FREE ESSAY ON MY PHILOSOPHY ON EDUCATION

MY PHILOSOPHY ON EDUCATION

Education is inevitable. It is all around us because we can learn from virtually anything.
When you are cooking, dancing, talking or any other activity you have actually had to
learn several things to be able to do them. In the educational perspective, I am a
pragmatist and I tend to follow after Dewey's footsteps. The concept of Pragmatism is one
that developed in the 20th century. My philosophy is based on the idea that learning
should involve real-life situations. Learning becomes more concrete to a student when
they apply it to real-life situations, as where learning things that do not connect to
them has more of an abstract sense. Personally, I would have to agree with Dewey when he
said, "I believe that education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation
for future living." (Dewey 22) Education is a process of living. I want children to learn
to be able to think for themselves and be problem solvers that will be able to use these
skills in real life situations. My philosophy can be explained throughout the definition
of a pragmatist, how I would relate it into practice in the curriculum and
……
A Pragmatist is one of the four philosophies of education. In this situation, a teacher
would be considered a facilitator; one who guides the students into their curriculum. The
teacher in this philosophy must use all of their skills and introduce subjects to the
children in ways that are intriguing to the students. The reason being is because in a
Pragmatist model the curriculum is child-centered; it revolves around the child's
interest. Therefore, the teacher's role is to bring that child into a certain subject by
arousing their interest. The methodology a pragmatist teacher uses is hands-on. The
students need those hands-on activities to help them relate to the lesson. Hands-on
experiences are authentic experiences that the child will carry with them longer than a
lesson out of a book. Dewey sums it up for me in saying, "I believe that education which
does not occur through forms of life, or that are worth living for their own sake is
always a poor substitute for the genuine reality and tends to cramp and to deaden."
(Dewey 23) In my opinion, it is truly pointless to teach children without letting them
experiment and become a part of the lesson. 
My philosophy was quite encouraged by the underlying branches of philosophy that are
found in a Pragmatist. I strongly believe that we are here to educate the children, if we
are not attending to their needs then we are truly not teaching. Therefore, I bring up
the three branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology and axiology according to a
pragmatist point of view. The metaphysics believes that the truth is within the child,
the individual. The epistemology finds reality within the child's construction of
knowledge. The axiology finds value in the child becoming self-actualized; where the
child reaches the highest level that they can. It is clearly seen that Pragmatist view
goes side by side with my idea of education being all about the child.
In practice of this philosophy there are many ways in which it can be done. In my
classroom the subjects would be brought about in a unique way that would attract those
children. First of all, I see teaching as an art. You need to grab that paintbrush and
captivate an idea in a unique way that will intrigue the students' curious minds and use
their curiosity to bring them into that lesson. In other words, you have to be creative
with your lessons and the way you teach. There have been to many teachers throughout my
educational experience that sounded like tape recorders reading a lesson. Their attitudes
projected discontent and boredom in their cause. They lacked the creativity necessary to
capture students' minds. I strongly believe that when you're a teacher you have to enjoy
doing what you're doing because if you don't the students will have a negative attitude
as well. It is imperative that we get into what we are doing so we can guide are children
into those lessons that they might not have found interesting otherwise. One format will
not suffice for students because everyone has different ways of learning. I firmly
believe that everyone can learn, it's just a matter of the way we teach our students.
That is why I find it is so important that we learn to be creative and use all of our
skills to develop ways that students will be able to understand and process different
types of information. 
I believe that the hands-on technique of a Pragmatist is essential to the students
learning. Students need to be able to see what they are learning along with the teacher's
instruction. In my classroom I would do my best to include examples that back up what the
students are learning. As a student, I remember those teachers who used examples with
their lessons had great feedback from their students. I personally enjoyed them,
specifically in science because at times the language can make it difficult to imagine
such abstract concepts. Those teachers that brought those abstract concepts into examples
that I could visualize helped me to fully understand concepts that were very difficult
for me to picture on my own. In my classroom, all the subjects would definitely be
hands-on. In mathematics, I would build games illustrating math problems. My classroom
would be a daily store in which students would be able to buy items from the store. The
students would have the opportunity to earn the money through good behavior and reaching
their goals by being the best they could be. This would be a way of incorporating math
into a daily habit. In social studies, I would have maps that would quiz students by
putting different types of culture pictures in the area and having them guess what area
they were looking at. In science, students would be able to look at a 3-dimensional model
of the human anatomy and learn where the parts of the body are located. Even have the
students play a game of Simon-says that would connect that learning to their own bodies.
In language arts and reading, I would have my students make ice cream in different
flavors by reading the directions. Then I would have them write directions for something
they know how to make. These are only a few of the practices that I would incorporate in
my classroom. 
Group work is also essential in my classroom. In the case of the students, it helps them
develop socialization skills that will follow them throughout their life. Mann stated
this when he referred to the common school, "It is on this common platform, that a
general acquaintanceship should be formed between the children of the same
neighborhood.(Mann 32) I find group work to be beneficial to students because they can
find learning more stimulating when they are working with others and they can learn from
one another. Groups allow teachers to have different levels of students interact and work
together to make each other understand lessons and activities that are being done. I feel
that in this atmosphere it will encourage communication and foster questions that the
students might want answers to. Communication is actually very important, and I do not
support trying to eliminate it from the learning process. There are times when students
should not talk, but there are many times when it is a learning tool. That is what I
believe I would be there to do for the students, help them learn, and I cannot conduct my
classroom in a military style. Many and even all subjects can be taught in groups at one
time or another. Science investigations can be done in groups, where they are to come up
with a question and research and investigate it by doing hands-on on the computer,
outside or on fieldtrips. Group work also helps facilitate the hands-on projects and
activities because in groups the students tend to help each other with what they do not
know how to do.
I also feel that motivation helps students believe in themselves and excel in their
learning. Horace Mann points this out in The Republic and the School when he says;
"Knowledge cannot be poured into a child's mind, like fluid from one vessel into
another."(Mann 37) Children learn when they are motivated. Along with motivation there
are students who do not have a high self-esteem, and as a teacher it would be my goal to
help bring that self-esteem up. Encouraging words and praise to the students takes merely
seconds, but to the students it can go a long way. I can never forget those teachers who
always told me that I was doing a good job and to keep up the good work, it meant a lot
to me. It's also been a motivational tool that helped me want to do my best to show them
that I really was good and that I know I can do it. I am a student and I know that's how
students will feel. The satisfaction they get from hearing their teacher tell them they
did a great job cannot be expressed on paper. 
In conclusion, the philosophy that I follow revolves around the child. If we are to be
educators of children, we must cater to those children's interests and needs. The
Pragmatist philosophy is one that truly meets those ideas and philosophy of what
education should be and how we should go about it. Closing with Dewey who exemplifies the
Pragmatist view and the need to focus on the child's need, he says, "Moreover
subject-matter never can be got into the child from without. Learning is active. It
involves organic assimilation starting from within. Literally, we must take our stand
with the child and our departure from him. It is he and not the subject-matter which
determines both quality and quantity of learning." (Dewey 95)