My Philosophy of Education

"My Philosophy of Education"

Someone's philosophy is how they, themselves, interpret, feel, and speak about a specific topic. A philosophy cannot be wrong, nor can it be right, in fact it is an opinion. There are different ways to see something from a personal point of view. Philosophy is a notion of how you feel about something in particular. Education has many philosophies. Famous teachers and knowledgeable men and women throughout years have had their own philosophy of teaching and learning. Their philosophies are the fundamentals of learning today and because there are so many different philosophies of education we are able to produce new and better strategies each year to ensure effective learning in America. My philosophy of education is based on my own definition, what it takes to be an educator, and how education is a vital part of each one of our lives. My philosophy is derived from three different branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, and finally axiology. Here is my philosophy of the phenomena we call education based on these three branches. Education is defined mainly as knowledge acquired by learning and instruction. It usually pertains to academics learned in schools. Education is a vital part of growing up from the time you attend preschool all the way until graduate school. What most individuals do not realize is that education is also incorporated into absolutely everything we do. For example, if your car breaks down on the highway and you do not know how to change a tire, as you watch someone else do it, you learn and you are educated on how to change that tire. We do not always think of education as an everyday experience. Everything we do in our lives is a result of education. We learn how to walk at a young age because we are educated on how to do so. We learn how to communicate with others because we are educated on how to do that too. We are able to perform PowerPoint presentations on the forty-second floor of the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, because we have been educated to do so. Education is the foundation of what skills we acquire every day. Demonstrating the importance of metaphysical teachings in the classroom will allow the teacher to focus on the child and allow the child to provide clues as to how he or she should be instructed. What I mean is that the philosophy of metaphysics concentrates on the questions we ask about the nature of human reality. Now, education does not only happen in a classroom or a seminar, it does not only happen in a therapy session or a doctor's office, it happens all around us every day, and each one of us is an educator in our own way. By believing in metaphysics, we all allow ourselves to learn and be educated and we allow ourselves to educate others. Having a vital understanding of the nature of human reality will allow us to accomplish and succeed whatever we choose to strive for whether we are a student or an educator. An educator is someone who teaches acquired skills and enables those they are speaking to, to understand what they are saying to them. Relating to epistemology, teachers generally decide what should be included in the class curriculum. Now, an educator is usually a teacher skilled in a certain area of academics in which they relay their knowledge to others usually in a classroom setting. Being skilled in a certain area of education does not make you an educator. The fact that all your students get A's on their tests does not make you an educator. What makes a real educator is someone who genuinely cares about the well-being of others and their passion for teaching other individuals. This is what makes them successful. Teachers should attempt to discover what is involved in the process of knowing, since there are so many teachers in the world that teach because they feel it is what they are good at. Many people go into the profession without the knowledge that they not only have an obligation to themselves and their employers, but the main obligation is to those they are teaching the fundamentals of learning to. A teacher would follows the branch of philosophy called epistemology is the type of teacher who will dedicate themselves to understanding the importance of learning. Challenging what and how we know is what teachers and students should attempt to discover in school. I once heard that "a teacher is an individual's most vital treasure, for they are the one's that make great individual's successful, as well as themselves." If you have such a passion for really involving yourself in another's life, you will make a great impact on each individual you come across. You do not have to be skilled in an area of academics or in any area to be exact, but the fact that you genuinely care about others and want to teach other people the knowledge that you have accumulated, is what makes you a successful educator, as well as a successful human being. Another aspect of being a good educator is being open to other ideas. Again, relating to epistemology, understanding how students learn will impact the way you teach so that when you educate others, you will be open to their perceptions of the subject. Other people's opinion is what really makes a great lesson. Each input is important because it creates various aspects. As a great leader and educator you must be open to learning more and more, because education is based on learning. Also, often we hear about teacher negligence and we think well "if someone is a teacher, shouldn't they want to always be involved in each students life?" How does negligence happen? Negligence happens when a teacher is unaware of their duty to serve as an educator. Practicing epistemology in the classroom would probably not allow negligence in the classroom, since everyone will be working together for the answers to what we know and what we need to know. Education, as I said, does not only happen in classrooms but outside of classrooms as well. Parents, friends, relatives, spouses, siblings, etc. are all educators in our lives. We learn new things every day because of those who care about us and that is what I think a true educator is, someone who genuinely cares about our well-being and is willing to share themselves with us. Educators and education is a vital part of our lives. In order to succeed in life we need education, not only in academics but in everyday circumstances. Axiology is the branch of philosophy that deal with nature and values. Life is the ultimate nature and the ultimate value. We need to be able to survive life's obstacles and overcome hardships and we learn how to do so through experience. We learn each day how to overcome life-altering obstacles because no one is perfect. We learn how to deal with horrifying circumstances because it is what we need to do to be able to survive. Each one of us has different circumstances and we all lead different lives as a result of education. As I passionately spoke about before, education does not only pertain to academics but to everyday life as well. Axiology allows individuals to either learn or educate about personal value and beliefs and the beauty of it. Our parents teach us how to handle situations and how to deal with them on life terms. We are taught how to acquire skills to live on our own and be able to support ourselves in an ever-changing world. Doctors teach us how to take care of ourselves in a time of need. As you see, education is vital to our lives, in fact, just as vital as breathing. We should always challenge information given to us by others, for this is what enhances the education experience and allows different individuals to exercise their knowledge. Challenging information is a vital part of axiology. No one should compromise their perception of things, rather we should all challenge information together to gain better perspectives on things. We have to be open to challenge simply because challenge is a major part of life in general. If we do not open ourselves to learning, we will never be able to survive in such a cruel and undecided world. In order to truly be able to allow ourselves to be educated, we all have to have an open mind to the subject and this is what axiology teaches. We have to be able to analyze and really dig deep inside of ourselves for the answers we often look for outside of ourselves. So dealing with life in general is a prime example of how each one of us educates ourselves. You see, education is a phenomenon that we often take advantage of. Most people do not even know when they are educating someone or being educated themselves. As I said, we most often incorporate education with academics, when really it is us, each of us, that defines the true meaning of education and axiology is where this is all derived from. In conclusion, I have explained and incorporated examples of what I feel education really is. I have shared my knowledge of what I think the definition of education is, what skills a good educator possesses, and how vital education is to each one of our lives. Education is a very broad subject to speak about since there are so many aspects of it. A philosophy of education is what someone feels education is and what education stands for and my philosophy comes from the teachings of metaphysics, epistemology, and finally axiology. As each year passes, educational philosophies will surface more and more and perhaps my generation will hold great educational philosophers with wonderful ideas such as Aristotle once had. What I'd really like to be able to share with others is that education is the fundamental of living a very successful life and that we all have to open to learning that vital fundamental in order to achieve what we want in our lives. Education has so many different philosophies and I am only sharing mine with you. I feel by incorporating these three important philosophies into education the system and the process of either educating or being educated can be a very effective and enriched process. Education is so important in a world of many different challenges and obstacles and we all have to be open to learning more and more each day in order to overcome the biggest test, life!