Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1

My Philosophy of Education

Vivian G. Freeman

Lake Superior State University

Author Note

This paper was prepared for Education 250-002, taught by Cathy White.
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My Philosophy of Education

I believe the purpose of education is to teach students the knowledge and skills needed to

succeed in their everyday lives and learn how to be thoughtful, confident citizens. I believe that a

teacher should provide a safe and warm environment for students to establish who they are as a

person, what they are capable of, and learn how to contribute effectively in society.

Good Relationships

I believe it is important for the students and teacher to have a good relationship, meaning

the relationship is trusting, nonjudgmental, and warm. If teachers do not have a good relationship

with her students, the children will not be as excited to learn. I have experienced this firsthand

while I was in fieldwork in a second-grade classroom. The teacher did not really interact with her

students besides telling them what their assignment was or yelling at them if they were doing

something they were not supposed to. The teacher would sit at her desk and not even help the

students, so I went around and helped the students with their assignments. There were several

students who would not do their work because they were not having fun and did not have a good

relationship with their teacher. I have heard several students say they did not want to be there and

when they got in trouble, they did not care if they had to go home. I am now in a first-grade

classroom where the teacher is always helping the students, she is very optimistic, and

encourages students to share their ideas and help one another. The students are very excited to be

there, they do their work, and they interact with the teacher by telling her what they did the

previous day and what they accomplished on their assignments. It is important for the teacher

and the students to have a good relationship because it helps children figure out who they are and

what talents they have to discover. It is also critical for the teacher and the students to have a
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good relationship because students may not have a good home life, so they need that extra

warmth and support in school in order to grow as a student and an individual.

Classroom Jobs

I believe it is important for children to have assignment jobs in the classroom. When

students have classroom jobs, it helps them learn life-long skills, such as management and

responsibility. Children will learn that everyone is responsible for making the class run

smoothly, and they get to experience how it can be difficult to manage a classroom if jobs are not

getting done. I have noticed the classrooms giving children jobs runs much better than

classrooms where children do not have jobs. For instance, in the first-grade classroom, each

student has a job, and it switches so children can have opportunities to try different jobs. The

children get very excited when it is their time to do their job because it makes them feel

important and proud. Whereas, in another second-grade classroom, the children did not have that

sense of ownership or responsibility because they did not have classroom jobs, so it made more

work on the teacher, and the students were not using life skills they will need in the future. It is

important for children to have classroom jobs because it teaches them skills they will need in the

future to be a successful part of society. If they do not learn how to manage a small aspect of the

classroom, it will be harder for them to learn to manage their time or a business, for example,

later in life. If children do not learn about taking ownership and responsibility, they could have a

hard time later in life with taking responsibility for their actions or learning how to make

important, and sometimes, hard decisions.

Classroom Rules

I believe it is important for the teachers to establish classroom rules to exhibit the proper

way to treat people and equipment. There should be classroom rules to teach children how to
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regulate their emotions in an effective way, problem-solve in an efficient way, boost children’s

self-esteem, and provide a safe environment. I have been in classrooms where they had

classroom rules posted, such as “Use walking feet,” “Put away your materials when you’re

done,” and “Use kind words.” These are all great; however, it is not effective when the students

do not follow them, or the teacher does not always reinforce the rules. In the first-grade

classroom I am in, the teacher reminds all the students of the rules if a problem occurs, so it is a

refresher for everyone. She also lets students know when they are following the rules because

she will say for example, “I saw that [student’s name] and [different student’s name] had a

problem, and they discusses the issue calmly and worked toward a solution together.” Or she will

say, “I noticed [student’s name] helping [different student’s name] on the playground when they

fell. That was very kind of him to do and shows how we treat people when others need help or

are hurt.” By reinforcing the rules, especially in a positive way, it helps remind the students of

how they need to treat others and equipment until it becomes second nature. Having classroom

rules is important because it provides a safe environment for children to share their ideas, learn

who they are and what they are capable of, and helps them learn how to appropriately regulate

emotions and solve problems.

Conclusion

I believe it is important for teachers to provide a safe and warm environment for students

to learn who they are, what they’re capable of, and how to contribute to society. By having a

good relationship with students, establishing classroom jobs, and reinforcing classroom rules,

students can discover their interests, talents, and skills they will need in the future in order to be

confident and successful.