Personal Philosophy of Education

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. ~Nelson Mandela
The purpose of education is to prepare our youth for their role in society and to prepare them for their means of livelihood. My belief is that education is the primary key to their success. It allows for better jobs and higher educational opportunities. It also gives students a better foundation from which to choose life options be they social or personal. I believe education can afford students a better understanding of our world and how to function in it. It helps to define responsibility and accountability and helps them reali!e their own role in society. "ith it students have more opportunities to contribute to their community and society as a whole. #chools are the primary means of delivering education and as educators we must lead the way to ensure our schools are able to serve students to the fullest. $irst we must make every effort to properly e%uip them with appropriate technology and tools. #econd schools must be accessible to all students. Third we must make sure we as educators are prepared to teach according to the needs of our society our community and of our students. In order to insure our schools are tending our students& needs we must first look at the students. I do not believe they are tabula rasa as some suppose. #tudents are more like a partially completed recipe. Educators have little to no control over what has been placed in the bowl so far yet still have to add the remaining necessary ingredients to make sure the dish is as successful and complete as possible. It is our responsibility to find out what those remaining ingredients are and then find a way to make them work in the recipe in a way that benefits all involved. 's a recipient of the educational process the student must also take an active role. They must have and learn accountability responsibility and an acceptance of rules both in society and in the school setting. They must put forth an effort to learn. If they do not it falls on our shoulders as educators to encourage motivate and inspire the students to recogni!e the value of and the need for education in their own lives. To insure students are prepared to assume their role in the educational process we must address three issues. $irst the environment must be conducive to learning. The student must feel safe protected calm and secure. #econd the student must receive encouragement and support from educators and parents(guardians alike to any e)tent possible. Third the student must be given constructive feedback and be taught how to make use of it. The educator&s role in this grand process is much wider than that of the student. The teacher needs to be a provider of knowledge opportunity support acceptance compassion understanding encouragement and patience. "e must be a role model...an e)ample of what to do and how to behave. *ur job is to make sure each student has access to the knowledge they need to succeed in

school and conse%uently in life. "e must pick up where the parents(guardians have left off. *ur role is also to make sure that the student understands the knowledge we provide and how it may best be used to their own advantage. "ith diversity rapidly increasing in our society communities and schools educators must address and tackle the %uestions concerns and prejudices that come with it. $ollowing through with our position as role model we must practice fairness understanding appreciation acceptance tolerance compassion. "e may do this by making sure each student feels included accepted and encouraged. *ur curriculum plays a major role in how we practice inclusion and how we incorporate multiple lessons into the core focus areas of learning. It must be a student+centered approach. It must be diverse and encompass aspects of cultures from around the world not just from cultures of students within the classroom. #caffolding should play a significant role in the learning process giving students ample time to review old and add new information to their educational ammunition. "e must show students the common thread between what they are learning and its relativity to real life. "e also need to involve activities that re%uire the assistance of each students& special abilities for a successful outcome. 'll students are different and we need to show why and how that is important to all. In order to successfully implement a curriculum classroom management is essential. This involves establishing rules practicing consistency defining respect establishing open communication providing appropriate resources and settings and finally professionalism. This combination of these elements can enable teachers to provide a classroom setting conducive to learning. Educators have to establish classroom rules and as well as their e)pectations of students starting from the point at which the students enter the classroom on the first day of the school year. "e must continuously reinforce the rules and practice consistency when it comes to discipline. #tudents need to have the definition of conse%uences spelled out for them and they need to see e)amples of how conse%uences may come into play positively and negatively in the classroom and in life. "e must also define respect and show how giving it begets receiving it. If we demand respect from our students we first must set the e)ample by showing it to them. ,espect needs to given for the students themselves the teacher classmates personal property public property education rules authority our environment our culture and the cultures of others and traditions. -arents are major players in the education process. They may have pertinent information about their child that can help us personali!e our approach and cater to their special needs. -arents can also be our teammates in educating students but only if they know what we need from them and vise versa. *pen communication is the solution. $or students to have a well+rounded support team we have to try and establish communication with parents(guardians as well as open dialogue with the students themselves. "e do this to ensure the student understands their educational process is a team effort. .lassroom management also includes providing appropriate resources and settings for students. "hen their basic needs aren&t met in life or in the classroom the ability to learn can be greatly hindered and even stopped.

Educators need to provide to the best of our abilities resources for students with issues regarding hunger abuse shelter failure to understand the daily lessons physical and mental disabilities personal issues health issues bullying discrimination se)ual harassment and any other unforeseen issues that may arise during the teaching process. "e as educators must always maintain a professional disposition. "e can be friendly without being a friend to the students. There needs to be a healthy distance from students in order to remain in a position of authority. *ur goal is not to be their friend but instead to educate them. Maintaining a well+organi!ed classroom is just one more e)ample of professionalism. If we aren&t organi!ed with respect to curriculum lesson e)ecution and classroom management we cannot e)pect to accomplish our goals for the year. In the end both we and the students can suffer for it. *nce we establish our e)pectations rules open communication and classroom management we can begin to look at the actual instruction. I believe we need to utili!e lessons that combine re%uired learning material with e)amples from life. If students are studying past participles what instances will they be useful in at home at work at school etc. and how could not knowing this information cause problems/ "e need to show and e)plain how when and where the material being learned came from 0it&s origins1. Is it really 23reek to me4 or did our knowledge of 254 stem from another culture and a different time. 6earning the story surrounding facts can enhance it&s appeal and broaden the students& knowledge base. Instruction needs to be tailored to the individual student and cannot be looked at as 2one si!e fits all4. "e have to find out what the student&s specific needs and contributable skills are through a fair and balanced approach i.e. %ui!!es open communication and positive responses to %uestions students my have. *nce we establish these target learning areas we can e)ercise the our means to strengthen the student&s weaknesses and enhance their more established skills in turn giving them support and confidence. 7eeping communication open with students and parents can also aid in clueing us into special needs as well as any concerns the parents might have for their child. "hen we have knowledge of student needs we can adjust our lessons accordingly. 's with all lessons the process of teach assess analy!e adjust re+teach should be followed religiously. 3iven the diversity of families in our society today including them in the education of their children can be a challenge. This challenge can come in many forms such as non+English speaking parents parents who&s work prevents them from being a 2present4 team player families with religious re%uirements that take the students out of class regularly or re%uire certain behaviors from their children based on se) and age and also parents with communication difficulties or disabilities. *n a final note I think practicing open communication and having an open+ door policy are crucial especially when it comes to dealing with the diversity we see in families today. -arents(guardians no matter what their race religion or culture usually want to be a part of their child&s education. .ommunication may not be easily achieved and so we must put for e)tra effort to make it happen. "e

can make repeated attempts at contacting families to gain a better understanding of their e)pectations and desires for their child&s education. "e can also have open house meetings for parents and students to visit discuss comment and %uestion. No matter what the method of communication we must make sure those efforts are visible and we need to make clear our intentions are to help the students succeed. There are a few key elements that can e)ponentially increase a student&s chances of learning in the school system. These include an organi!ed plan for classroom management a fair and balanced system of inclusion and a holistic curriculum with well+planned lessons. 'nother important element is clarity and consistency with regard to our rules and e)pectations in the classroom. I believe the challenging balance of these important factors can lead to a successful educational process for students and educators alike.