philosophy of education
“The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth. A child miseducated is a child lost.” Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy said those words, and I wholeheartedly agree. I believe a thorough, quality education is both a privilege and a basic human right, and should not be denied any person for any reason. I believe every person is capable of learning in one way or another, and because of this, every person deserves an education.
What is education? The dictionary defines it thusly: “The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” I love the last statement in this definition: “…preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” Not just life, but a mature life. A full life. A life worth living. I cannot wait to begin my career as an educator and begin preparing my students for mature, full lives.
This leads us into the question: who should teach? I believe that there are certain kinds of people in the world who have no business teaching. A poor or ineffectual teacher can scar a student for life and ruin many different aspects of their education. In extreme cases, a bad teacher could cause a student to abandon their education entirely. I believe educators must be patient, kind, firm, gracious, and able to command respect from their peers and students. I believe they should have a thorough knowledge of their subject(s) and the ability to teach to many different learning styles. I believe an effective teacher should continually challenge their students while not overtaxing them. And if he or she does not wholeheartedly believe that each and every student can indeed learn-and not only learn, but do well-then he or she has no business in education. It is up to the educator to ensure their students’ success.
This naturally means that schools will play an important role in education. The school should provide facilities which are welcoming, engaging, and inspire learning and creativity. The school should provide opportunities for concerts, athletic events, and competitions, and an environment that is safe, fun and educational. Sometimes schools that are struggling with the economy will cancel a program within their school; more often than not, it will be the band, choir or drama program. This is very detrimental to a student’s education. Some students count on the music program at their school-for many students, the music program is the only thing they like about school. Music provides a relief from the logic and linguistics of math, English, history and science. It is also thought that by integrating the different curricula, each subject will build off of one another, enhancing the overall quality of education. I believe this diversity of subjects and programs is extremely important to education. “A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.” Horace Mann said that, and I believe he is correct. I believe an education is one of the most important keys to living a full, rich life, and I cannot wait to become an educator myself. I believe it is what I am meant to do.
What is education? The dictionary defines it thusly: “The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” I love the last statement in this definition: “…preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” Not just life, but a mature life. A full life. A life worth living. I cannot wait to begin my career as an educator and begin preparing my students for mature, full lives.
This leads us into the question: who should teach? I believe that there are certain kinds of people in the world who have no business teaching. A poor or ineffectual teacher can scar a student for life and ruin many different aspects of their education. In extreme cases, a bad teacher could cause a student to abandon their education entirely. I believe educators must be patient, kind, firm, gracious, and able to command respect from their peers and students. I believe they should have a thorough knowledge of their subject(s) and the ability to teach to many different learning styles. I believe an effective teacher should continually challenge their students while not overtaxing them. And if he or she does not wholeheartedly believe that each and every student can indeed learn-and not only learn, but do well-then he or she has no business in education. It is up to the educator to ensure their students’ success.
This naturally means that schools will play an important role in education. The school should provide facilities which are welcoming, engaging, and inspire learning and creativity. The school should provide opportunities for concerts, athletic events, and competitions, and an environment that is safe, fun and educational. Sometimes schools that are struggling with the economy will cancel a program within their school; more often than not, it will be the band, choir or drama program. This is very detrimental to a student’s education. Some students count on the music program at their school-for many students, the music program is the only thing they like about school. Music provides a relief from the logic and linguistics of math, English, history and science. It is also thought that by integrating the different curricula, each subject will build off of one another, enhancing the overall quality of education. I believe this diversity of subjects and programs is extremely important to education. “A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.” Horace Mann said that, and I believe he is correct. I believe an education is one of the most important keys to living a full, rich life, and I cannot wait to become an educator myself. I believe it is what I am meant to do.