Personal Philosophy of Education
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Angelou, 2009) This is a truth that I have witnessed firsthand. As a child, at the tender age of seven years, I was blessed with an educator, Mrs. Cager, whose commitment to her students was so profound until I have never forgotten her. She made me feel like I was the most important person in her classroom. Her encouraging words instilled a level of confidence within me that I still cling to and apply more than 40 years later. Her commitment is directly responsible for my personal philosophy of education also being commitment.
Other philosophies of education like dedication, responsibility, diligence, honor, and respect, all fall under the umbrella of commitment. For it is impossible to be committed to something without also being dedicated to that same thing. Dedication is defined as self-sacrificing devotion and in many ways is synonymous with commitment. Commitment embraces responsibility. Children are entrusted into the hands of teachers and it is the responsibility of the teacher not to abuse that trust. One has to be diligent in order to keep the commitment that was made. If diligence is absent frustration, disappointment, change, and indifference will cause deterrence from the commitment. Honor and respect are characteristics that befalls the educator as all of the children who have been touched and changed have the highest regard.
In line with the on-going commitment, a teacher must identify what type of students she is teaching. All students are one of three types of learners, auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. The auditory learners do well with class discussions and oral reviews. The visual learners are able to picture what is being taught. They have an uncanny ability to place themselves inside of the learning. The kinesthetic learners are the hands-on learners. They do best when they can use diagrams and
Other philosophies of education like dedication, responsibility, diligence, honor, and respect, all fall under the umbrella of commitment. For it is impossible to be committed to something without also being dedicated to that same thing. Dedication is defined as self-sacrificing devotion and in many ways is synonymous with commitment. Commitment embraces responsibility. Children are entrusted into the hands of teachers and it is the responsibility of the teacher not to abuse that trust. One has to be diligent in order to keep the commitment that was made. If diligence is absent frustration, disappointment, change, and indifference will cause deterrence from the commitment. Honor and respect are characteristics that befalls the educator as all of the children who have been touched and changed have the highest regard.
In line with the on-going commitment, a teacher must identify what type of students she is teaching. All students are one of three types of learners, auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. The auditory learners do well with class discussions and oral reviews. The visual learners are able to picture what is being taught. They have an uncanny ability to place themselves inside of the learning. The kinesthetic learners are the hands-on learners. They do best when they can use diagrams and
References: Angelou, M. (2009). Letter to My Daughter. New York: Random House Trade Paperback Edition. Webster, M. (2007). Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc. Woods, R., & Barrow, R. (2006). An Introduction to Philosophy of Education (4th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.