Philosophy of Education - The question all new teachers have to answer!

A compiled list from the teachersnet chatboards and various rings.
Beginning Teachers Chatboard
Student Teaching ChatBoard
These two boards are perfect places for new teachers to visit daily. I suggest you click on a link above and bookmark the two sites.

I keep my eyes open for various topics being discussed on mailrings and chatboards. Then I compile the ideas to a page. It is so nice to have many ideas in one place. New ideas are added often.

Many thanks to the teachers that have shared their ideas. So many teachers have wonderful hearts!

What are your beliefs in regard to education? I would suggest you make them pretty mainstream as most school's
are. Saying things like schools are places of learning, our schools teach democratic values, our schools are places where
all have equal opportunity - those are the kind of things school boards doing hiring want to hear.

Posted by stay mainstream on 1/11/02

My philosophy of education encompasses several parts. I believe that education is not only an academic thing - it is emotional, social, academic, and physical. I also discuss my belief that a teacher should be a facilitator or a guide to learning(hands-on learning), not just the knowledge-giver. I also believe that teaching is developing life-long learners. These are all concepts that I included in my philosophy. It is different for each teacher. Hope this helps. Good luck!!:)

Posted by keri on 1/11/02

I believe that learning is every American's birthright. I do not believe that education is a privilege but rather it is a right. Thus, as a teacher I seek to support my students' learning and to facilitate it. In my classroom, learning is paramount.

Another way to do it would be to write a brief paragraph that describes your central approach, such as (only an example):'I believe in using a hands-on approach. In order to do this, I will...' and then add a bulleted list of 6-10 ways that will explain how you will do it. Attach it to your resume as well.
The idea behind the bullets is that an interviewer or administrator may only have 30 seconds or so to look your entire resume over before the interview and you want it to be easily read. During an interview, it will be a well-organized list.

The most important step for you now is to spend a lot of time thinking about your own beliefs. Brainstorm your ideas on paper and then start to pull it all together. I wrote mine 2 years ago and have updated it several times since then. I am now ready to go out for those first interviews. I know my philosophy might
change after I have some experience. I hope this helps! :)

I don't believe learning can be forced on someone. "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink."

I believe learning occurs naturally in the learner when a teacher has presented the material in a way that works for the learner. I also believe it's the teacher's responsibility to do that.

I could write a lot about this but I also see children as having natural rights to be treated with dignity and respect and that figures into my teaching.

There isn't one word that would encapsulate my philosophy of teaching.

Here is what mine looks like (though much prettier on real paper...) This is the one I take to interviews...I always leave a copy with them. I do in in bullet so it is
accessible and easy to read but some prefer to use paragraph format. I hope this helped!

~Angie

MY TEACHING AND LEARNING PHILOSOPHY:

THE CLASSROOM:

~ The classroom is a community requiring the work of all members to maintain its effectiveness and pleasant atmosphere.

~ All members of the classroom community are equal as thinkers, learners, and teachers. They are treated accordingly.

~ Every individual’s thoughts and feelings must be respected in the classroom.

EARNING:

~ Learning must be valuable in order to be valued.

~ Choices motivate students to learn because they feel empowered.

~ All students are unique and learn in different ways.

TEACHING:

~ Teachers should expect great things from ALL students.

~ Teachers should strive to know students personally as well as academically.

~ There will never be enough time in the day to teach every important subject individually. Integrate material whenever possible emulating real life where learning requires many different types of knowledge.

~ Teach to multiple intelligences (linguistic, visual, auditory, kinesthetic,…) to reach all students.

Well, you basically can pull from what you believe creates a positive learning environment. Talk about what you believe teaching really is. When I created my portfolio to be hired I talked about whether teaching was an art or a science. I based my philosophy on the idea that it is a little of both and went on to explain why. Now, remember, the best philosophy in the world doesn't do anything for you if you don't practice that philosophy every day your in the room.

Teaching is about your actions and how the kids perceive your actions in the classroom. You can hand the principal and your students your so-called "philosophy" but it won't mean anything if you don't put it on display through your teaching methods everyday.

kathy

I am a first year mature aged student, and my motivation for returning to uni was this philosphy:

The image I hold close to my heart: guiding and nurturing the next generation to establish the skills needed to achieve health, respect, prosperity and fulfilment. I envisage empowering children to believe in their own value, stimulating their interest to question, providing the tools to discover answers.

EmmyOz on 11/18/01