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Shayla Edstrohm

Professor Sarah Lobsinger

Education 201

Educational Philosophy Paper

8 November 2020

Educational Philosophy

Philosophy and education have an interwoven relationship with one another and it is

important for a teacher to have a well-established educational philosophy to ensure that they are

both teaching to their best ability as well as giving the students the best opportunity for learning.

For myself, I scored really high in the more progressive branches, such as Existentialism,

Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These three branches of philosophy capture my desire to

treat students as individuals instead of a body for information absorption, while also ensuring

that their own interests and topics of social change are promoted alongside self-awareness and

critical thinking. I believe it is so important to inspire within a student the drive to seek further

knowledge and to help them develop the skills that allows them to discover this knowledge

without assistance.

To best encourage students to be interested in learning, I believe it is important to further

encourage passions they already may have and to inspire interest in new topics by relating it to

ones they already know and love. Connecting with students and valuing them as individuals that

learn differently and not simply as a general body of students that are on the same level is

essential. Each individual student is a person with their own interests, background, personality,
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perspectives about the world, and hopes and dreams, and all these factors play an influential role

in the classroom and need to be properly addressed. It is also important to allow students the

opportunity to address real world topics and issues, as they are the future of the world and should

become familiar with real world problems and developing solutions of their own before they are

expected to as adults. The opinions of the youth of our planet is so important and so frequently,

and mistakenly, disregarded. I would ensure that students are exposed to global issues and

encourage problem solving skills by promoting the creation of innovative and creative solutions.

The application of teaching in the classroom is highly influential in how a student will

receive knowledge. Fun and engaging curriculum, such as age-appropriate educational games

and activities, allows for better retention of information. In addition, cooperation and the

promotion of communication building in group activities allows for essential social development

for students. Social growth is just as important as intellectual growth in a classroom

environment. Memorization of facts is less important than developing critical thinking and

problem-solving skills. By allowing students the freedom to come up with their own creative

solutions to problems, reasoning skills are promoted and students are able to build self-

confidence in their capabilities. I believe that a teacher should spend less time in front of the

classroom lecturing and should engage the students in other forms, such as hands-on material or

by allowing them to work together as they learn new content. This collaborative behavior helps

develop independence and by allowing students the freedom to learn on their own, it helps to

inspire a trusting relationship between teacher and student, as the student knows that the teacher

has confidence in them and knows that the teacher is reliable and always there to assist if they

need help. Innovative approaches to classroom curriculum are incredibly important to avoid

monotonous testing and rote memorization, which destroys any interest a student may have in
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learning. Overall, my educational philosophy is much more progressive than what one might find

in a current classroom environment, but I like to believe that my unique approach to education

will allow for more interested and engaged students with better overall learning.