Personal Philosophy Paper
I believe a school's primary role is to be an institution of learning, and that academics must be the first and foremost principle guiding the instruction of children. Secondary and tertiary roles are character education and social-skills development that will help a child grow and mature. Together, these three roles form the basis for instituting an education program and are paramount in developing a child into a mature and socially-productive adult that can function in our society today and in the future. My philosophy of how education should be based, falls under the Progressivism ideals with a smattering of Essentialism thrown in. I feel that Progressivism follows my line of thinking in that a teacher is the guide to learning and a child's thinking skills must be developed to be a productive member of society. The Essentialism theory follows my thoughts on what needs to be taught, in that there is a certain body of knowledge and skills that are needed for life. Both the Progressivism and Essentialism philosophies use the teacher as the content expert and facilitator of learning and that the student is the one to work through topics in class by discovery and questioning.
Curriculum for today's middle schools should, I believe, be based on the classic core subjects, e.g. Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and the Arts. Each subject has its many sub-area of concentration. social Studies could, as an example, include U. S. History, World History, Civics, and Philosophy to name a few. These classic subjects should be structured such that child's problem skills and content knowledge increases. Elective courses offered should include, but not be limited to such subjects as Band, Art Appreciation, Home Economics, Accounting, and Life Skills.
A child comes to school eager to learn, with a mind that is just waiting to be challenged and that is full of potential and worth. Each child should be taken at their present state, and be instructed such that they enhance this innate curiosity. By suing a child's in-born curiosity and motivation to discover the answers to life's questions, a teacher can guide learning and make it a positive experience.
The role of the teacher in school is to use the child's inquisitiveness to activate current knowledge and facilitate additional learning. Most learning occurs when an individual puts their hands directly on the knowledge needing to be acquired. There can be some directed-teaching, but for the most part learning really takes place when you practice what has been discussed. So then a teacher must allow for concrete experience of the topic such that the student can build on the knowledge they already have. j This can be done by using many different types of teaching strategies. Cooperative learning groups, manipulatives, graphic-organizers, role-playing, lab exercises, and the use of projects based on multiple intelligences are just a few of the methods available to teachers to improve the learning experience for a child. Each method is based on the teacher guiding the lesson and then allowing the students to experience with their senses, other than just hearing, to cement the lesson in their minds. Student assessment remains a major part of education, and should be used to determine the amount of knowledge acquired and then can be used to assess the teaching and learning techniques used.
A school is a formal institution, but does not need to be formal in its tone. Even with a primary purpose of academics, a school can be a fun place to go. Learning takes on many faces, most of which are student-directed and teacher-guided, not teacher-directed. It is when a school makes learning fun that children enjoy coming to school and are eager to continue with the learning process. The academic process needs to involve the child such that they take responsibility for their own learning. Every child can learn and will learn given the correct mix of academics, character education, and social skills development.