Victoria Lewis

Philosophy Assignment
Victoria Lewis
Teaching philosophies have been around for many years. Those philosophies differ from

teacher to teacher. A teaching philosophy basically is a self-reflective statement about your

beliefs while teaching. Philosophies have changed in many ways throughout the years. Some

educational philosophers include John Dewey, John Milton, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I also

had the chance to interview two of my teachers to learn about their teaching philosophies.

John Milton was born in 1608 and passed away in 1674. During Milton’s life, a lot of

things were changing in America. New settlements including Jamestown and Plymouth were

happening along with the Puritans and faith. That means that Milton’s philosophy was based

around religion. According to chalcedon.edu, his philosophy was, “Milton’s views can be

organized by two main points: Christians need a theoretical understanding that all knowledge is

God’s knowledge, and they need a practical understanding that they are commanded to work

for the transformation of culture, through the power of God, into a redeemed society that

blesses the Creator and worships Jesus as Lord.” The thing I don’t like about this is that not

everyone believes in the same religion, so it is hard to relate that philosophy to everyone. I like

the statement saying that knowledge is God’s knowledge just because that relates to my faith.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in 1712 and died in 1778. Rousseau was known as the

father of early childhood education. According to southeastern.edu, Rousseau’s philosophy is

“Rousseau’s theory of education emphasized the importance of expression to produce a well-

balanced, freethinking child. He believed that if children are allowed to develop naturally

without constraints imposed on them by society they will develop towards their fullest
Victoria Lewis

potential, both educationally and morally. This natural development should be child-centered

and focused on the needs and experiences of the child at each stage of development.” I really

like this philosophy because children all grow up differently. I like that he thinks it is okay for

them to grow up differently as well.

The last philosopher is John Dewey. Dewey lived from 1859 to 1952. Accroding to

PBS.org, Deweys philosophy included, “Dewey argued that curriculum should be relevant to

students' lives. He saw learning by doing and development of practical life skills as crucial to

children's education. Some critics assumed that, under Dewey's system, students would fail to

acquire basic academic skills and knowledge.” I like this because I learn best when things are

related to things I already know. For example, my math teacher would relate equations to

softball.

I got the chance to interview two of my teachers to find out what their teaching

philosophy was. The first teacher I interviewed was Erica Wolfe. Erica has been teaching for 16

years at Boone High school. She teaches all the business classes like financial literacy and DECA.

When I asked her what her teaching philosophy was, she said, “My goal is that every day I

come, I can provide enough education so that everyone learns something. If the students walk

out of my classroom knowing something that they didn’t before, I succeeded.” I think one of

her major strengths is her mind. When she talks about these business ideas, she knows what

she is talking about. I can also tell that she is very passionate about teaching those classes. I

personally like her philosophy just because that is the point of teaching. As a teacher, you want

the students to learn something new every day in your class.

Victoria Lewis

Another teacher that I interviewed was Brittany Jungck. Brittany has been teaching

since 2004, meaning she has taught for almost seventeen years. She teaches American

literature to the juniors and college composition to the seniors. She is very knowledgeable

about many things. If a student brings up something random, she knows facts about it right

away. I also can tell that she loves English and loves what she is doing. It makes the class fun

because she isn’t just a teacher who sits behind her desk and talks the whole time. I asked her

what her teaching philosophy was, and she said “My philosophy is simple: everyone is capable

of learning and everyone is capable of doing more than they thought possible. I like to take

students to another level with their learning. I think there are some students who have been

told they can’t do certain things, and there are others who haven’t found that ‘next gear’ of

learning. I look at learning the same way I do athletics, realizing we all probably can do more

with a little push or encouragement.” I really like her philosophy. For one, she uses a lot of

detail. For two, I like that she knows everyone can learn. Some kids just need a little more help

getting to the point of them learning.

When thinking of my own philosophy, a lot of different ideas come to mind. I feel like

my philosophy will be a mixture of all the philosophies that I have recently talked about. My

philosophy would be every student should get the chance to learn. Every student should get to

learn something new every single day that they are in my classroom. In order for some students

to learn, I will have to relate it to something that already know like sports or games. I will

always try to give different types of assignments so that I can reach the students with different

learning styles. I will also make sure that every student feels as if they are safe, so that they feel

like they can come and talk to me whenever.

Victoria Lewis

Overall, this assignment has taught me a lot about the different types of philosophies. I

have also learned that philosophies have and will always change. John Milton, Jean-Jacques

Rousseau, and John Dewey had very impactful philosophies that many people still use today.

Every single teacher has a teaching philosophy, but it may be way different compared to

another teacher.

Work Cited

Alvarez, Bridgette. “Jean Jacques Rousseau .” Jean Rousseau,

www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/nadams/educ692/Rousseau.html.
Larson, Jeremy, and Jeremy LarsonJeremy was raised in a home by parents who were Christian
educators. He received a B.A. in creative writing. “Milton's View of Education: A Mirror of
Reformed Educational...” Chalcedon, 2 Sept. 2010, chalcedon.edu/magazine/miltons-
view-of-education-a-mirror-of-reformed-educational-philosophy.
“PBS Online: Only A Teacher: Schoolhouse Pioneers.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,
www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/john.html.