Mte/501 Educational Philosophy Paper

Educational Philosophy
Tamara Melton
MTE/501
December 14, 2012
Theresa Schneebacher

Educational Philosophy Education philosophies are evident in today’s schools. Teachers believe all students are capable of learning and mastering basic skills. It’s how teachers teach their students that make the difference. When teacher’s take a look into their teaching philosophy it empowers them to do their best in the classroom. Their philosophic inventory allows them to understand how their student’s are going to learn, acquire knowledge and how they are going to apply that knowledge to be a successful productive citizen in our society. Teaching and Learning Teaching and Learning are intertwined with each other to the degree that they complement each other by building on one’s prior knowledge. Student’s come into the classroom with open minds, and it is the teacher’s responsibility to expand their minds and fill it full of information, so that they can use the acquired knowledge to build their personality and broaden their thought process to help them solve problems of everyday life. When a student comes into the classroom they should be eager to learn and willing to build on the lessons they learned from the day before.
Students Students are the center of learning.
They are the future and the future depends on how successfully educated our children are. Students are the core foundation of our society, as they are the ones that will be weaved into our society upon successful graduation of high school and post secondary schooling. Students need to be taught about the importance of acquiring good work ethics and values and how they are related to their advancement in our
society.

Knowledge Knowledge is what is gained through participation in classroom activities and applied to everyday activities. The knowledge that is received in school can be transferred into life outside of school. When students are able to apply what they have learned in the classroom they realize how important it is to pay attention. It is imperative that teacher’s strive to implement lesson plans that engage the student’s and allow them to realize that knowledge is the key to success.
What Is Worth Knowing Is/Are Students should understand that daily lessons are valuable keys to having a successful education. For example, “calendar time” is a lesson that is a building block for understanding time, numbers, language, science and social studies. All activities during calendar time relate to each other. Time is linked to the days of the week and month. Time is shown by using minutes on a clock and relating them to the date of the month. Language is understood by answering in complete sentences, “Today is….Tomorrow will be… and Yesterday was…”. Science is explained by looking out the window and identifying the clouds, whether it is hot and sunny or rainy and cold. Social Studies happen during calendar time when a special holiday is happening or is coming up. All this engages the student and is done on a daily basis at the same time, so that students are able to understand that calendar time always happens and that they are learning something new each day their class does calendar. They are able to take that knowledge outside of school and show others that they are mastering a skill that is a valuable key to being a successful citizen in our society. It is up to our student’s to decipher what is worth knowing and what is not. As teacher’s it is our job to make sure that every student realizes that each lesson that is taught builds on the information that they acquired the previous day. If we can take lessons and link them together and let the student’s explore answers on their own, students will be able to understand that every lesson presented to them is just as important as the next one. Students will be engaging and enthusiastic in the classroom about new lessons presented to them, because they will understand that they are expanding their minds. Understanding that you have mastered a new skill is exciting to students and very rewarding.
Established Educational Philosophies Progressivism is an established educational philosophy that states, “Learning should be experienced based and relevant to students’ lives” (Kauchak & Eggen, 2011, p. 220). When a teacher takes a philosophic inventory and acquires insightful knowledge about the outcome of their teaching philosophy then they are able to understand and adapt to their classroom environment better. Acquiring a progressivism philosophy allows teachers and students to actively participate together daily lessons. This philosophy also enables the teacher to understand that outside forces may be influences to how their students learn and retain information.
Conclusion
Understanding your beliefs about teaching and applying those in the classroom will help you have better classroom management. Establishing ethics and values in the classroom empowers students to gain the knowledge they need to be successful in our society. Teachers who truly understand their teaching philosophy are willing to adapt new teaching strategies, so every class will be successful. They are also the teacher’s that put an imprint into the minds of their students.

Reference
Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2011). Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional (4th ed.). Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.