Whitney Wilder

LBS 203-01

Professor Lakowski

April 13, 2015

 Education is an important aspect of our lives. It helps shape the world that we live in as

well as who we become as a person. Education was created initially to help the U.S to be on a

level playing field with other countries. “Thomas Jefferson argued that democracy required

citizens to deliberate publicly and to use their reason to decide among competing ideas for

guiding the nation (as cited by Oakes & Lipton, 2003, p.88). The purpose of education is to

effectively educate students and prepare them for the real world.

The purpose of education is to create opportunities for children to learn and to educate

them. “Mann argued compellingly that all Americans should be educated in “common” schools

that would complement what families taught their children at home (as cited by Oakes & Lipton,

2003, p.88). Education was created to help reinforce what children are being taught at home as

well as to add to what they already know. When I was in the 5th grade our math books included a

section where we would learn how to properly fill out checks and create a budget. Learning

about budgeting at a young age helped me to realize the importance of being exposed to real life

situations. This lesson was something that stuck with me into my adult life and helped me in my

everyday life. Education is supposed to have an everlasting affect on children while impacting

them positively for the rest of their lives. Ultimately the purpose of education is to shape children

to be better people and to teach them how the real world works.

The environment in which students learn should be a welcoming environment. It should

be a place that promotes and encourages free thinking and a willingness to learn. Stripling (2009)

mentions the idea of inquiry and defines it as “a process that is driven by questioning; thoughtful

investigation, making sense of information and developing new understandings” (p. 123). This

will help them to be interested in learning because they are learning about something that

interests them. As teachers we are required to create an environment that allows students to self
teach and learn. I feel that creating an environment where students feel comfortable to express

their ides openly without judgment is the best learning environment. It allows students to

actually learn instead of passively receiving information. This creates an open forum for students

to bounce their ideas off each other as well as creating peer teaching opportunities. Students will

begin to rely less on the teacher for confirmation because there is no right or wrong answer. It is

important for teachers to create a learning environment that children feel comfortable and are

able to learn.

Since the beginning of the start of public education, there has been a constant struggle to

create equal education opportunities. Cases like Plessey v. Ferguson tried their best to keep

schools separate but equal. That was later counter acted by Brown v. The Board of Education

which stated that all schools must be equal. After this law was passed, schools were still not

equal and non whites suffered because of this. It is important that education for all people is

looked at through a microscope to ensure that everyone is getting a good and equal education. As

a teacher it is imperative to address the issue of diversity because everyone comes from different

backgrounds which shape the way that we learn. “When teachers develop a “sociocultural

consciousness” they understand that individual worldviews are not universal but are greatly

influenced by life experiences, gender, race, ethnicity and social class background (as cited by

Darling- Hammond & Bransford, 2005, p. 85). I feel that if I am socially aware it will help me to

better relate with my students and it will give me an insight on how to incorporate the different

cultural, experiences, and social backgrounds. Once all of this is taken into consideration, I will

then be able to ensure that all my students receive equal access to learning.

I believe that it is essential to be an expert on what you are teaching. A teacher’s job is

not to just teach but also to be observers, inquirers, and scientists. This means that we should
never stop learning, observing, or stop challenging things that could be different. I think that it is

very important to be inquisitive because it helps you gain knowledge about things that you don’t

know as well as more knowledge about the thing that you do know. The main purpose of the

inquiry approach is to “enhance the understanding of content and acquisition of life-long

learning skills (Stripling, 2009, p.123). I feel like the more you know the better you will teach

because you will be able to provide your students with information that may not know or ever

find out from any other teacher. By showing that you are knowledgeable, will then encourage

your students to be more knowledgeable and more inquisitive which could help them later on in

life. I feel the need to use the inquiry approach when teaching because it creates an open forum

for learning. Incorporating the inquiry approach into a class setting requires students to propose

questions that require them to critically think. Then they should be able to come up with their

own ideas based on their investigations.

Teachers play a very vital role in education. Without teachers it is impossible for the

education system to thrive. Teaching is not a profession that can be looked at as just a job. It is

imperative that “teachers must be aware of the many ways in which students learning can unfold

in the context of development, learning differences, languages, and cultural influences, and

individual temperaments, interests, and approaches to learning (Darling- Hammond & Bransford,

2005, p. 67). When you become a teacher, you are required to do many jobs aside from teaching

such as being a counselor, observer, and sometimes maybe even a friend. Because you have

more than one job as a teacher, I feel that it is important to get to know your students. You never

know what a child may be going through once they leave your classroom, so it is important that

you pay close attention to them. So that if they need help one day you will understand why and

have the tools you need to help them. An effective teacher is a person who recognizes that their
job is not to just teach but positively affect their students and to equip them with the tools they

need to take on the world.

 References

Bransford, J., Darling-Hammond, L., and LePage, P. (2005). Introduction. ln L. Darling-

Hammond, L., & J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What

Teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Oakes, J., & Lipton, M. (2003). Teaching to change the world (3rd ed.). New York, Ny:

McGraw-Hill

Stripling, B. (2008). Inquiry: Inquiring minds what to know. School Media Activities, 25(1).