PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1

Philosophy of Education
Alexis Wach
Salt Lake Community College
6/12/19
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Philosophy of Education
A solid philosophy of education helps us understand our beliefs about teaching and creates a

guidelines for the kind of teacher we want to become. An important aspect about an educational

philosophy is that its ever changing and evolving, it can change when teachers experience and

learn new thing. It is also a great tool for personal and professional reflection, teachers have a

great level of autonomy and reflecting on their actions and beliefs can help them stay on track to

reach their goals.

My current philosophy of education includes aspects from a few of the major educational

philosophies. I strongly relate to a progressive educational philosophy, the goal is to help

students develop problem solving skills, decision making and other life skills. I consider myself

to be a very progressive person, I am always looking for ways to be more inclusive, keep

students engaged and provide examples that are relevant to them. I remember my years in

school, the classes in which we read classic literature I remember having a hard time relating to

the issues and can’t remember much of what we read and learned whereas the classes that

involved hands on activities or projects for us to create something, I remember feeling passionate

about the topic and proud of the work I put in. Students need more than basic education and

intellect, they need to develop physically, mentally, socially and emotionally and the classroom

is a great place to help concrete those skills. In an urban classroom the skills taught by

progressive education is crucial, using topics that students find interest in and creating a

environment of democracy shows that we really care about what they think and helps them so

stay engaged in learning. However there is some debate about progressivism caters too much to

student whims and forgets about important content (Kauchak & Eggan, 2017 p.160), that is why
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I think it can be very one sided to only pull from 1 philosophy and it is important to include other

philosophies as needed.

In my opinion some of the aspects of Essentialism are important for learners to be ready for the

“real world”. The goals of essentialism are to help students acquire the basic skills needed to

function in todays world, it also adds structure to the classroom environment, urban students can

really thrive with structure because it creates a predictable and safe environment when their

outside lives can sometimes be chaotic. Essentialism puts an emphasis on teaching basic skills

such as reading, writing and math and when used in moderation the classroom can still involve a

great deal of interactive learning for students.

A 3rd component of my philosophy of education includes teaching for social change,

students really are the future and it is important as educators to inspire them to make a positive

difference in society. Social issues can be included in student academics from the philosophy of

Social Reconstructionism, the goal is to teach students to contribute to the creation of a just

society. Social reconstructionism also allows students to learn through discussion, collaboration

and student projects, this can help students discover what they are passionate about, use problem

solving skills and work in a group. Another benefit of Social reconstructionism is that the

assessment process is less formal and involves observation and group feedback which can be

great for teachers to learn more about students beliefs and students can use reflection and self

evaluation, an essential skill they will need as they get older.

I know my Philosophy of education will change and grow over time as I spend more time

in the classroom. I am excited to use my philosophy to guide me in developing classroom

expectations, assignments, assessments and activities. To create a classroom environment most

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beneficial for students it is important to frequently re asses and evaluate my classroom

environment and philosophy.

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References

Kauchak,D & Eggan,P. (2017) Introduction to Teaching (6th ed.). Pearson.