My philosophy of education has been formed over the course of forty years. I have been a student, a teacher, and a parent. My teaching has ranged from large public schools in California, to a small, Catholic university in West Virginia, an even smaller Catholic elementary school in Vermont, and a mid-sized independent academy in New England with a large international boarding population. I have taught students as young as ten (and even, in my initial summer of teaching, five and six-year-old orthopedically handicapped kindergartners). My oldest students have been college freshmen of eighteen and nineteen. As a parent, I have witnessed my three children, each possessing very different skills, strengths and learning styles, move through the education process in both public and private settings. And my earliest exposure to education, as a student under the guidance of my parents and a great number of teachers and professors, has also informed my understanding on the nature of learning and the purposes of education.
Seldom in the humanities is there one right answer,
and I encourage my students to consider all perspectives and possibilities.
One of the most important purposes of education is preparation for life beyond school. The writing, research and reading skills that I impart to my students will certainly serve to assist them in their futures - both academic and economic. However, I do not believe that pure vocationalism is the sole purpose for education. Indeed, in a society where the current group of students can expect to have as many as “15 – 20 jobs over the course of their working lives” (Meister), it would be foolhardy to think that a student’s education could render them fully competent for every job he or she will hold. Likewise, with the constant improvement and adaptation of technology, even the best STEM programs cannot hope to prepare students for all the career challenges they will encounter. In this light, education must strive to endow students with the habits of mind that will allow them to succeed. To this end, I strive to build my students' abilities to create and to think critically. I believe that these two skills are central to future success, particularly as creativity and ingenuity are two human traits that cannot be fully replicated with technology. No matter how advanced our world becomes, individuals with the capacity for creative thought and artistic expression will continue to be valued and celebrated. I believe that schools should do more to encourage creativity and ingenuity in students. As a teacher, I hope to create a classroom climate in which active playfulness is the norm. I try to encourage this by creating an environment where students feel safe in venturing opinions and where respect for one another is the expectation and the norm. Seldom in the humanities is there one right answer, and I encourage my students to consider all perspectives and possibilities.
Another key purpose of education is to rescue students from the societal trend towards self-involvement and polarized thinking. Like Deborah Meier, I want education to create “Citizens who have a healthy respect for skepticism and a penchant for empathy” (18). Navigating the overwhelming amount of information available in our society is a Herculean task. Many people choose simply to ignore any information that does not fit with their understandings and beliefs. Additionally, it is often simpler for people to accept statements and opinions put forth by people whose ethos has been established in one way or another. This can be dangerous for a society. By teaching students to think critically and skeptically about the information and opinions they encounter, teachers can help provide them with the tools to navigate our increasingly complex world. Likewise, by encouraging empathy in our students, we can help to mitigate the trend towards self-involvement. Ultimately, empathy, like critical thinking and skepticism, will preserve not only our own democracy, but will prepare students to play a role in our global society.
Students should be inspired by the greatest work of our culture,
and this inspiration in turn should promote their own sense of the
limitless possibilities of being human.
As an English teacher concerned with exposing students to literary classics, I feel that one key purpose of education is to preserve our cultural heritage. In the context of my teaching, this transmission of cultural heritage is centered on the literary achievements of our society. My curriculum is concerned with exposing students to the work of writers such as Shakespeare and the foundational texts, like the Hebrew Bible and the Qu’ran, that provide so many of the allusions and tropes found in great literature. This exposure allows students a richer understanding of works they will read in the future. Indeed, by experiencing and developing an appreciation for the merits of great literary works, students develop an inherent sense of what human beings are capable of in terms of literary expression. While these examples are specific to my own discipline, I would extend the concept of cultural heritage to all academic disciplines. The milestones of human achievement and the hallmarks of human creativity and ingenuity are to be found in all subject areas, and the theories of Einstein and the content of the Athenian oath are every bit as important as the writings of Shakespeare. Students should be inspired by the greatest work of our culture, and this inspiration in turn should promote their own sense of the limitless possibilities of being human.
I firmly believe that children learn at different rates and in different manners. I also recognize that students have different strengths. Differentiation is a critical piece of the education puzzle. One of the most important purposes of education is to help students identify their own strengths, talents and learning styles. In this way, educators can prepare children to be successful, lifelong learners who build upon their strengths and develop their own natural talents. I also believe that caring relations provide the foundation for successful learning. By developing strong relationships with students, teachers create a climate of trust and respect in the classroom that provides a successful learning environment. These relationships also help teachers to design lessons that connect to the interests of individual students, promoting engagement and improving the educational experience of the child. Caring relationships between teachers and students also serve to provide students with a model for the empathy that is key to education.
As I consider the purpose of education, I am reminded that education does not merely involve the preparation of students for the world outside of school. Education is a communal enterprise; one in which teachers must also engage in a learning process. In order to be effective, educators must continue to learn and grow, engaging in inquiry regarding their practices, and continually striving for improvement. Effective teachers must demonstrate a unique blend of confidence and humility, recognizing both their individual strengths as educators and presenting a willingness to learn from the strengths and best practices of others.
A teaching career is, at its best, an example of continual experiential education and growth.
We are the sum of our experiences, and our attitudes and understandings
are continually shaped and shifted.
No doubt, as I continue to expand my teaching experience, my understanding of the nature of education will continue to develop. A teaching career is, at its best, an example of continual experiential education and growth. We are the sum of our experiences, and our attitudes and understandings are continually shaped and shifted. There is no greater danger than stasis in the educational field, and I will strive to adapt and learn, serving my students to the best of my abilities, and willingly learning from them, even as they are learning from me.
Works Cited
Meier, Deborah. “Becoming Educated: The Power of Ideas.” Principal Leadership 3.7 (2003):
16-19.
Meister, Jeanne. “Job Hopping Is the 'New Normal' for Millennials: Three Ways to Prevent a
Human Resource Nightmare.” Forbes. Forbes, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 12 July 2016.