Philosophy of Education - Essay Example

Philosophy of education Every human has got his/her own deep-seated convictions, even though these convictions may be either anchored in religion or a set of cultural or religious principles largely influenced by a person’s surroundings. Nevertheless being human, I have a definite roadmap for my life, things to do, career to nurture as well as goals and objectives which I surely hope to achieve. My activities will result in my engagement with society as well as other human beings. This calls for me to have definite set of principles that not only guide my actions but also how I treat myself in addition to others. Normally such principles are on the basis of numerous basics and convictions. These basics can emanate from religion, culture or basically tradition roots. As for me, having been born and brought up in Saudi Arabia, I strictly adhere and follow the deep-seated beliefs of Islam. Such Islamic basics determine my engagement with other people, observe different issues as well as judge the usefulness of various activities that surround me. Because of these guidelines of Islam, I usually have a peaceful mental status. In addition, I am usually aware of my every action I undertake as well as how to tackle various people from diverse backgrounds. The Islamic guidelines encourages its faithful to build social ties with other people, set up families in addition to stressing mutual respect and tolerance towards other people. From my college days, my convictions were primarily superficial because I never bore any sober plans or thoughts concerning my future, nor even simple convictions regarding life apart from my religious beliefs. It was not until reading Malcolm X’s autobiography that I was exceedingly aroused. This is because Malcolm X strongly believed in the significance of education so as to inspire people to think about their own lives independently. Moreover, I was also greatly impacted by the fact that during his last days, he gave up violence, instead promoting peaceful ways to his cause. From that period I seriously began prioritizing my convictions which basically are on the basis of my ideas, thoughts as well as my earlier experiences so as to come up with an all-inclusive faith. Thus after carefully considering my ideas and thoughts clearly, I ultimately arrived at a conclusion that I have a set of convictions. More significantly is the fact that I regard my faith as a key factor. I am also a firm believer in the value of education because education is not only what one is taught from the textbook but also offers one a perception of the world that surrounds us. I also believe that education assists in the building of one’s character, enhancement of self-esteem, leads to enlightenment as well as enhancing critical thinking abilities. That is why I totally concur with Malcolm X’s quote, “Education is our passport to the future.” The other important solid consideration is my family; which actually is a cornerstone as far as my personal convictions are concerned. The reason for this being the fact that a family is regarded as an inner circle of a person’s society. Thus, from my perception, family is not only taken as a way of safeguarding one as well as offering one with essentials in life but also a type of foundation which ought to be created effectively because parents are regarded to be the earliest teachers for their young ones. Common trust, love as well as accountability distribution in a family are universal things and all families everywhere practice them. These values therefore should be taught as well as acquired early in one’s life. Knowledge acquisition is another critical factor in my life. I am strong believer that knowledge acquisition is not merely getting a diploma but goes beyond that. Individuals who obtain knowledge will be able to deeply interpret human nature, society as well as civilization. In a case such as this, one is able to acquaint oneself with ideas and thoughts which finally improve creative thinking. This basically implies that knowledge offers one with not only an understanding of historical and social facts which offers a person a chance to widen his scopes, but also the opportunity to improve one’s skills. Since my graduation from college, I underwent a personal experience; involving completion of numerous training programs as well as workshops that assisted me harmonize my skills and knowledge as well as networking with like-minded graduate students and professionals. Such programs as those boosted my problem solving and communication skills as well as creative thinking. In my opinion, knowledge acquisition, assists one adapt to a given code of ethics; something that empowers us to purely differentiate between wrong and right. Such a code as this will not just reflect in our lives, but will also finally be applied in our family members as well as students. I am also a firm believer in a given set of principles that guide my activities every day I am alive. Such principles include; honesty, equality, compassion and fairness. For instance, fairness is regarded as an extremely significant factor in community because it encourages civilians to employ themselves gainfully so as to contribute in society building. Human beings generally expect to be accorder fair and equal treatment. Honesty is another key aspect of each fundamental conviction. It not only involves not lying, but also not changing the truth in a manner that favors one. Honesty is thus an extremely significant trait that each person ought to possess so as to earn trustworthiness in any community. Just as I aforementioned, that knowledge acquisition is regarded an aspect of my convictions, simply because knowledge is regarded as a catalyst for cultivation, happiness as well as success. It lets people to be imaginative, enhance the quality of life as well as assists in developing the numerous resources that this planet is endowed with. In addition, knowledge also offers us a chance to converse with individuals from diverse cultures. As part of my primary principles and convictions, I fully believe that education should be provided to all and sundry on equal terms. Anyone, together with those having unique needs, disorders, less privileged as well as citizens from poor nations should be offered a chance to attend school. I am highly convinced that they all require to be offered access to knowledge and education just like everyone else. A conviction such as that one emanates from the fact that all men are created equal and therefore ought to all have an equal opportunity to access resources equally in the world. For individuals to capitalize on available resources they are required to be inventive as well as learned; something that can only be accomplished via fair education. Thus, the main objective of education is advancement of quality lives in the world. This usually is in the form of enhanced health care, via scientific and medical research or development of latest infrastructure that can link us via the building of bridges, roads, as well as communication equipments. However, as it regards my educational methodology, I am of the opinion that equal education as well as fair access to all available educational opportunities should be accorded to all and sundry. To be able to accomplish that, specific ideologies and values have to be considered, especially when coming up with educational methodologies, strategies, as well as learning and curriculum outcomes. I am of the opinion that education ought to be provided free of charge to anyone sincerely yearning to learn and attain knowledge. Anyone should be offered an opportunity to attend schools, colleges as well as universities so as to enhance their knowledge and be positioned to tackle a challenging career and future ahead. In addition, education ought to adhere to certain set standards of policies and ethical practices which take into account the entire objectives of the job market, economy as well as social requirements. This will act as a safety net of ensuring that quality is maintained and not diluted. The most significant component of education and learning is curriculum. This actually is the cornerstone of any educational system as well as the vey substance of its message. The substance of our curriculum ought to stress the objectives of knowledge and learning. Thus there should be 3 major objectives of education; First and foremost, a good curriculum should equip learners with the essential science and art knowledge which normally is passed through sciences, math, social sciences and arts. Secondly, the curriculum ought to train learners as well as widen their skills. This comprises of group and project work that offers learners the capability to build up powerful communication methods, critical thinking as well as leadership skills. Thirdly an education system should also enhance the spiritual aspect of its learners by including enough substance on religion, principles, values as well as ethics. When the above 3 elements are addressed in an adequate manner, then it implies schools and education can generate healthy and sound students that are prepared for the workplace, social challenges as well as family anticipations. Being an ESL, my main objective of education for my students is to enable them to; Improve their communication skills hence be able to interact verbally with others. Improve their comprehension reading abilities. Enhance their basic grammar and correct use of sentence structures for various reasons. Enhance their writing abilities. That being the case, I believe so as to succeed as an ESL teacher, I am required to ensure that my students are always inspired and eager about learning every time. They, thus need to acquire firm reading, writing as well as oratory skills in English that lets them accomplish every day activities as far as English is concerned. That being the case, diversified writing of essays, academic compositions in addition to reading literature comprehensions and practicing verbal communication is important to any ESL teaching. Teaching English is very significant since it permits my students to comprehend essential grammar, terminologies as well as proper usage of sentence structures for various reasons. Thus, students will be equipped to not only interact with others effectively but also do extremely well in their writing. Writing practice usually assists students to formulate ideas as well as expressing their thoughts properly. More significantly, majority of my students have future objectives as well as career goals that need them to be extremely thorough in English. Because of that, they are required to get a formal instruction in English that empowers them to be confident with the language. Management of school involves curriculum improvement, training resource improvement process and strategic administration. I am of the opinion that the above aspects of administration can be executed by a team of competent and experienced instructors (deans, principals, directors etc) with a vision that is understandable, firm qualification and experience in the discipline of education. As a matter of fact, schools should never be managed as personal and money-making organizations. Schools should only aspire at offering knowledge to students as well as treating all instructors and other staff fairly and equally. Thus, it is prudent that school administration ought to be built on ethics whose basis is delivery of knowledge as the main goal. As for management of students, this is possibly one of the most significant aspects concerning administration of educational institutions. It normally comprises of managing staff, students, and class logistics in addition to other services that are provided to students. This therefore implies that the primary responsibilities that the standards hold are regarded as exceedingly important, “the key success of the educational operation is the wholesome personal and professional relations that the principle (as chief executive officer) holds with teachers and members of the staff.” Read More