Philosophy of Education

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My philosophy as an educator is to care for the holistic being of the child. I believe strongly in the biopsychosocial model, which looks at the interconnectedness between biology, psychology, and socio-environmental factors and their impact on various aspects of human life, including development. This model, though it has origins in medicine, has implications for learning and classroom management. As teachers, we take our job to guide our students to mastery of standards seriously. At the same time, we must remember that our students are more than just the opportunity to build neural networks. Rather, they are living, breathing humans with physical, emotional, and relational needs. Observing social interactions and biological processes in a student in addition to assessing their learning will allow an educator to paint a more complete individual student profile.

 If I had to categorize or label my educational philosophy, I would term it “essential-progressivism.” I feel I fall somewhere in the middle of these two in terms of the “what, why, and how” of teaching as well as student and teacher roles. I believe that mastery of basic skills is foundational to a student’s ability to receive a quality education and live a productive life. However, I think students will need to be pushed beyond this foundation. I think it is crucial to emphasize building critical thinking and conceptualization skills, which will enhance their ability to function effectively and contribute positively to society. This means, at times I am a direct instructor while other times I am the facilitator. The teaching method for building basic skills should be a mix of direct instruction, memorization, and practice. Discussion and engagement in answering meaningful questions will be valuable methods for building critical thinking skills.

As students move towards higher-order thinking, my own philosophy shifts a little more soundly into progressivism. This philosophy more fully embraces my feelings on student engagement and ownership of their learning. In this, my role becomes to engage my students through creativity in lesson planning and delivery methods. Also, allowing student choice, where it can be appropriately exercised, is a valuable tool I plan to leverage in building student engagement and interest in learning. I believe strongly that understanding Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development is key to helping students succeed. This means being careful not to allow students to remain too long in their comfort zone but to always look for ways to push them just beyond to achieve growth.

As a teacher, I believe my job is to hold a mirror up to my students that allows them to see the strengths they have inside of them. I believe wholeheartedly in an individual’s intrinsic worth and feel that teachers have a matchless opportunity to speak life into the children in our classrooms. I understand that I have a duty to provide strong instruction in the standards. I believe it is equally important to be sensitive to individual students and their needs. My aim is to teach with both compassion and rigor to create a safe and positive learning environment. I will aim high in my expectations of each and every student. Finally, I believe that being a successful teacher will require me to be growing and learning continually. To be the best for my students, I cannot become stagnant myself. The added benefit of my continual pursuit of knowledge is I can model for my students what it means to be a lifelong learner.