I believe that the purpose of education is to develop the minds of young children.  I feel that education is not just about learning from a book, but learning from your teachers on how to be a well rounded students and be successful in life.  I also believe that certain content should be taught in a certain order and that there are different roles and responsibilities of the students and the teachers.

    Everyone have a different aspect on what should be taught in the classroom.  Each step should be mastered before moving on to the next, you need to learn “A” and “B” before you can learn “C”.  I feel that the teacher should teach outside the course material, not a different subject, but about the real world.  Students will never use certain skills that they learn in class.  If a student were planning on going into the business world he or she would not need to know the chemicals on the periodic table, but they would need good communication skills as well as how to be responsible with their new job.  It is this knowledge that will help the students be successful in life.  I do know however, that there is a set of criteria that is to be taught in the classroom, so I will make sure that I cover that material first and then toss in the extra life skills.

    When teaching this material that is required of me I will do it in a few was.  To start with I want to say that PowerPoint will seldom be used, to me that is just showing you are too lazy to write on the board.  First I will have the students read the lesson in the book before class.  Knowing that for the first few weeks they will not read I will give them pop quizzes (not hard ones) that will also teach them about consequences in life.  When the students come to class after reading the assign section we will have an open discussion about the lesson.  I do not believe in just standing up in front of the class and talking until I fall a sleep.  The best way to learn something is by talking about it and teaching it, or helping another student out.  Anything can be memorized, but when you talk about it and teach it means you actually know it.  Along with the discussion, whether during or after, there will be hands on learning.  I consider hands on learning to be the most beneficial way to learn in the science classroom.  Science has a lot of different topics that are hard to imagine being possible.  We will make models of the things that we learn, whether it is a cell, an atom or even an organ system.  However taught it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure the students learn and develop the skills discussed in class.

    I believe that it is the teachers responsibility to help the students figure out who they are and their purpose in life.  I will befriend each and every one of my students.  A student will get a lot more out of class when they know that you as the teacher want to be there. My role as a teacher is to teach the students about the subject at hand and about the real skills needed in life.  I want to be a role model for the students and want them to know that they can come to me for help if they need it. 

Just as the teacher has roles and responsibilities the student has them as well.  It is the students’ responsibility to take in the subject matter and use it with the knowledge they already have.  The student should complete all assignments and turn them in on time.  It is also their responsibility to be organized and be on time for class.

I do not identify myself with just one Educational Philosophy.  I consider myself to lean towards the progressivist and essentialist point of view.    I feel that they need to know the basics before they can move on, and I also feel that I, as the teacher, need to prepare the students for life.

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