Running Head: Philosophy of Education Statement

Philosophy of Education Statement

Irad W. Lee IV

Carson-Newman University
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The Philosophy of Education can differ from person to person, and thus I believe

everyone is entitled to their own thought about what is education, and what is schooling, and

how they relate to each other. In an effort to find a definition of education that I agreed with, I

came across a quote from John Dewey in which he referred to education as, as life itself and not

preparation for life (Dewey, 1916). While a real definition of education is, The process of

receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university (Oxford

Dictionaries). Yes, education can mainly take place in a school setting where a teacher instructs

their pupils in the many subjects taught today. However, personally I do believe that education is

more than just what is taught in school, it is the knowledge acquired over a lifetime of mistakes

or doing the right things. As the great Albert Einstein once said, Education is what remains after

one has forgotten what one has learned in school (Einstein). Now schooling and education do

share a relationship with one another. For instance, schooling was designed to allow education to

take place within its walls, however, over the years I believe that these two topics have become

two totally separate ideas. Schools today do not allow education to flow freely, but instead they

teach to the test. Now I would not blame the teachers for this, I would say the blame falls on the

people in charge of our Education system. For it is they who have implemented standardized

testing and the system of rating teachers based on their students test scores. Thus the teachers are

forced to teach to the test in order to keep their jobs.

As for the role of education and schooling in a democratic society, for this kind of society

to survive it needs well educated adults who are willing to participate in society so that it keeps

running for the good of everyone. As for how schooling fits into this, if it was not for schools

and the people that run them then there would be no way for people to become educated. In a

democratic society, most of the schools are free up until the twelfth grade, rather this is the case
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for the United States. If it was not for the system of free education then many low-income

families would not be able to afford for their children to attend a school. Take for instance

Africa, where in the poor areas of the country some schools only last until the kids are old

enough for them to help their parents work, or they can provide for the family themselves. But in

a democratic society everyone has a say in how their kids are taught and mainly the people are

the ones in charge of the school system, not the elected official.

Culture and society also have impacts on how a teacher goes about teaching and how

students learn too. Society plays a significant role in education. It can influence it both ways,

positively and negatively. The values, morals, and principles of a society will create an education

system that upholds the same values, morals, and principles. A social group that believes in righteous

acts and decent interactions will hone its individuals to teach the same to other people

(Understanding Societies, n.d.). This says that when a society or culture has a certain view point then

that view point can and will be taught a certain way in the schools. Take for instance underage

drinking, this is something that the U.S. sees as something not healthy for our kids. As such the

schools around the country teach that it is not good for kids under age to drink and that if pressured

in to doing so they should just say, no. The same can be said for drugs too, for example a program

invented to combat drugs in schools was D.A.R.E. This program went from school to school with the

hopes of changing the young societies view point on drugs.

As for how students learn, well there are many ways for a child to learn, but there are

eight major learning styles. They can range from linguistic to interpersonal, the differences

between them all is just that some students learn better in different ways. For instance, the

kinesthetic learning style is where a student learns best by doing hands or work. Examples of this

can range from poster boards to crafting a science project. This method of teaching is my

personal favorite, and the one I enjoy the most. Another style of teaching, one that many teachers
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use today as a blanket way to just give the information to the students is linguistic, this style

includes reading, writing, and speaking. What I meant by saying the teacher uses this to just give

the information is sometimes when a teacher has lost touch with the reason why s/he got into

teaching they tend to lose their spark. When this happens they usually actively stop searching for

new and improved ways to teach, and instead they revert to the way many of them were taught,

which was just through verbal lectures and nightly reading assignments. Which in todays

standards is and should not be acceptable. Students are unique and different in their own ways,

Everybody is a Genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole

life believing that it is stupid (Einstein, n.d.). I believe that this quote from Albert Einstein

really sums it all up, every student is a genius, in s/hes own way, and if they are all taught in the

same way there will be some who simply fall behind.

A teachers role in the classroom can be narrowed down to three things, curriculum,

instruction, and assessment. I believe it is a teachers duty to their kids to search for the best

curriculum and the best way to implement that into their own classroom. Sometimes though it is

not up to the teacher when it comes to curriculum. Today I interviewed my hosting teacher at

Jefferson High School, and when asked about curriculum he mentioned that he does not really

have control over what curriculum gets implemented into his own classroom. However, he does

have control over how he implements it into his classroom. Instruction is another duty that in my

opinion ties in closely with curriculum. Simply because if one does not have a strong curriculum

then the instruction will suffer too. This is because the instruction directly follows the curriculum

and if the link before it is weak then the rest will suffer. Assessment is the last part of the roles of

a teacher, in this a teacher must find the best possible ways that s/he can monitor and evaluate

their students, but do so in a way that does not hinder their learning experience.
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My motivation for wanting to become a teacher can be traced back to when I was a

young boy. My mother passed away when I was only eleven months old, so I did not get the

chance to know her. Everyone tells me that she was very loving and kind to everyone she ever

knew. Before she passed away she was able to graduate from U.T. in hopes of helping special

needs children. I like to think that her kindness was passed down into me, and that her wish of

helping children will still be carried out, in some way, through me. I also am highly motivated

because I look at this broken world and I see sadness and I want to try and make a difference in

my own way. When I got to high school I had to start planning out my life, and at the time I

wanted to be an architect. As I got older I began to realize that my faith was calling me to be

something else. It was at that moment that I had to decide if I wanted to follow my faith or

continue down my own path. I am not one to speak in front of crowds or even classrooms, but I

am one who sees what he is called to do. There is a Bible verse that I got attached to a long time

ago and I think it was one of the contributing factors as to why I want to become a teacher. This

verse is as follows, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith

(2 Timothy 4:7). I look at this passage and I think to myself, that when the time comes and I am

at the end of my life that I want to be able to say this and it be true.

I plan to teach to the best of my ability, I will take my past experiences in life, whether

good or bad, and use them to lead a way so that the next generation will not make the same

mistakes that our generation or the ones before us have made. I also plan to use every tool

available to me in the hopes that this will better the education that students will receive. In

addition to this I hope to take advantage of being surrounded by my fellow educators, and to ask

them to help me and let me help them so that we can all come together as one. I also plan to use

my environment and the community to bring the future generation together so that they too will
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see the need for unity and compromise. My teaching style will not consist of just one singular

style, it will consist of multiple styles so that no student is left behind. My philosophy will also

follow in this manner, it will not consist of just one. This is because I believe that an excellent

teacher takes aspects from every philosophy and uses them to s/he advantage.

Every person has strengths and weaknesses, there is no exception to this. Some of my

own strengths are my devotion to my faith, strong work ethic, excellent listener, time-oriented,

motived, committed, loyal, family oriented. To me my best and most important strength is my

compassion, I have also been a caring and loving person. I hope to use this in hopes or being able

to reach even the most dissent kids, even the ones who do not want to be reached. Everyone

needs someone to look out for them and part of me wants to be that person. However, I also

believe that it will take every one of my strengths to be a goof educator. For example, time-

oriented is one of my newest strengths, it was one that I acquired while in the NAVY. It is my

hopes that I can use this to plan my lessons so that when everything is in chaos I still know what

to do. However, everyone still has a weakness and if I was to choose my biggest weakness I

would still have to say it is procrastinating. This is probably the one thing that I need to improve

on the most right now, I have also been one to put things off till the last minute. To counter this I

plan on using a schedule so that I can stay on track and teach what the students need to know.

Education and schooling can either be complete opposites or they can be like brother and

sister, depending on how you look at them. Culture and society plays a role in how these two are

taught depending are where and what your culture hold dear and what they condemn. Students

are all different and so they all learn different, so for them to learn in an excellent manner they

all need to be taught in a way they all understand. I plan to use my motivation for wanting to be a

teacher to keep my weaknesses in check and to help my strengths become greater over time.
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Reference Page

The Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2017, from
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/2-tim/4?lang=eng

Understanding Society s Influence on Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2017, from
http://influence.bafree.net/understanding-society-s-influence-on-education.php