Educational Philosophy

As a Teacher, it is important to be aware of the many educational philosophies out there and even more important to adopt one as a core foundation for the pulpit of education. After reading through the many different philosophy’s in the Education, The Practice and Profession of Teaching text book by Robert McNergney and Joanne Mnergney, ( idealism, realism, humanism, existentialism, Marxism, behaviorism/cognitivism, pragmatism, perrennialism/ essentialism, and social reconstructionism)  I realize that my philosophy over the years seems to fall somewhere between Humanism and behaviorism/cognitivism. Humanism is the belief that children should receive developmentally appropriate instruction in liberal arts, social conduct, and moral principles which to me is a well-rounded educational goal. At the center of the Humanism philosophy is child’s emotional wellbeing. On the other hand, behaviorism is the belief that human behavior is determined by the uncontrollable forces in the environment as oppose to one’s free will. The behaviorist approach lies in observing human responses to the physical environment. However, I differ in the belief that knowledge is only attainable through specific stimuli because I do belief in the notion of free will.  Cognitivism is the belief that knowledge of the world is constructed through experience. All three of these philosophies could be rolled up into one to sum up my educational philosophy.

I believe that education should be flexible and child centered. Children will learn what they want to learn but will only memorize what they need to know to pass a class or to get good grades. It is important to make learning fun and to have students be an “active” participant in what they are learning because the way a child learns is just as important as the skills and facts that they acquire. Creating safe environments that stimulates confidence and supports the development of self-regulation is of major importance. The focus should be on “healthy” learning habits and education should be flexible enough to “fit” each individual child. Children are fully capable of learning from both their experiences and from their environment. It is the educator’s job to make this process safe and to capitalize every teachable moment.