EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 1

Educational Philosophy

Sammy Kominiarek

Saint Josephs University

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 2

Throughout the Schools in Society course many of my initial views have been shaped,

changed, and solidified. I have always wanted to be a teacher so I can implement some of the

same strategies my teachers taught me about living a life of purpose. To me, that means I should

wake each morning with a goal in my mind about how I want to spend my day. I chose to have

my goal be an aspect that is positive and uplifting. I want to be a teacher so that I can share the

ideas I have learned about being motivated because those ideas have shaped who I am as a

person. I hope to do this by appreciating all the students in my classroom and making them feel

as though they are valuable members of society, so they treat each other in that same light. I want

to do that by enforcing a curriculum that is positive which can be done by eliminating tracking

and by promoting acceptance of all the diversity that exists within the classroom by not forcing

the students to assimilate to a certain standard. Through those means, I aspire to have all the

students in my class be able to flourish.

I believe the purpose of education is to allow students to flourish. As Carl Grant said in

his article Cultivating Flourishing Lives: A Robust Social Justice Vision of Education,

flourishing involves people making meaning and sense of important aspects of their life

(Grant, 914). That definition of flourishing encompasses the aspects of teaching I hope to

provide my students with as their teacher. I want to allow my students to realize they have value

and their life has a purpose. By understanding that, they will be aware of all the possibilities they

can accomplish. That will make them want to work harder in school because they will want to

follow their passions which will result in their goals being achieved. This encourages all

students- regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, language, religion, or gender- to

imagine and experience flourishing lives and to discover and cultivate individual talents,

interests, aptitudes, and commitments (Grant, 915). The idea that each and every student,
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 3

regardless of their different backgrounds and personalities, will be able to envision a life where

they are able to blossom as an educated person is one of the reasons why I want to be a teacher.

An educated person is someone who is able to think about his or her purpose in life by utilizing

the information from textbooks and the ideas the teacher has provided him or her with to

establish a life of meaning. Each person will reach a different belief of the meaning of life, but I

hope that the students in my classroom will all develop a positive meaning of life by taking into

consideration their happiness and other peoples happiness. In order to achieve those goals,

schools need to be set up to be environments that promote flourishing.

Students will be able to flourish if a positive curriculum is established within all schools.

In Jean Anyons article Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work she discussed the

hidden curriculum that exists within schools. In the five different schools she observed, she

noticed the way students were treated varied between each of the schools. The messages

underlying the curriculum played a different role in how the students viewed their education and

their worth. The students in working class schools where the parents have blue-collar jobs,

were taught that they should [follow] the steps of a procedure. The procedure is usually

mechanical, involving rote behavior and very little decision making or choice (Anyon, 3). In

this type of school, the students are never explained why information is relevant to their lives.

Whereas, in executive elite schools, where the parents are top executives in United States

corporations, the students are taught that work is developing ones analytical intellectual

powers (Anyon, 10). Those students are able to succeed in school through learning about reason

and applying those elements to their own lives. The two types of hidden curriculum help to

reproduce this system of relations in society (Anyon, 13). I believe the hidden curriculum used

within the executive elite schools is much more beneficial to those students. I hope to establish a
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 4

curriculum, but I do not want it to be hidden. I want my students to be given necessary

knowledge to be prepared for life and to be able to think for themselves. Through that, the social

classes will be improved, instead of reproduced as Anyon discussed as the reason why hidden

curriculums can be negative. If the curriculum is enforced in a positive light, students will be

able to flourish by receiving positive messages about their worth and abilities.

In applying the positive curriculum, students will be able to flourish if there is no tracking

within their schools. Jeannie Oakes discussed the negative impacts of tracking in her article,

Keeping Track, Part 1: The Policy and Practice of Curriculum Inequality. She talked about

how the net effect of tracking is to exaggerate initial differences among students rather than to

provide the means to better accommodate them (Oakes, 5). When some students are placed in

higher level classes and others are placed in lower level classes, the students in lower level

classes tend to fall even farther behind their peers. The teachers have lower expectations for the

students and the students are treated as though they are inferior. The students then do not have

the motivation to work diligently to catch up to the rest of their peers in higher level classes.

Therefore, they have a lack of information, whereas the students in higher level classes are set on

the right track to accomplish their goals. Schools apply tracking within schools because they

believe it will help students, unfortunately even as [schools] voice commitment to equality and

excellence, schools organize and deliver curriculum in ways that advance neither (Oakes, 2-3).

Therefore, tracking hinders students abilities to learn and I believe it should be eliminated from

the education system because it does not serve a purpose that enhances the students educations.

Instead, other measures should be taken to allow diverse learners to flourish within the classroom

because tracking does not result in success for most students.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 5

I do not believe tracking assists with the diverse learners, but I do believe there are other

means to be able to help all the diversity that exists within schools. There are many different

ideas about how to approach teaching diverse learners so that the differences in backgrounds,

race, socioeconomic status, and learning needs do not negatively impact students experiences in

school. James Banks said that there are many kinds of student diversity, and it might serve

students well if we would resist partitioning off some kinds of differences as special needs;

especially when the educational needs of most children identified as special are the same as the

needs of all students (Tozer, 422). This statement is an idea that I agreed with originally, but

after giving it much thought I began to disagree with his idea. I understand his point about how

some kinds of differences should not be labeled as being special needs, but I do not agree that the

needs of those children are the same as the needs of all students. People learn differently. I do not

think those differences in learning styles need to be labeled, but they do need to be addressed so

that the students can receive the extra help and resources they need to be able to flourish. I do not

believe that should be done through tracking. Instead, I think the teacher should be aware of

diverse learners that exist within the classroom and the teacher should accept the different

learning styles. The teacher should create an atmosphere where all the students feel welcome and

their different needs are acknowledged, but also appreciated. In response, the students will also

be very open to the differences that exist within the classroom. Through those means, students

will be able to flourish because their different styles of learning will be valued so they can

receive the information and techniques in ways that suit them, while learning to be accepting of

their peers differences.

The diversity among students affects students experiences in schools in large ways. If

the teacher is aware of the differences and feels comfortable learning about and teaching to the
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 6

differences within the classroom, the students will also feel comfortable and appreciative of their

peers. The diversity also permits equitable treatment of students meaning the treatment is not

always equal, but it is fair in the sense that each students needs and abilities are being taken into

consideration by the teacher. The students are not forced to assimilate to one norm and the

teacher is not neutral or blind to the differences that exist within the classroom. Instead, the

differences are appreciated and valued through the sensitivity strategy. The teacher

acknowledges that some students cultures emphasize different aspects of life, some students

parents do not always make enough money to buy school supplies, and some students learn in

hands-on manners and others learn through listening. The classroom is inclusive because the

differences among the students are cherished so that all students are given equitable

opportunities to flourish, meaning that their differences do not hinder them from succeeding.

Instead, the teacher is aware of the differences and does what he or she needs to do to assist the

students who learn differently.

By taking all of this into consideration, I am able to envision my role as a teacher. I

particularly enjoy this quote by Johnathon Kozol and I believe it encompasses all my goals as a

teacher. Kozol said that there are affectionate and confident and morally committed teachers

who come into this very special world of miniature joys and miniature griefs out of their

fascination and delight with growing children and are thoroughly convinced that each and every

one of them has inherent value to begin with. (Kozol, 285-6) I believe my role is to implement

Kozols ideas which will allow my students to flourish. I plan to do this by promoting a positive

curriculum that uplifts my students and inspires them to want to work more diligently. I will not

have tracking in my classroom, however I will work with students who may need extra help. I

will be aware of the differences of learning styles that exist, so that I am able to assist diverse
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 7

learners who may need some more time on a certain lesson. I will also be mindful of the

diversity in culture and socioeconomic status so I never try to force children to assimilate to a

certain norm. I will be open to discussing differences if a child has a question or concern about it

because I am much more comfortable discussing that topic now. Through these elements, I hope

to build on the value that already exists within my students and enhance that knowledge so that

all my students will be capable of flourishing by establishing a life of meaning.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 8

Works Cited

Anyon, J. (1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work. Journal of Education, 162.1.

Retrieved from https://learn.sju.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-671511-dt-content-rid-

1578584_1/courses/EDU_150_FY3_201540/EDU_150_FY3_201540_ImportedContent_

20150818014147/EDU_150_FY3_201440_ImportedContent_20140822105438/AR_any

on%20article__xid-6873797_1.pdf

Grant, C. (2012). Cultivating flourishing lives: a robust social justice vision of education.

American Educational Research Journal, 49. Retrieved from

https://learn.sju.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-671512-dt-content-rid-

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0_G01_201340_ImportedContent_20130826095311/article_grant_socialjustice-

7253138_1.pdf

Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America.

New York: Crown Publishers.

Oakes, J. (1985). The policy and practice of curriculum inequality. Keeping Track: How

Schools Structure Inequality. Retrieved from https://learn.sju.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-

671513-dt-content-rid

1578587_1/courses/EDU_150_FY3_201540/EDU_150_FY3_201540_ImportedContent_

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0_G01_201340_ImportedContent_20130826095311/ar_Oakes.pdf

Tozer, S.E., Violas, P.C. & Senese, G. (2008). School and society: Historical and contemporary

perspectives (7th ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.