Educational Philosophy

Know thyself. -Stone carving at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi Spoken centuries ago, the oracles words are enduring. Humans have a deep need to find meaning and context in their lives. As soon as a person can truly understand herself, then she has an anchor from which to survey all else. That anchor empowers her by helping her to understand her surroundings, so that she can make wise choices. In short, knowing oneself empowers one to live a better life. As an educator, I believe that the purpose of schooling is to make life better by opening our students eyes to themselves and to the world. In order to achieve this lofty goal in my classroom, I focus on providing relevance, rigor, and positive relationships, all necessary elements to foster growth within a child. I do not see myself as only an academic teacher, but I desire to teach the whole childacademically, physically, socially, and emotionallybecause all of it affects their ability to live well. After all is said and done, when my students graduate from the schooling system, they should have been empowered and enabled by their experiences. Education is about investigating truth in order to find meaning, motivation, and competency to live the best life possible. The Educated Individual Schooling has always played a multiplicity of roles in society, from functioning as occupation preparation to instilling cultural values. Perhaps most important amongst these various roles is the way education prepares children for their lives as adults, equipping them with skills, tools, and knowledge to face the modern world. I would also maintain that school is a wonderful place for children to identify their passions and interests, so that life can also hold joy for them. However, I believe that these purposes of education are not enough for society to go the lengths it does to provide it. We, as adults, should educate our children because we know that in gaining an education, ones quality of life itself (not simply the opportunities of ones life) greatly increases. Learning is worthwhile in itself because learning inspires meaning, and meaning in turn can lead to confidence and the ability to make wise life decisions. I teach because I want my students to gain the benefits of opened eyes. Moreover, schooling empowers human beings to change the world. Fredrick Douglas, having personally experienced the eye-opening effect of learning, expands on the topic of its power: With education, [Man] is the commander of armies; the builder of cities; the tamer of wild beasts; the navigator of unknown seas; the discoverer of unknown islands, capes and continents, and the founder of great empires, and capable of limitless civilization Without education, he lives within the narrow, dark and grimy walls of ignorance. He sees, but does not perceive. He hears, but does not understand. (Douglas, 1894). Education is the key that unlocks a range of senses, experiences, visions, dreams, and aspirations in the human soul. Without it we simply would not know ourselves, our world, or each other. For Douglas, illiteracy is akin to Platos Cave, where inmates sit in miserable ignorance of their chains, surviving off the shadows they perceive as truth, and unaware of the bright light available just beyond their current situation. Education means emerging from ones small world of everyday living, leaving behind self-obsession, and finding worlds beyond. It is through learning that we discover the limits of the universe, that we watch life grow from a seed, and that we find that we are inherently equala lesson that Fredrick Douglas knew well. Living with opened eyes, we can live more wisely and more fully. The Child, the Learner Children are beautiful, sacred packets of possibilities. Each one has a future, a purpose, and a long journey ahead of him or her. Each one is also a potent moral agent, soon to become an adult in a world of action. As such, children are like clay: every experience has a profound impact upon them physically, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and academically. A wonderful teacher early on can encourage a child to love school and succeed, while a single bully

can break a childs hope and self-concept leading to a lifetime of failed attempts. As a teacher, I hold an enormous responsibility to treat my students as they should be treated, to give them correct and helpful information, and to maintain high standards. Daily, I must assist the children assigned me to grasp a little more knowledge and learn a little better how to live virtuously. Emerging adolescentsthose who will populate my classroomespecially require care fitting their unique stage in life. Cognitively, as they prepare to transition from Piagets concrete operational to formal operations stage, they require help in thinking abstractly about concrete topics. Emotionally, they need a safe environment where they know they are accepted no matter who they are, and where grace is extended when it is needed. Socially, they desire to have positive interactions and relationships facilitated by intentional situations created by the teacher. Physically, they need a chance to stand up, move their growing bodies, and learn about ways to stay healthy. All these things I integrate into the daily happenings of the classroom because I know that without addressing my students actual situation, I cannot expect them to learn. Curriculum and Content In the classroom, then, we are negotiators of meaning, constantly trying to pry into the heart of things. Perhaps most important to that pursuit is the relevance of the content and curriculum. By using parents participation, local resources, modern technology, real items, current issues, and student choice, I will tailor the curriculum to help students better understand their relationship to the material. A reflective journal will help students process new ideas and keep track of their progress, and a variety of small group tasks and partner discussions will help students continue to negotiate meaning. Indeed, because I teach in order to help students better understand their world, the classroom is naturally inclusive to students from all backgrounds and cultures. Difference is valued as an asset and encouraged to thrive. Each subject has an important role in helping students gain perspective. History tells the tale of how we have come to where we are, and what mistakes weve made before. Literature delves into the human experience, helping even children learn to empathize, comprehend good and evil, and gain experience outside themselves. Mathematics sees the universe through an utterly logical lens, cutting through perceived chaos, displaying order and predictability and also gaining critical skills which students will use every day. Science, too, lends essential understanding of the natural phenomenon which ever surround us. In elementary school, even more than in the upper grades, children desire to know themselves and their world with an insatiable curiosity that must be carefully tended to by the teacher. Because the point of school is not to differentiate students or to learn how to fight ones way to success, competition is not a part of my classroom, except in games. To me, all my students are equalfrom the child living in tenements to the child living in a mansion. Both deserve to gain the critical thinking to understand his or her situation and to make the best of it. Differences in background help our class better understand our world, and so we practice perspective-taking and empathy. A good teacher meets every student exactly where he or she is at, and brings them as far as they are willing to go. Application of Education Knowledge is a powerful, wonderful, and terrible thing. Indeed, with it, humanity may be capable of limitless civilization, as Frederick Douglas had said, but we may use our knowledge just as easily for limitless harm. For this reason, I believe that character education is quintessential to schooling. My goal is not only to make my students aware and understanding of the world, but also to endow them with a moral compass and habit of character to help them also become good. I believe that knowledge which comes from opened eyes does not instill pride, like a know-it-all professor. Instead, there is great humility to knowing ones true place in the universe. The learner is Platos Cave does not remain in the bright overworld he finds, but returns to the Cave to tell his fellow prisoners the way of escaping their bondage of ignorance. A well-rounded education is not about advancing oneself, but about improving life for all people.

Character education is therefore an indispensable part of my classroom management and my learning goals for my students. Just as a teacher cannot expect students to know how to write a perfect essay on the first day of class, so a teacher cannot expect students to know how to have good character. In my classroom, we will talk a lot about integrity: doing the right thing even when no one is looking. It encompasses respect, honesty, and responsibility. Also, we will discuss loving-kindness: that is, going out of ones way to do something good for someone else. Kids need to form the habit when they are young to tell the truth, to act with kindness and grace, to take responsibility, and to be polite. Especially because students come from a variety of backgrounds, where values and procedures are different than at school, it is important to explicitly teach kids what is expected of them and help them to practice it as well. Conclusion Know thyself, the ancients tell us. No one can understand anything else until he or she understands himself. Like emerging from a prison, knowledge sets us free from our small predicaments, giving us higher and wider life possibilities. Through our schooling experiences, we should understand who we are, how the world works, and be motivated to live in such a way as to make it better for ourselves and our communities. My classroom, therefore, is always child-centered, employing relevance, rigor, relationships, and character education. We accept all individuals as they are, and together we strive to become better peoplemyself included. Although the toil may sometimes seem hard and long, humanitys endeavor of schooling our children is well worth-while. I find myself enormously blessed to take a part in this monumental effort.

References: Douglas, F. (1894, September). Blessings of Liberty and Education. Speech presented at the dedication of the Manassas Industrial School, Manassas, VA.