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Personal Philosophy of Education

My mother always tells me that I was born to be a teacher. Growing up with three
siblings, I helped to teach them throughout their days in school by playing teacher and helping
them to succeed in their work. Elizabethtown College has taught me a lot along the way as I
finally got to observe a classroom from a teachers perspective. Observing and teaching
throughout college has encouraged me to think about what kind of teacher I would like to be.
Every teacher has their own approach and methods to teaching a class. In class we
learned about educational theories, also known as philosophies of education. I believe a mesh of
four of the philosophies best match my ideas of what education should be. My belief is balanced
between teacher-centered and student-centered approaches.
Essentialism is an idea that education should be taught with a core curriculum. This
would work well for students because it gives them general knowledge of a wide variety of
subjects and also makes it easier for students who are new to a school because if both schools use
a common core curriculum, the new student will not be behind in any subjects. Perennialism is
teaching general concepts in the classroom. I believe this concept helps students because they
will have a basic knowledge they can later build on.
Constructivism says students should learn by building off of previous knowledge. With
this, the children do not forget the information they have learned. More information just builds
on to what is already known which helps children learn more and associate more ideas with their
knowledge. The fourth theory I plan to incorporate in my teaching is social reconstructivism.
This is the idea that with education, students can better their community. If I combine all these
theories I believe I will have a good classroom environment.
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The purpose of education is to obtain knowledge not previously known to ones self.
Teachers are important; they educate future generations to help them function in society. To get a
job and be successful in life, education is almost always necessary. My role as an educator is to
guide students and support them through their educational journey. I also need to teach children
what they need to know to move on to the next grade level and be successful. To reach the
diverse children in my classroom I will read about different cultures and accept the differences
among the children. I could also meet the parents of the children to try and understand where the
children are coming from and what their backgrounds are like.
I believe that children learn not only in the classroom but also learn from each other.
There is a social aspect of learning that must be considered. Interaction with others helps
children learn social skills that are needed to function in society. While children play with each
other they learn to share and cooperate with other people. My beliefs will affect my teaching
because my classroom will be run based on ideas that I believe work best. To balance the needs
of the individual learner versus the needs of the classroom as a whole is challenging but it can be
done. I think that if students are allowed to ask questions freely it helps them understand if they
have any questions that they arent certain about. Also, if a student is struggling it would help the
student to give them more practice or even privately tutor them. My goal for my future students
is for them to learn as much as possible and have a firm hold on every concept I teach them. My
basic philosophy on education is that as long as the teacher and student have a good relationship
and work together, anything is possible.