Instructions
For this final course assignment, you will write your own philosophy of education. Consider what you learned from the video, School of the Future, and your examination of the six major philosophies of education before you begin.
Your philosophy is a statement of PERSONAL beliefs and how these will be put into action in your classroom – it is not a theoretical essay on education. It should show an influence of college work, readings, and theorists. Consequently, when appropriate, “drop names” in your philosophy. For example, “As Erikson, I believe that children go through a series of developmental stages as they mature, and it will be part of my task is to assist young people in making these transitions.” However, be sure you understand the philosophy of the person being quoted.
As you develop your philosophy, some of the items to address include:
the purpose of education
the role of the student in education
the role of the teacher in education
the role of the teacher in the community
As you write your philosophy, follow these guidelines:
A philosophy does not have a cover page; be sure your name and title is on the first page of your philosophy.
You cannot write an educational philosophy in one paragraph, but you need not write more than 1-3 pages.
Your educational philosophy should have an introduction and a conclusion; your conclusion should provide a “logical” ending to your philosophy.
Avoid using the same phrase over and over in your philosophy. For example, avoid using the word “teacher” several times in the same paragraph or near each other – check your thesaurus for alternative choices of words.
Avoid the use of jargon. If you do use “educational jargon”, explain how you are going to impact the student. For example, rather than writing “I strongly believe in inclusion.” write “I believe that inclusion is a key ingredient in the makeup of the classroom and I will support inclusion through practices such as using alternative assessments and preparing lessons which appeal to different learning styles.”
Use 12 pt, Times New Roman font.
Avoid broad generalizations – while you may want to say “I believe that all children can learn” – the statement is relatively meaningless without examples of how you will put that into action.
Avoid overly complex sentences, vague or those with sweeping generalizations.
Some suggestions on word usage:
“I believe…” is more forceful than, “My belief is …”
Instead of “Education should …” or “I will try …” be more positive and use “I believe that …” or “I will …”
Avoid the use of “I hope…” or “Hopefully …” for something more positive, such as “I will …”
Note that your philosophy will change as you mature in the profession and gain additional experiences; it is sometimes a good idea to save copies of your earlier philosophies and compare them to your current philosophy to more clearly understand how your approach to education changes.
https://fod-infobase-com.us1.proxy.openathens.net/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=151285
