Term Paper on "My Philosophy of Education"

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Philosophy of Education

The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

The question is, how shall we as teachers do this training that will be lifelong? We have now officially entered the 21st century and in 2005 are well into it. I believe that now, perhaps more than ever, students need their teachers to set an example and to be good role models -- to express Christian virtues of self-control, kindness, dignity, and decorum even under pressure and in moments of stress. The old adage that children learn by example was never more true than it is today. Crucial to that learning is that the example be good!

Students must feel safe for learning to take place. Thus, the teacher's first responsibility is to set a moral tone in the classroom that fosters civility, friendship, and tolerance. By moral, I do not mean that the teacher should preach right and wrong necessarily, although that may be appropriate at times for the teacher to take a stand about right and wrong. But the teacher must be honest and sincere, and create an atmosphere in which everyone cares about what happens to everyone else. For example, in this kind of a climate, students will help each other (and the teacher) to save face when things go wrong. Students and teachers will refrain from bullying and meanness, and a supportive atmosphere of mutual respect will prevail.

A moral atmosphere is particularly important in classes where students are asked to be creative and to do creative problem solving, creativity being an inherently risky business. Learning to think creatively is more important now than it ever has been before because the world's problems are so critical. Creativity is a theme that run through all my classes regardless of topic or content area.

Creativity is a term often applied to anybody who does something well, but this does not capture the scope of my meaning. Creativity, as I understand it, is more than the ability to paint a picture, play a piece on the piano, or think of a new game to play.

Almost anyone who studies and persistently practices a skill over a period of time will be able to do it well. In China, for example, under Communism a system was developed to train children to draw. Everyone drew the same picture until they became very proficient. But that system did not help children to become creative! In fact, it prevented creativity.

A truly creative person eventually affects the progress of his/her discipline and changes its course somehow. For example, Fourier, a mathematician in 19th century France, created a new system of calculus which later made it possible to produce electronic media images, holographic photos, and laser technology. He made a creative impact on mathematics and technology.

Not every child will grow up to be a Fourier, of course, but everyone does have creative potential. Creativity doesn't just happen, however, and it takes time and practice to teach it. The teacher must not get discouraged if creative ideas do not immediately occur!

Creativity requires a willingness to be different, to stand out from the crowd, to pursue a line of thought or activity that may be rejected by others as absurd. Creativity is what education is about, I think. Students learn to be creative first by involvement and by mastery of what has been done before; then, they learn to be creative by learning to notice and appreciate uniqueness, and by developing ideas nobody else has noticed. It takes courage and fortitude to be different, so students need to be supported in this development. It is good to remind them that God supports righteous endeavor, even if it goes against the grain of popular belief: "For the Lord shall be thy confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken" (Proverbs 3:26).

With training children learn how to be innovative and to solve problems creatively. Society -- indeed, the whole world -- needs these skills now as never before because our social problems are so great and seemingly insurmountable, so those qualities that make people creative problem solvers also make good citizens who can contribute productively to society!

I believe that leaning in the classroom often results from interaction. To stick, learning needs to be experiential. Many children today have spent years in front of the television set, passively watching electronic images on a glass screen with no need to respond verbally, to form arguments, or to think independently. They often bring this passivity to school and expect the teacher to put on an entertaining show, and their passivity may take on the appearance of apathy. Of course, it's good for a teacher to be interesting and to make lessons fun, but how do we get students to reach out eagerly and to participate in the learning process? The remedy often lies in interactive activities which lure reluctant students into active involvement. Of course, the activity itself, while fun and enjoyable, is not necessarily where the most actual learning takes place. The discussion afterwards about what took place, when we pull it all together and attach meaning to the experience, may be when the student learns most.

A young mother, for example, told me her son "didn't get it" when the teacher taught counting by 5s.

He thought when you added another 5 to 5, the answer should be 55, and another 5 would be 555. This mother got out her button box. She asked him to draw out 5 buttons. Then she said, "Now, draw out another 5, because we are adding by 5." When he did, she had him count the total. "Now, we have how many? Ten? So now we have 5, and then 10," as she pointed to the two piles of buttons. "Now get another 5 buttons out of the box. How many will we have then?"

She said she saw the light dawn and pretty soon he was counting 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. Then, he could do it without the buttons. She made the lesson concrete instead of abstract, and she also involved him in the experience of the lesson. She gave him something to do besides listening passively -- which he had done in school (but failed to understand and so "forgot"). When students learn as a result of an experience, they don't forget.

All children are capable of learning. The Bible states "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, created he him; male and female, created he them" (Genesis 2:27). This "image and likeness" is not physical because God is Spirit. So the image and likeness of God must be spiritual. All human beings possess spiritual qualities from God, and intelligence because God is infinite Intelligence. We can see children reflecting God's image in spiritual qualities like intelligence, curiosity, innocence, purity, love, and a sense of justice. Every child is unique and able to learn. his/her intelligence may take an unusual form that we do not at first recognize. We need to look for the child's spiritual qualities, which God has given him/her, and the way to reach the child's intelligence will appear also. We need to be open to all kinds of ways to teach and learn.

For example, I know a teacher who had a student who couldn't remember letters when he was learning to read. He was a child who closed his eyes when he listened to music so he could "feel" it, a child who touched everything new -- even new foods, he felt with his fingers before tasting. One day this teacher cut out letters in sandpaper. When she introduced a new letter,… READ MORE

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