Philosophy of Education

Jessie Dillon November 3, 2013 Foundations of Education

en!amin Fran"lin once said #$ell me and % for&et' $each me and % remember' %nvolve me and % learn(' % have to a&ree )ith him because you could !ust lecture all day, but do students really remember everythin& you told them* +ou could &ive them )or"sheets to do and they mi&ht remember some of it' ut, if you involve them in the lesson and ma"e it fun they )ill remember it as )ell as learn ho) it applies to real life' ,s teachers )e all have different philosophies that )e teach to such as perennialism, essentialism, pro&ressivism, and social reconstruction -.aucha" / E&&en, 20101' % )ill use more of the Pro&ressivism type of philosophy' 2hich means that %3ll be educatin& my students on solvin& problems that applies to real life and %3ll focus on the learnin& capabilities of the individual student -.aucha" / E&&en, 20101' % )ill be e4plainin& )hat lead me into teachin& and ho) % )ill run my classroom, the sub!ects that % )ill be teachin& and the curriculum that % li"e, ho) % )ill present information in my classroom, and the role of my students' %t )as more of a )ho then a )hat that lead me into teachin&' 2hen my senior year came around % became the pre5school student aid and )or"in& )ith the "ids )as so much fun % )ould loo" for)ard to that class everyday' 6o % &uess you could say that a pre5school class made up my mind in becomin& a teacher' $he role of the teacher )ill chan&e )ith each teacher, ho)ever, since %3ll be a special education teacher my role in the classroom )ill be different then a re&ular teacher since my &oal is to )or" )ith students that have a learnin& disability' 6uch as dysle4ia )hich is a student has a hard time readin&, dys&raphia the student has a hard time )ith )ritin&, and dyscalcula havin& a hard time )ith math -78earnin& disabilities -ld1,7 20111' 6o my role in the classroom )ill be to help those students fallin& behind to help them find a )ay that they can learn even )ith their learnin& disability' 2hich is defined as #any of various conditions that interfere )ith an individual9s ability to learn

and so result in impaired functionin& in lan&ua&e, reasonin&, or academic s"ills and that are thou&ht to be caused by difficulties in processin& and inte&ratin& information( -78earnin& disability,7 20131' :y classroom should be arran&ed so that it is easy to find all the necessary items for the day as )ell as be neat because a clean and tidy environment is easier to )or" in as )ell as to learn in' % believe that the best )ay to handle discipline and mana&e my classroom is to stic" )ith the rules of the school principle, but have other conse;uences for little misbehaviors' $he rules that the school has already set for you to follo), you obviously need to follo) since those are the common rules that every teacher must enforce, % )ouldn3t be a harsh teacher, but % believe that )ithout some enforcement students )ill try and push the boundaries' %n the be&innin& of the school year % )ould &o over these rules )ith the students and ma"e sure they understand )hy the rule is there and that there )ill be conse;uences for their actions' $his )ill help me be able to teach the thin&s that need to be tau&ht in my classroom' 6ince % )ill be )or"in& )ith special education students % )ill be teachin& different material in my class based on the needs of that particular student' <ne of the thin&s % could do to help my students learn is to as" them ;uestions to clarify if they understand the material and then have them e4plain )hat they understood about the ;uestion or problem -8earnin& =4, 20131' 6o my teachin& )ill be more individuali>ed then specific because each of my students )ill be different some may have a ma!or learnin& disability )hile others may only have a small one' $his ma"es it easier to help the students to develop and %3ll be able to help them to understand ho) )hat % teach them applies to real life' $he curriculum that % support is #practice in problem solvin& and other life s"ills( -.aucha" / E&&en, 20101' 2hich falls into my philosophy of pro&ressivism % believe stron&ly that students learn better if you apply ho) they )ill use the information you are teachin& them in real life circumstances' John De)ey also had a very similar

vie) that could be considered pro&ressivism he )anted the schools to center their teachin& methods around the student and real life application -Field, 200?1' :y philosophy )ill sho) in ho) % teach and )hat % present in the classroom' % believe the best )ay to learn is hands on because you can lecture all you )ant, but are they really understandin& any of )hat you are tellin& them' %f you do somethin& hands on then they can demonstrate that they understand )hat you are teachin& them and you can see )here each child is stru&&lin&' % believe that if you ma"e it a competition then they )ill )ant to &et it ri&ht so that they can &et the pri>e so they )ill actually have to learn the material in5order to be the victors' % favor obviously the hands on activities and % also li"e the activities that ma"e the student thin"' %3m also not fond of the tests that are multiple choice % li"e the tests )here they have to prove they read the material or that they understood )hat )as tau&ht' :ultiple choices don3t demonstrate that it &ives them the ans)ers and they !ust have to decide )hich sounds ri&ht' Everest @olle&es, %nstitutes, and Aniversities did a study on the benefits of hands on learnin& and they found that students usin& this method are three and a half times more li"ely to remember )hat they )ere tau&ht, they also had access to pro&rams that the )or" force )ould be usin&, and they had placed a ;uote that cau&ht my eye and made me reali>e that it3s true #% hear and % for&et, % see and % remember, % do and % understand( -<tis, 20101 )hich is a variation to )hat en!amin Fran"lin said' % see the role of the student in my class as very active % )ant them to participate in the lesson because if their participatin& % "no) they are learnin& or attemptin& to learn the material' ,ctive participation is the involvement or participation of the student -7active,7 20131' ,s a teacher % don3t )ant to !ust stand at a )hite board and lecture and e4pect my students to remember it' % )ant my students to participate in the lesson this )ay % "no) they are learnin& the

material' % also )ant them to "no) that % )on3t be !ust &ivin& them the ans)ers % )ant them to find the ans)ers for themselves' % believe that if % continue to ma"e it clear that % )ant them to be as"in& ;uestions and thin"in& about )hat % am teachin& them )ill help them understand that % )ant them to be active in the learnin& process % )ant them to &et into the lesson and as" ;uestions and have fun and hopefully help the students improve their readin& scores, help them in spea"in& more fluidly, and to come a)ay from my class )ith more "no)led&e to help them &et throu&h school and life easier then )hen they started it' ,s % mentioned in the be&innin& of this paper every teacher has a different teachin& style mine' 6ome may belon& in the cate&ory of essentialism or social reconstruction' % lean more to)ard the pro&ressivism cate&ory' 2hich means % )ill be usin& a more hands on approach and applyin& them to real life' 2hat % teach in my classroom )ill differ bet)een children since not all of my students )ill be the same' % thin" the bast )ay to motivate your students is to ma"e it li"e a contest so that they )ant to )in and in order to )in they have to "no) the material they are learnin&' % also see my students bein& active in the classroom and lessons so that % "no) they are listenin& and learnin&' % believe that by me teachin& my students )ith hands on activities % )ill be helpin& them to apply the lessons % teach to real life problems'

-20111' 8earnin& disabilities -ld1' =etrieved from National Dissemination @enter for @hildren )ith Disorders )ebsiteB httpBCCnichcy'or&CdisabilityCspecificCld

active' -20131' =etrieved from httpBCC)))'merriam5)ebster'comCdictionaryCactive

Field, =' -200?, July 101' %nternet encyclopedia of philosophy ' =etrieved from httpBCC)))'iep'utm'eduCde)eyC

.aucha", D', / E&&en, P' -20101' %ntroduction to teachin&' -?th ed', p' 1?D1' Ne) JerseyB Pearson Education, %nc'

.aucha", D', / E&&en, P' -20101' %ntroduction to teachin&' -?th ed', p' 1E11' Ne) JerseyB Pearson Education, %nc'

8earnin& disability' -20131' =etrieved from httpBCC)))'merriam5)ebster'comCdictionaryClearnin& disability

8earnin& =4' -20131' teachin& children )ith learnin& disabilities' =etrieved from httpBCC)))'learnin&r4'comCteachin&5children5)ith5learnin&5disabilities5fa;'htm

<tis, .' -2010, January 0E1' $op ? F benefits of a hands5on learnin& environment' =etrieved from httpBCCne)s'everest'eduCpostC2010C01Ctop5?5benefits5of5a5hands5on5learnin&5environmentC