and also living as members of the same community. In other words,

Counts felt that, the main role of schooling was to equip people with necessary and useful skills

of using in social life of different communities and to bring changes in the nature of social orders

as desired or needed.

As years went by, a noted philosopher and an educator named Mortimore Adler brought

forth the proposal of Paideia, which integrated Dewey and Counts ideas as well as his own ideas.

Adler had a specific suggestion, that there are main objectives of why children go to school. The

objectives were; citizenship development, occupational preparation and personal improvement or

development. David Tyack a historian educator presented an argument that the purpose of

schooling is tied to economic and social needs. More recent research shows that, the primary

reason as to why schools exist is to serve practical credential functions in the society. Through

schooling, teachers are able to teach students about responsibilities thus offering them

opportunities of making decisions and different choices in a classroom. From a teacher’s point of

view, it indicates that a child who is able to choose an area of interest has better motivation. A

teacher values the enthusiasm of a student because of different reasons. Most of the reasons

being that, when a child is motivated by choice, it gives a teacher energy and time to focus on

other fields or students.

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The roles of a teacher in learning

As a teacher the main role in a classroom is to instill knowledge to the students. Teachers

have many ways of teaching that includes lectures, hands on learning activities, and forming

small group activities. Considering the classroom environment, teachers have an important role

in the environment. In this case, a teacher is a learning mediator that guides the students on what

to do and how to do it in order to get the best outcome. A teacher represents a designer and an

interpreter of learning materials and programs. In a classroom, a teacher is a manager, a leader

and an administrator. Before the students, a teacher represents a lifelong learner, a researcher and

a scholar who lays the foundation for them. A teacher represents a community, plays a pastoral

roles, and citizenship. The roles of a teacher are important because they help children to grow as

responsible people, because they impart important lessons in them at a tender age that lasts a

lifetime. A teacher’s influence on social sphere might be most useful during the schooling period,

which lessens as people mature, even though the early lessons play a bigger role in the ways they

interact with others in the society. In the present world, teaching profession is multifaceted

because teachers play many and very important roles in a child’s life. Such roles include a

teacher playing the part of a surrogate parent, being a mentor and a counsellor, instilling and

maintaining discipline in the classroom, being a planner, a bookkeeper, a role model and many

other duties. Considering the growth of a child, everything starts from the elementary school that

is why the elementary teachers play a very important role in the growth of students.

Through the teacher, a student gets to learn about the concepts of caring for themselves

and one another. Caring results in giving motivational factors to the students, hence achieving

proper social, mental and emotional growth. In order for students to achieve best results in the

education sector, they first have to feel loved and cared thus sharing the feeling with others and
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creating a better environment where the mind relaxes and performs better in the academic sector.

When a child is taught the concepts of caring at a young age, they grow up knowing the

importance of caring for the things and people they care about. As a result, that leads to forming

a good relationship with other people even from different places, because there is respect for

one’s culture. Thus ending up doing everything to not hurt others. In this case, caring is not just

the fuzzy and warm feeling that describes people as likable and kind, but an endless search for

competence. Care results to developing knowledge and skills that are required while making

positive choices, despite being in a different occupation.

How students’ best learn

Having different types of students in a classroom requires a teacher to have different

types and skills of teaching in order for every student to understand. Whereby every student in a

classroom likes having fun, so it might be easy for the teachers if they blend learning and fun

activities. Some of the best ways in which students learn is by having their hands on activities. In

this case, a teacher has to have the students’ hands on and carry on with discussion which seems

more fun to the students. Making a class interactive by teaching a one on one, explaining,

discussing and asking the students to demonstrate according to their understanding. That skill

helps a teacher in distinguishing between the students or subjects that have been understood and

the not yet understood. Thus enabling the teacher in repeating given sections or go to aid some

students till they are understood. Since, learning with hands on is more like demonstrating the

actual thing thus enabling the students to understand easily and helping them to remember for

long. Also by sharing of personal experiences with the students helps them in understanding

easily and understanding the point from different views. Since most of the stunts understand and
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learn best through use of hands on, then it is advisable for teachers to consider that, at all times in

order to help the students in understanding and bringing out the best in them.

What should be taught in schools?

Most of the education offered in the classroom fails to equip the students with the skills

that are useful in the present world. Considering that, a student learns about memorizing facts

concerning discipline and lacks direction in social, ethical, and adaptability of new life thus not

knowing the secrets of being happy. The doctrine of discipline in general is to be blamed because

the educational system does not have harmony considering the present age we living. The idea of

generalized knowledge is supposed to serve students through all the stages of life, but

unfortunately it holds less information when the actual challenges of adult life kicks in.

Conclusion

From my point of view, the philosophy of education is mostly based in how we teach our

children and the long term benefits they tend to learn thus applying them in actual life. The

importance of schooling according to the educational philosophy is to teach our students about

the importance of cultures, values and useful concepts in life. Through schooling, students tend

to learn different things apart from academics. Through the concepts taught, the students become

responsible of their actions and develop the courage to make independent decision’s, despite

their occupations. The students also learn to respect and care for others because they have

learned about the concepts of care, which brings comfort and peace among themselves and

others too.