EDUC 497

Dr. Jonas
Joyce Jo
5/3/16
My Philosophy of Education
When it comes to education, the teachers philosophy of education is essential in
determining the success of students learning. Out of that philosophy flows everything practical:
the classroom management, the methods and strategies in teaching, and even the content of the
curriculum. Philosophy of education is the foundation of teaching; it not only affects the educator
and his or her teaching, but also the students. Furthermore, it is not just the students knowledge
that is impacted by the educators philosophy, but also their character, attitude, perspective and
belief will be affected greatly by it. Therefore, I believe it is crucial for any people who are
entering into the field of education to spend much time studying different texts on philosophy of
education, ponder them, draw inspiration from them and ultimately use the different ideas to
make their own, personal vision and philosophy in teaching. In this paper, I will present my own
philosophy of education by drawing ideas from two different philosophers: Friedrich Nietzsche
and John Dewey.
One of Friedrich Nietzches most profound and radical statement in his writing
Untimely Meditations is that ones true self is found immeasurably above, not within. Culture
says, You are fine where you are. Be true to who you are deep within. Theres no need to strive
to be someone you are not. Embrace your feelings and desires; embrace yourself!, while
Neitzsche sends a totally different message: You are not who you think you are. You are not

what you desire or feel. Look above and see who you could be. All you are doing and thinking
now is not you yourself.
Nietzsche believes that where you look towards is who you become. Culture tells us to
only look deep within to find our true selves, but this only creates human beings who are stuck
where they are. There is no sense of who they could be and the potential they carry. When every
person stops comparing him or herself to others around them, but start to shift the focus of
comparison to who they could be, then the world would be a much powerful and loving place.
The current education system cultivates a culture of mediocrity by setting standards and
grades that allow students to pass as long as they meet the expectations. This only perpetuates the
common issue of comparison. Comparison kills beauty because it creates resentment in people
that blinds them from recognizing and appreciating beauty. Even from my own experiences, I
can attest that many students, even as young as elementary students, feel the desire to outshine
others. When the student sees another who is more gifted or talented, often times he or she will
either feel bitter and jealous, or simply give up even trying because the other person is clearly
outshining them, or both. Nietzche writes that the seductive voices of the culture whispers to
the students to not go where they are only second- and third-rate talents. Culture tells students
that others will outshine them and that they will never be happy.
One of my biggest goals as an educator is to abolish the mindset of comparison and
instead cultivate a culture where students learn to acknowledge the gifts in others, appreciate the
beauty of the gifts, and be inspired by them. When my students are in my music class, I want
them to understand that inequalities in skills and giftings can actually be a good thing. Instead of
feeling insecure and jealous, I want my students to feel inspired and stirred to pursue their
potential even more. Through cultivating a culture of appreciation of beauty in different talents, I

will promote a culture of excellence, instead of mediocrity. I want my students to strive for
excellence in everything they do, not to outshine others but from a place of inspiration to be their
true selves.
However, it does not simply end in individual striving for excellence. Individual strivings
can easily lead to selfishness, blinding students from seeing the beauty in helping others reach
their highest goals. I believe that schools today are very individualized. Students only care about
their grades, their GPAs, their talents, their well-being, etc. John Dewey, a highly esteemed
educator and a scholar, believes that schools need to shift from being individual-focused to
community-focused. Dewey envisions schools to be a genuine form of active community life,
instead of a place set apart for objective-lessons. He sees classroom as a society consisting of
people held together because they are working along common lines, in a common spirit, and
with reference to common aims (103). Dewey continues on to argue that without common
social aims, students become selfish and competitive: The mere absorption of facts and truths is
so exclusively individual an affair that it tends very naturally to pass into selfishness. There is no
obvious social motive for the acquirement of mere learning, there is no clear social gain in
success thereat. Indeed, almost the only measure for success is a competitive one
In my classroom, I want my students to experience a genuine communal life that Dewey
envisioned. While I want every single student to strive for their best, pursuing after their true
selves, I do not want the striving to end in an individual aim. Instead, I want my students to
understand that we cannot be our best without the help of others. Every single person in class
needs to give and receive help and also give and receive inspiration. Dewey also believed that
individualism and socialism are one: Only by being true to the full growth of all the individuals
who make it up, can society by any chance be true to itself (100).

My personal vision for my classroom is to pursue excellence in everything we do through

teamwork. I want every student to accept the differences in skills and talents among the
classmates, appreciate the beauty that comes through the differences, and always strive to stay
inspired. As a teacher, I will show the class that all of us make up a community of people with
very different sounds; our goal is not to show resentment towards differences, but to make one
beautiful sound through the different sounds present in the room. For students who are gifted, I
will not be afraid to point out their talents and acknowledge the beauty they carry in their sounds
in front of class. I will use those moments to not only highlight beauty, but also have the class be
inspired from it and pursue after excellence even more. I will also be a teacher that sees the good
in every student, because I believe that every single student carries a unique gift. I will strive to
cultivate a culture of appreciation of beauty in my classroom. I will model for students how to
see the beauty in every person and appreciate the beauty in a way that benefits everyone.
Comparison and competition will not be allowed in my class; students will strive to help one
another to become the best they could be, so that we as a class can become one community that
shares the same goal of pursuing after excellence.
Students will learn teamwork more than anything else in my class. They will see that
making music is all about teamwork; its listening to each other, helping each other make a
beautiful sound, and creating a space for others to shine. Students will develop a mindset of what
true beauty is. They will understand that there is no need to outshine others because everyone can
shine. They will see that just because someone is more gifted, does not make them less unique. I
will constantly remind the class that we are one team, one community, and one family. We help
each other grow to be the best they can be. When problematic situations arise, I will remind
students that our actions and behaviors affect the whole class. They will realize that because we

are a team, we must act and behave in ways that help everyone to learn and be the best they can
be, not the other way around. This will allow students to develop responsibility, teamwork and
appreciation for every single student.