Many educational philosophers focus on the early years of a child’s education. Evidence suggests this is a key time in a child’s development, and I agree that it is crucial for a child to receive proper instruction in a way that will encourage this development. I personally feel that I am best suited to work with students at the intermediate elementary level, between grades three and eight. This was the age group I began working with in the Boy Scouts when I first felt led to teach.
While a child’s development as a student is crucial during these early years of education, it is my philosophy that a child’s development as a member of society is also important during this time. I feel it is important to teach the students about respect and similar social aspects to compliment their traditional education. When Confucius was teaching students around this age level, he stressed important moral characteristics such as courage, reliability, reverence, and respectfulness. Similarly, I feel it is important to pass on characteristics that I learned in the Boy Scouts, namely to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, and obedient.
My personal educational philosophy does not end at social development, however. It also includes the presentation of the curriculum in my classroom. I am very interested in history and math, but I understand that many students may not share this interest. This leads to my belief that as an educator, I need to find a way to create an interest in all subjects for my students early on in the school year, so they may receive the maximum benefit from my instruction. I believe that if I can show the students the value of these subjects, they will be more inclined to participate in class discussions and will get more out of the school year.
I also believe that students will learn more with more direct work with the material. I believe that having students work in learning centers can improve the students’ understanding of the information because they are working with it on a more personal level. Breaking a class into small groups and allowing them to cycle through the centers on their own lets the students work directly with the material and does not allow for anyone to divert their attention elsewhere. It also allows me to go from group to group and give help to a more conducive teacher-student ratio.
However, I feel that working with students in this manner requires a lot of emphasis on classroom management early in the school year. I believe it is best to spend time in the beginning of the year to make sure everyone understands the class rules and feels accountable towards them. In order for students to be able to work effectively in centers they must be able to follow directions and work independently, as well as work together. This brings my educational philosophy full-circle, as my students must understand that they are expected to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, and obedient in order to be successful in my classroom and beyond. Working these characteristics into the classroom expectations will yield students who are able to handle the responsibility of working with learning centers, which will lead to a more influential situation for myself and the students, at a time when their development is key.