My Educational Philosophy Statement - Essay Example

My Educational Philosophy ment Introduction Having a sound and realistic educational philosophy is indispensable for a teacher to be effective and successful in his/her career. Educational philosophy in general is the study of the purposes, process and idealism of education. It is one's beliefs and values about education and its purposes. It is often heard that Why an education philosophy necessary The answer to this question is What Barbara Wilt told us. "A teacher's personal philosophy of education is a critical element in his or her approach to guiding children along the path of enlightenment" (Neil, 2004). In this essay, I would like to narrate my educational philosophy, which enabled me to develop my teaching career and explore myself to become the achiever of my long term cherished goal. Since my childhood I have been longing for becoming a good teacher not only for students but for the community as well. The phrase 'good teacher' can be interpreted in many perspectives depending upon the philosophy one follows. Personally, I believe that teacher has a prominent role to play in the lives of his students as he is one of the closest companions who knows students' pulses more than any other. As Beth Lewis remarks in a journal article that "I believe that a teacher is morally obligated to enter the classroom with only the highest of expectations for each and every one of her students. Thus, the teacher maximizes the positive benefits that naturally come along with any self-fulfilling prophecy; with dedication, perseverance, and hard work, her students will rise to the occasion" (Lewis Beth, n.d.). To become an endless source of inspiration to students, Beth points out that the teacher should be one who views- "I aim to bring an open mind, a positive attitude, and high expectations to the classroom each day. I believe that I owe it to my students, as well as the community, to bring consistency, diligence, and warmth to my job in the hope that I can ultimately inspire and encourage such traits in the children as well (Lewis Beth, n.d.). Attributes of a Teacher Every teacher should have certain qualities which make them different from others. A teacher should always focus on the benefits of society as a whole. He/she must work for the common good rather than his/her individual interest. In fact, a teacher must be a role model for the whole populace in his/her region. Like any other area, success lies in attitude and approach. The successful teachers are everywhere alike. As Melissa Kelly pointed out, successful teachers share some common characteristics (Kelly, n.d.). I also believe that the following attributes are unavoidable for a teacher in his career. Sense of Humor The sense of humor helps to relieve you from tension and make the students happy. A class room with rigorous protocols is no longer produce students' creative skills. They might score good marks in the examination, but their creativity will not be satisfactory. They might be poor in soft skills such as negotiation skill. Furthermore, it allows a teacher to experience the joy of life as a teacher and forget the bitter experiences in his/her life and career. Positive Attitude As I mentioned earlier, a teacher is a role model for students. Students always prefer to catch the qualities of their teacher. One with a positive attitude never fails in life is well known to all. In the teaching profession one may come across many hurdles, but they cane be overcome successfully with positive attitude and enthusiasm. The positive attitude of a teacher is inculcated in his/her students through his/her classes and interactions. High Expectations One of the key factors for success is high expectations. If a teacher has high expectations on his/her students, the students will also try to achieve great things in life. But, that does not mean that a teacher should always be after high unrealistic expectations. Consistency A positive learning environment is characterized by consistency of a teacher and his approach. The consistency in teaching will create a safe learning environment for the students. Suppose, a teacher is inconsistent in his/her job and it is amazing that how the teacher can expect the students to be punctual and consistent. Fairness Teachers with fair attitude are always admired and remembered by students. Gender discrimination is one of the worst qualities of a teacher. A fair teacher treats all students alike irrespective of gender, race, color and quality. 6. Flexibility Change is the order of the day. No one can keep himself constant in a society where everything is undergoing perennial change. A teacher should always focus on equipping his/her students with inputs to be competitive in a changing environment. Therefore, learning atmosphere and methodology should be adapted to the need of the day. Philosophy Preference Assessment Basically, there are five types of educational philosophies, namely perennialist, idealist, realist, experimentalist and existentialist. The contention of perennialists is that the main focus of education revolves around the ideas that have lasted over centuries. They believe that the ideas are as relevant and meaningful today as when they were written. They advocate that students should learn from reading and analyzing the works from the works and thoughts of thinkers and writers in the past. Idealists are of the opinion that the ultimate aim of education is to contribute to the personal development of the learner, both intellectually and morally. Therefore, the education-imparting institute should emphasize on certain essential activities which can contribute to the development of qualities of students. These activities include intellectual activities, moral judgments, aesthetic judgments, self-realization, individual freedom, individual responsibility, and self-control. The idealists believe that the basic intention of education is to impart the learner the essential knowledge and skills necessary to be possessed for survival and to lead a life of happiness in the natural world. Education, from experimentalists' perspective, must be planned and imparted in such a manner that enables students how to think so that they can adjust to an ever-changing society. The school must aim at developing qualities and experiences that enable students to attain certain objectives and ultimately lead a successful life. These objectives include good health, vocational skills, interests and hobbies for leisure living, preparation for parenthood, andability to deal effectively with social problems. The supporters of existentialism believe that education should basically aim at personal interpretation of the world. It is based on the contention that everybody defines reality, truth and goodness in his/her own way and educational institutions exist to assist students in knowing themselves and their place in society. However, a question naturally arises in this context is that which of the various philosophies can be followed. I personally believe that no single philosophy can contribute success in teaching and learning in the modern educational environment. A proper mixture of all these five philosophies can serve students for their better future and throughout their life. What is proper depends upon a number of student and teacher specific factors. Based on the assessment of individual preference, following graph could be plotted, which reflects their belief on educational philosophy. Graph showing the Philosophy Preference Assessment 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Perennialist Idealist Realist Experimentalist Existentialist (Source Primary Data) The graph exhibits that successful teaching and learning should use all the five philosophies of education. However, the response of teachers indicates that they mainly believe in perennialism, idealism, and experimentalism. The supporters of realism and existentialism are very few among the supporters. It is clear from the figure that when perennialists, idealists and experimentalists received highest strength of belief, realists and existentialists got only 1.6 strength among the respondents. Conclusion Educational institutions and students have high expectations on their teacher. Therefore, I believe that teacher must be excellent, in order to serve as a model for students, both intellectually and morally. Teacher is the most important asset in a school. Nothing is as important as a teacher in a school. The teacher must be able to explore new knowledge for his/her students and must have the competency to impart such knowledge for the common good of the students. He must demonstrate moral excellence in personal conduct and exercise great creative skill in providing opportunities for the learners' minds to discover, analyze, unify, synthesize and create applications of knowledge to life and behavior. The teacher must design his/her teaching methods in such a manner that should encourage learners to enlarge their horizons; stimulate reflective thinking; and encourage personal moral choices. References Kelly Melissa, (n.d), Top 6 Keys to Being a Successful Teacher, Retrieved 3 January, 2009, from http://712educators.about.com/od/teachingstrategies/tp/sixkeys.htm Lewis Beth, (n.d.), Design Your Educational Philosophy. Retrieved 2 January, 2009, from http://k6educators.about.com/od/helpfornewteachers/qt/edphil.htm Manzoor-ul-Haque, (n.d.), Idealism: Introduction, Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam, Retrieved 3 January, 2009, from http://www.tolueislam.com/Bazm/Manzoor/LT_034.htm Neil James (Barbara Wilt), (2004). Samples of Philosophy of Education. Retrieved 2 January, 2009, from http://wilderdom.com/philosophy/SampleEducationPhilosophies.html Read More