Running head: Educational Philosophy 1
No challenge too large, No victory too
small Heather M. Greene
ID# 22270194
EDUC 604
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Abstract
My personal philosophy for education is, I desire to work with children of all ages, ethnic
backgrounds and abilities. I want to be able to work in a classroom setting with individuals to
where I can assist them to find the best within themselves. I know I may not change the world
overnight, but I can at-least try one child at a time. My goal as a teacher is to make sure I make a
lasting impression on my students, so when they look back at their teachers, they will think of
me and how I cared for them in every way I could.
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Introduction
Having an education philosophy is an important for a teacher to have. Your philosophy let’s
other’s know what you stand for and what to expect from you as a teacher. I believe as part of an
education philosophy you should always remember to have these characteristics to follow, they
are found in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (NKJV)”. These
are the characteristics of Jesus and as His followers; we should be displaying the Fruit of the
Spirit as teachers. The fruit of the spirit can be entwined into your education philosophy. There
are many philosophers that helped mold the education realm and that held high standards for
education. We are going to look a little deeper into what the philosophy of the philosophers were
and what my own personal philosophy on education is.
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There are many types of education philosophies such as, idealism, realism, Neo-
Scholasticism, Progressivism, Deism, Liberalism and Naturalism (Gutek, 1995). The philosophy
that I believe I would best fall under is progressivism. John Dewey was the main individual who
came up with the philosophy of progressivism. Dewey got some of his progressive ideas from
Frobel who was a German philosopher and Pestalozzi who was a Swiss educator (S., E., K., E.,
Leabres, D., E., . . . E. (n.d.), 2017). What Dewey liked about them is that they educated the
"whole child," by moving beyond just the textbooks to learn, but educated students upon their
needs and interest (S., E., K., E., Leabres, D., E., . . . E. (n.d.), 2017). I am a firm believer that
no one student learns the same way. Some students might only be able to learn by being hands
on with something, some might learn by being read to, and some might just need you to teach
them totally out of the box. This is what progressivism believes and that is why I would pick
that philosophy to fit me best.
Students need someone who is going to learn how they learn best. There’s that old saying
treat others like you want to be treated, I literally take that saying to heart, even in my teaching.
When I’m being taught something, I want whoever is teaching me, to ask me how I learn best, or
to at least try to figure out how I like to learn. That is why I want to do my very best to figure
out the best way to teach each and every student I have. Luke 6:31 says, “Do to others as you
would have them do to you (NIV)” and Matthew 7:12 says, “So in everything, do to others what
you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (NIV)”. I want my
students to be able to see through me that God is the ultimate truth and want them to see through
me that He is the one and only way, because it says in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (NKJV)”.
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There is a man named John Baptist de La Salle and the theory he had towards education in my
opinion was great. La Salle came from the 17th century in France when education was only for
the wealthy and noble students (A. (n.d.), 2017). La Salle did not like the fact that the poor kids
were not able to get a proper education, and this is why he targeted individuals from all social
classes. La Salle felt that everyone should be treated equally and he also wanted to teach the
students in a way that they could go back home to their parents and teach them also (A. (n.d.),
2017). I can relate to La Salle’s theory, because I am a firm believer on everyone getting a
proper education especially the special education students. To many times I see people say that
individuals who have disabilities cannot learn, so, they just let them slide through the cracks.
This is not how it should be, because they can learn just like every other student, it just takes
some extra time to learn how that individual learns.
Now let’s talk about Maria Montessori and the theory she had on education. She believed that
you should follow these principles for the best learning environment: Letting students have
independence, observing students to learn how they like to learn, following the student around,
correcting the student in a kind way not harshly, and having a prepared environment for the
students to learn in (Gutek, 1995). I like some of her ideas, because like the one where she
observes students, when you observe something or someone there is so much you can learn from
just watching. I will catch myself observing people’s behavior out in public and I will start
putting together what type of person they are. When you observe your students you can get an
idea of what ways will be best for them in their learning. For example I worked with a forty-five
year old individual who had some severe disabilities and I was told to not waste my time trying
to teach this man anything, because he could never learn. Well I sat back for a while and just
observed this individual and I learned from observing him that he loved playing cards and
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magazines. I decided I would make a game out of his playing cards and magazines. I used his
cards and magazines to teach him his numbers 1-10 and half of his alphabet in the one year of
me working with him. This might not seem like much, but I was told he could never learn and
he could learn it just took me observing him and having patience. This goes right along with
Montessori and her theories on learning.
When it comes to what kind of instructional strategies I would use, there is a wide variety
such as interactive instruction, direct instruction, indirect instruction, independent strategy, and
experimental learning (Saskatoon Public
Schools , 2009). Using different types of strategies
helps you bring a more diverse teaching in your classroom. This allows you as a teacher to make
sure you are reaching each and every student in your classroom. Interactive instruction allows
the students to interact with each other on their learning such as role playing and brainstorming
together (Saskatoon Public Schools, 2009). Direct instruction is where the teacher is directing
the teaching step by step and indirect instruction is where the students are kind of like the teacher
and the teacher is there to oversee them and to help guide (Saskatoon Public Schools , 2009).
Independent strategy can be used like when you give the students a topic to write an essay about
and they have to work alone on it (Saskatoon Public Schools, 2009). Lastly experimental
learning is great for your learners who are hands on or need to see what they are learning
(Saskatoon Public Schools, 2009). You see these types of strategies being used by people such
as, John Calvin, Froebel, Herbert Spencer and Montessori (Gutek, 1995).
Just like it is important to learn how your students learn best, it is just as important to build
relationships with your students. Most of the time we do not know what our students lives are
like at home, they might come from a very loving home, others might live with grandma and
grandpa, some might live in an abusive home, and others might live with their family, but the
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parents are never home. If we build a relationship with the students, we will learn what type of
home they come from and if we learn they live in a home where they have no encouragement to
succeed in school, well then there is our chance to step in and encourage them to do their best.
Just like we want our students to respect us, they want us to earn their respect. Philippians 2:5
says, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (NIV)”. If
we are supposed to have the mindset of Jesus then we are supposed to show the Fruit of the
Spirit to our students. If we have a warm and inviting classroom and our students know that they
can approach us at any time, then in return our students will fulfill their role as a student. Some
of the roles a student has are to make sure they attend school every day, arrive to class on time,
doing their homework and so on (http://k-12.pisd.edu/distance_learning/respons_student.htm).
Matthew 10:25 says, “Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master.
And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of
my household will be called by even worse names! (NLT)”. This scripture speaks very loudly
that students are to be like their teacher, so if God is our teacher then we want our students to
see God in us, so they will be more like Him.
When we look at diversity in the classroom we need to look at it just like I have throughout
this whole paper. Every person is unique and different in their own ways. To me if I can
comprehend that all students are different in their own ways, then being able to bring diversity
teaching in my classroom should be easy. When a teacher is teaching a classroom full of
students with diverse needs then there instruction has to change, from teaching one way to many
ways. Romans 12:16 says, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing
to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited (NIV)”. Romans 15:7 says,
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (NIV)”.
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Lastly Philippians 2:3-5 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in
humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the
interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ
Jesus (NIV)”. I could keep listing scripture after scripture about how God says how we should
treat one another. It is all about loving one another, not being selfish and putting others interests
before our own. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that is the ultimate love for us, so we
should show others that same kind of love. Just because you might have some students that are
different does not mean you treat them any differently, you just have to go the extra mile to find
the kind of instruction that would work for them. I will make sure I build a relationship with my
students, because that is where it all starts, then I will observe my students just like Montessori
did. By doing this I will be able to reach each and every child in my classroom.
There is a lot we can take from different philosophers to help us be the best teacher we
possibly can be. I might not agree with everything a philosopher agrees with, but I do know you
can find at least one area to take from a philosopher to add into my own philosophy. Theorists
such as Plato, Aquinas, Frobel, and others help laid the foundation for education along with the
Founding Fathers. As a teacher I have to remember the most important thing to do with my
students is to build lasting relationships with them. All God wants from us is to have a
relationship with Him, and if that is what He asks of us it must be very important, so it is just as
important to build relationships with others. When you do this you learn about your students and
how they best learn. Just like Dewey, Pestalozzi, and Frobel they knew you needed to educate
the "whole child," by moving beyond just the textbooks to learn, but educated students upon
their needs and interest (S., E., K., E., Leabres, D., E., . . . E. (n.d.), 2017). I will leave you with
my philosophy and that is, I desire to work with children of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and
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abilities. I want to be able to work in a classroom setting with individuals to where I can assist
them to find the best within themselves. I know I may not change the world overnight, but I can
at-least try one child at a time.
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References
A. (n.d.). Retrieved July 06, 2017, from
http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/LaSalle.html
Gutek, G. L. (1995). A History of the Western Educational Experience. Long Grove, IL:
Waveland Press, Inc.
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/pd/instr/experi.html
(n.d.). Retrieved July 06, 2017, from http://k-12.pisd.edu/distance_learning/respons_student.htm
S., E., K., E., Leabres, D., E., . . . E. (n.d.). Progressive Education - Philosophical Foundations,
Pedagogical Progressivism, Administrative Progressivism, Life-Adjustment Progressivism.
Retrieved July 06, 2017, from
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