Casey Haggerty

EDU 218
24 November 2014
Philosophy of Education
Dr. Maria Montessori is quoted as saying Education is a natural process carried out by
the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment. I
truly believe that students learn best from the experience that are put into their lives. I also
believe that it is our jobs as educators to facilitate an environment that allows our students these
opportunities. Children are thirsting for knowledge of the world around them. I feel that the
way to achieve this in the classroom is to show and explain how information is relative to the
students. In the classroom, I am not only the teacher, but also the facilitator, coach and
encourager. My beliefs are in line with the Progressivism Philosophy, which is one of the five
prominent teaching philosophies. The Progressivism Philosophy is a student-centered
philosophy of education. The curriculum is centered on the interests of the students. As an
educator, the education I am providing should not solely prepare my students for the future but
for the rest of their lives as well. The education in the classroom should be active, cooperative,
constructive and full of engagement. Each student must be an active participant in the classroom
to train themselves to be active participants in society. My wish for my students is that they will
seek ways to expand their knowledge. Each student has a gift and a talent that they should share
with the world. I feel that students of every age have practical life lessons and skills that need to
be addressed in addition to the core academic curriculum. Schools which exemplifies this idea
are the Montessori schools and magnet school. The Montessori Method allows students to work
at their own pace and independently according to their interests. A magnet schools is also good

example of the progressivism philosophy. A discipline model that I feel accompanies the vision
for my classroom is the Positive Discipline. This discipline puts emphasis on student selfcontrol and a classroom environment that challenges its students to grow in and foster respect.
One of the creators of the discipline, Jane Nelson, says, One of the best ways of becoming an
effective parentor, for that matter, an effective human beingis to understand the perceptions
of other people, to be able to get into their world. As a teacher, I hope to get into my
students world in order to know, respect and understand their needs to teach them more
effectively.