Running head: MY EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY REVISITED 1

My Personal Philosophy of Education Revisited

Aaminah Durham

Wesleyan College

Author Note

This paper was prepared for Portfolio II, to be reviewed by the Wesleyan College

Education Department
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Abstract

Philosophies are ever changing. They are shaped by experiences, research, people, and

other methods in which we gain information. It is through these methods that my own

philosophy of education has evolved. When I first outlined my philosophy, I pulled on the

theories of perennialism and progressivism. Much of my philosophy and thinking was teacher

centered. Although I wanted to produce independent learners, I thought of the classroom as a

place in which students came to listen to the teacher to learn concepts and skills. The teacher was

the main source of knowledge and instruction. However, after observing and teaching in the

field, being an instructor of various age groups, and learning from the education classes I have

taken, my educational philosophy is one that is more student-centered with elements of teacher-

centeredness. The focus of my philosophy is the theory of creating and developing independent

learners in which classroom lessons are highly interactive and create citizens of society that bring

about change.

Social Reconstructionism

When I first created my educational philosophy, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher that

inspired students to graduate with the purpose of improving their communities. I wanted my

classroom environment to reflect this as well. Social reconstructionism focuses more on this than

progressivism. In a world where students face many social issues first hand such as racism,

poverty, and violence, it is of vital importance that students see that education is directly

beneficial to their lives. They need to see how what they learn in school can apply to the issues

they face outside of school and how they can use what they learn to help their communities. This

is an idea taken from the philosophy of social reconstructionism. According to Matthew Lynch

(2016), “social reconstructionism is an educational philosophy that views schools as tools to

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solve social problems…Rather than a philosophy of education, reconstructionism may be

referred to as more of a remedy for society that seeks to build a more objective social order.” In

the reconstructionist classroom, teachers guide students to understand the consequences of their

and other’s decisions. Teachers often see certain moral topics as too mature for students to

handle but if presented and guided in the right way, I feel confident that students can come up

with long term-solutions.

Social reconstructionism is also a tool to drive student engagement. Lynch gives an

example of this through the 2007 movie Freedom Writers. “In the movie the teacher was

determined to get the students interested by requiring them to write. Students were allowed to

write about anything they wanted and were free to express themselves in their journals however

they pleased. The journal writing not only taught basic writing skills; in some individual

instances, it helped to bring students out of a life of crime.” Integrating student’s real life

experiences with the curriculum opens the door for engagement as they see directly how

education can benefit them and often provide a doorway out of the negative issues they face.

Characteristics of an Independent Learner

As society has changed, the needs of education have changed with it. Barbara Nanney

(2004) compares a 20th century world with today’s world. “The factories and mass production

lines of the early 20th century needed workers with only basic skills. The needs of industry have

changed to a different type of worker, one who is a continuous learner, a problem-solver, self-

directed thus requiring little supervision” (p. 1). Developing this citizen begins in the classroom

with key characteristics being strengthened.

One of these characteristics is group learning. In real life, most of us don’t solve all of

problems on our own. We interact with our peers in work and social settings that require us to
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work cohesively to meet goals. Nanney states, “Cooperative groups do provide exploration of

open-ended problems requiring critical and often creative thinking. Groups also provide the

opportunity for teamwork and social interaction” (p. 2). This actually brings out better solutions

and stimulates creativity. According to Kimberly Overby (2011), “When working with their

peers, there is more pressure to higher levels of thinking and learning to compete and do the best

they can in their group” (p. 2-3).

As educators we are often afraid of pairing or grouping students because of how they

interact with one another. However, I believe this to be apart of the learning process. As I

worked as an instructor at Kids’ College over the summer many of the students when placed in

groups began to argue to the point where their work was inhibited. They could not agree on the

structure of their toothpick bridge and so the bridge was not built. This did not mean that they

didn’t learn anything. They learned that as a result of them not working cohesively, they did not

meet their goal. When working on future projects, they were more aware of their communication

with each other.

Another key trait in building the independent learner is to give students choices. Teachers

provide students with a framework of learning but it must not be a rigid one in which students

can only follow one path of learning. In their everyday lives, they are faced with choices on a

daily basis. This is beneficial because they can see firsthand a result of their actions. The same

should hold true in the classroom. Christopher Mullings (2015) points out that when students

make their own choices they are taking ownership of their learning and it makes students feel

empowered and in control of their own learning. These choices can be as simple as allowing

students to decide what the topic of a research assignment will be about. These choices build
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student confidence and also take pressure off of the teacher as students, not the teacher, are

responsible for the choices of their actions.

Perhaps the most important characteristic is that of teacher modeling. In an article by

Warren Haston (2007) about teaching music, he says that “Human beings learn naturally by

imitating models and relying on implicit knowledge, shaping the result until it matches that of

the model.” Therefore if we want students to achieve a goal and meet expectations, we must

model the meeting of those goals and expectations oursleves. Students learn by example whether

that example is good or bad. We as educators must actively make sure we represent the good.

The teacher’s attitude about learning will reflect in the students. If the teacher models passion

and enthusiasm, this becomes infectious to students.

Teacher modeling is also beneficial in the area of academics. As Haston states,

“Whenever a teacher demonstrates a concept for a student, that teacher is modeling. A math

teacher models each time he or she works through a problem on the board. A science teacher

may demonstrate a portion of a lab experiment. People learn naturally by imitating models.” In

my classroom, I want to avoid getting into the habit of telling or explaining and more into the

habit of modeling and demonstrating. I believe that the demonstration of concepts and skills

should happen before or simultaneously with teaching the theory behind that concept or skill. In

this way students will more readily apply what has been modeled and taught.

Management of Student-Centered Classroom

The student-centered classroom can often be noisy and chaotic as students are highly

interactive with the teacher and each other. This may turn most teachers off to the idea of a

student-centered classroom but it is something I am willing to deal with if students are

conversating and busy with the work that has been assigned. The teacher can also facilitate
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discussion and provide structures and methods that allow them to express themselves clearly and

with respect.

Giving students choices also reflects in management. Students are held accountable for

the wrong choices they make. I will be using techniques of Love and Logic in my classroom that

reflect this such as the Recovery process, guiding students to take initiative and solve their own

problems and using choices so that students do not feel that there is a power struggle. These are

skills that can be used in and out of the classroom so while I am disciplining students, I am also

building their character.

Conclusion

“Spoon feeding, in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.~~ E.M.

Forster” (Suzanne DeLong, 2009, p.1). To me this quote says that in education, we want to

impart knowledge to our students, but we also want that that knowledge to be applicable and

beneficial. In order for this to happen, teachers have to start viewing themselves as facilitators of

learning. Yes we teach and explain concepts and skills, but we must also think about how we can

provide doorways or stepping stones for students to seek knowledge on their own. They will

have to learn and research long after they leave the brick and mortar school as learning is a

lifelong process. I want to be an agent of continuing this process and show students that they can

have fun doing so.

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References

Lynch, M., (2016, November 03), Philosophies of Education: 3 Types of Student-

Centered Philosophies. [online] http://www.theedadvocate.org/philosophies-education-3-types-

student-centered-philosophies/

Nanney, B., (2004), Student-Centered Learning, [online],

http://www.gsu.edu/~mstswh/courses/it7000/papers/student-.htm

Overby, K., (2011), "Student-Centered Learning,"ESSAI: Vol. 9, Article 32. [online]

http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol9/iss1/32

Mullings, C., (2015), Professional Learning Blog from IRIS Connect. [online]

http://blog.irisconnect.com/uk/9-tips-for-encouraging-students-to-become-independent-learners/

Haston, W., (2007), Teacher Modeling as an Effective Teaching Strategy. Music

Educators Journal, 93(4), 26-30.

DeLong S., (2009), Teaching methods to encourage independent learning and thinking.

[online] www.westpoint.edu/cfe/Literature/DeLongS_09.pdf