My philosophy of education is centered around four core beliefs. These beliefs form the foundation of who I am as a teacher. Please click on the underlined text in each section to view the connections to pedagogy.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
Education should be engaging and fun. This quote by Benjamin Franklin describes how important I think it is to truly engage students and involve them in the learning process. This may be achieved through doing experiential activities in lessons, exploring the outdoors, using a variety of media/technology, or having students design their own projects. Learning is fun, and how we teach in schools should foster a love for learning in our students.
“Let us in education dream of an aristocracy of achievement arising out of a democracy of opportunity” -Thomas Jefferson
Education is for everyone. I believe that all children, everywhere, deserve access to a good education, and the chance to exceed their potential. To me, this means that we cannot give equal resources to unequal students, we should value equitable distribution of resources. This principle also applies to my pedagogy, as I believe in a diverse classroom I must teach and assess in a variety of methods to accommodate all learners. I also must balance my time according to the need in my classroom, ensuring that I am giving all children access to a good education.
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” – Margaret Mead
Education should teach thinking. Although I recognize the value in the curriculum content we teach in schools, I believe that true education involves teaching children how to think critically and examine the world around them. To me, it is important for a child to have a deeper understanding about a math concept, rather than just a basic knowledge of how to carry out the process on a test. This belief has prompted me to focus on the type of questions I use in the classroom, the assessment I choose, and how I construct my lessons.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Education is about change. To me, this statement has several meanings: First, education itself is powerful, and has the ability to effect real change in our world. This ties in to my belief that all children deserve access to education. The second meaning is that we must change and adapt ourselves and our practices if we wish to effect change through education. Teachers should always continue reflecting and learning from their experiences, and continue to change throughout their professional careers. The children we teach are always changing, the schools, the cities, everything evolves, and it is essential for teachers to learn and adapt alongside. Lastly, true education cannot exist without change, for if we learn something, we must have changed in some small way from before we knew it. In this way, education is about change.