Running head: PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT ON EDUCATION

Philosophy Statement on Education Jessica Buonfrisco Molloy College

PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT ON EDUCATION Philosophy Statement on Education The most effective teachers allow their students to learn through play while having fun. The main goals of an educator should be to instill integrity, a love of learning, social interactions, and fun into the lives of their students. Teaching is not uniform; there are many different teaching styles that are equally effective. It is important to understand the different learning styles of each student and instead of ignoring students differences, embrace them while incorporating various educational practices to each student while maintaining equality in the classroom. A teacher should aid their students by helping them reach challenging but achievable goals that are unique and specific to each individual child. Instead of focusing on one or two styles of learning, Howard Gardner introduces multiple learning styles that can be incorporated into a lesson in order to efficiently teach a diverse classroom of learners. Howard Gardner came up with The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, this theory focuses on the strengths of each individual child. He goes into the different styles of intelligences; linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal and explains how every student can learn best through a different intelligence or a combination of two or more. This is so important for an educator to understand and implement Howards ideas into their teaching style and teach to the interests and strengths of each individual child. This way, students will develop a love for learning and will want to continue to increase their knowledge of the world around them. Similar to Howard Gardner, Ralph W Tyler believed that the focus of education should be on the child, not the teacher. His philosophy emphasizes the importance of students involvement in their own learning. Teachers must recognize this and gear their teaching styles around the learning styles of each individual student in their class. Ralph Tylers philosophy proves that teaching is not uniform, that each classroom and each child is different therefore;

PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT ON EDUCATION each educator must plan their lessons accordingly in order to effectively educate each individual child in their classroom. Every classroom should provide an environment that is developmentally appropriate, especially in early childhood classes. It is so imperative that teachers know where each student is developmentally, both as an individual and while working with a group. Knowing this allows an educator to provide classwork for every student that is appropriate for the students specific learning ability and will provide optimal development of that child. A teacher should set goals for each student that is reasonable and obtainable for that specific student. Having expectations for students encourages them to do their best and also motivates them to grow; likewise setting expectations too high or too low could discourage kids and make them feel they are not capable of growing. Learning should be interactive between the student and teacher; educators should make lessons fun and interesting by getting students involved in every subject. This philosophy of education focuses on three main objectives. First, teachers should recognize the learning styles and multiple intelligences of each of their students and plan their lessons accordingly. Second, every classroom should provide education that is developmentally appropriate for each child. Third, teachers should set expectations for students, to motivate them, that are both challenging and achievable. Educators should incorporate each of these objectives in the classroom while providing their students with a love of learning.