Randy Alonso

May 15, 2024

TLC

Philosophy of Education

I believe the purposes of education are for students to learn about current events, history,

math, science and critical thinking. Learning about these things can be good for the rest of your

life since you will need to know how to do basic math, sometimes science and other times

critical thinking. Education should also provide morals to be part of education. Obviously,

teachers are not mom's or dads to the students but their actual parents don't get to see their kid for

most of the day so morals should be a big part. According to a writing by MLK jr. "The Purpose

of Education" he states ". But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest

menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no

morals." What I interpret from what he said is schooling needs to build up morals because even

though something may seem right to the students based on what they have learned it may be

morally wrong and shouldn't be done. What I believe is true education is teaching students how

to use critical thinking with the skills they have learned to be able to move on with life and be

successful.

As a TLC student I've been a student learning in a classroom for countless years and I've

had around 3 years of experience with working with students inside the class. From what I have

gathered, when students feel that they are learning and participating in class is when they are

mostly focused. I say "mostly" because it's not always going to be effective. Since, everyone

including students have their off days which is normal since students don't have the same mental
capacity as any adult. When teachers set high but obtainable standards for all students, they

encourage students to try even harder in their academics. Finally, encouraging reading helps

students to read more, which makes them want to learn more as well.

A good learning environment is shown by not having too many things on the wall, so

distraction won't be an issue. But they also have projects on the wall for students to feel watched

and have a teacher who supports their students. Of course, if the teacher can show these things

without putting things up on the wall, that's perfect too. A good learning environment also

provides students with what they need whenever they need it. As well as having those supplies in

an area where it is easy and accessible for all students. Lastly, their environment must be

organized since if it isn't, there is a higher chance the students may get distracted, thus having

more trouble learning. This also falls on the teachers and students because if students want to

learn then it will be healthier than students who don't want to learn. Not only that but a teacher

that is willing to learn from their students and flexes their teaching will always engage the class

better.

Teachers should have the passion to teach because I cannot explain how many times, I

have gone to a classroom ready to learn and the teachers don't want to teach. So, being prepared,

on time and ready to be a role model is something that teachers should always be prepared to be.

Some teachers also tend to not have a proper balance between flexibility and authoritative. While

others have too high expectations from the students too. So, having a good balance between

everything that is shown in the chart is key to teaching and engaging students.

I believe teachers should assess their practice and strive to improve by listening to their

peers, which means teachers and students with an open mind. I believe it is very important to

strive forward and be flexible to learn from students when it comes to behavior, class norms and
work ethic. This is because every class is different and requires different things from the teacher.

One class may be sporadic which means they need more discipline while others need more

leniency, it just depends on the situation. Teachers should always stride to help their students to

the best of their own ability. I also believe teachers should be respectful towards students even if

it may annoy them or if it is a pet peeve of theirs, you are a teacher so, you should always try to

help your students out. Second to last try to make it fun to learn a lot of teachers have students

that don't pay attention. Obviously, some things can't be fun, but try to smile or make them smile

so it can be more intriguing. As a student at times, it just feels like we are robots just blindly

following the teacher, writing down notes and still being confused about this makes any sense.

So, make sure to explain to students why they need to write down certain criteria and why this is

important in the "real world" and in the student world. Finally have fun teaching because no one

likes a drained teacher, remember your actions reflect on your student's behavior.