My Philosophy of Education

A teacher serves an important role in any students life. Research has shown

that teachers can have one of the biggest impacts in students lives and in their
development. Teachers hold one of the most important roles as they spend hours upon
hours of the day with their students. School is essentially a second home for children,
as they enter school between the ages of three and five and spend sometimes as much
as forty hours a week in the school setting. Teachers are the secondary parental figures
in childrens lives.
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I became a teacher because I love children and learning Torah. My personal

passion is Jewish History, as I feel that it is important to know ones Mesorah and past.
We only build on what our parents and grandparents built for us and therefore I feel it is
crucial to learn our history, on both a personal and nationalistic level. I therefore feel
education plays a crucial role in developing our children, our students, as religious Jews
and the future leaders of our Jewish communities.
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Education is present to help each person fulfill his or her complete potential.

Education is there to help each person make correct choices for him or herself, and
guidance in many areas must be provided to help achieve that goal. In religious day
schools, education is not only there to transmit knowledge from the past and present,
but to ensure that the future generations will transmit that knowledge as well. To do that,
many schools feel the need to provide adequate classes on religious philosophy, law,
and history, as well as have teachers who are role models in living the religious lifestyle.
These ideas are all-encompassing for not only religion and culture, but also for the
social setting. School administrators need to see that their students will be able to
move on in the future world and be able to deal with a possibly hostile society that may
reject their way of life. Students need to be able to go out in the modern world and live
their way of life, while attempting to deal with outside influences that may affect the way
the schools have tried to raise them.
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Curriculum should center on many different areas. Subjects that pertain to

religion should all be taught, with more focus on the practical matters. Students need
the necessary tools for the world outside the school, and therefore for the religious

school it is even more necessary to provide excellent religious education in ways that
make it practical and understandable to the students why they should be ambassadors
for the religion in the outside world. However, being that they will be in society in the
future, education should also have focus on secular subjects that are required to make
a living in the world. Things that are thought of as standard in secular society (like
reading books in English literature, knowing mathematics, sciences and history) should
also be taught, to show that these ambassadors are open individuals and are
knowledgeable in different subjects.
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The relationship between teacher and student is crucial. From the first day of

school (and if possible, even before that), the teacher must make every effort to make
his or her students feel comfortable walking into his or her classroom. Students should
not hesitate to approach their teachers with any issue or problem they may have,
especially because the time period from the start of elementary school through high
school is such a crucial growth and development period in so many ways. The teachers
need to be role models for their students in behavior and to guide them through life
issues. The teachers who fail to form such relationships can cause the year to be
somewhat, if not completely, wasted for many students.
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The relationship between teachers and students should be not only one of

learning in the classroom on religious heritage, culture, and subject-matter, but also on
a more personal level. Students should feel comfortable approaching their teachers to
help solve problems, and discuss thoughts and feelings they may have. Such
relationships with proper role models can help ensure that students live an emotionally
healthier lifestyle. Many students deal with many pressures during their schooling and
having proper role models that they feel close enough to discuss those pressures with
can have many positive short-term and long-term effects. This can be problematic for
many schools that dont have all the necessary staff who have the time to form such
close bonds with each of their students. Therefore, there could be a form of substitution
and help by younger advisors, role models who arent teachers, but possibly older
college students and volunteers who offer to help with younger students. These
advisors would need to also be good role models that fit into the mold of the schools
philosophy. They can potentially be even better role models than possibly many

teachers for certain students, showing that they have recently gone through the same
pressures and problems the students have, and were able to get through it. They also
show a young adult living a certain lifestyle in society, and are able to do it successfully.
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Meeting the needs of every child should be a critical matter addressed in every

classroom. Differentiated instruction has provided one way of doing this. Each child
comes from a different background, with individual learning needs, and one needs to
look at the overall situation of a child to know what is really going on with him or her. For
a child, his home, school and friendships are not separate entities, but is what makes up
his whole life. Every aspect should be looked at to find out what an issue may be if a
student seems to be having trouble.
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Communication between all parties is another point to highlight. Parents should

be kept in the know, especially when there are problems regarding their children. At
the same time, parents should be informed of progress, positive development and good
work done by their children. This allows for the parent-child relationship to flourish
through the avenue of school. Communication includes the communication between
teachers and students, where the students are not kept in the dark about the
information they must know, issues the teachers may bring up with parents, and any
other matters that will assist the student throughout his or her schooling. It is the role of
the student to succeed, and the only way one can do that is to have all the necessary
information to know how he or she can succeed. The relationship and communication
between teacher, parent and student should be a triangle, with all parties
communicating with each other on a consistent basis. This will assist the student to
reach his or her potential in all areas of life.
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One last piece I believe to be very important for any teacher is classroom

management. The students can only learn as effectively as the teacher can manage the
class. Classroom management needs to be prepared for in advance. Routines and
procedures of the classroom need to be consistent in order for the students to
understand the expectations. I believe students learn best in a structured and organized
environment. This does not define itself to mean that they need to be calm, sitting and
always listening to the teacher teach. Students will know what to expect, due to the

structure and consistency of the environment. At the same time, they should have an
enjoyable, exciting and fun learning experience.
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Education is a means of preparing students for the future. I described the way

education could aid a person in meeting his or her goals, and I continue to support that.
Teachers have the job and role to not only teach their students the subject matter, but
also to ensure they are prepared for the next stage they will encounter. Whether it is a
kindergartner going into first grade or a senior in high school about to start freshman
year of college, teachers must provide their students with the necessary tools to be able
to succeed in the next stage of life.