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My personal philosophy of education is to develop life-long learners with reflective skills In discussing my personal philosophy of education; I will elaborate on the alma of education, address the role of the teacher and the learner and explain the method of classroom practices. Justification of my personal philosophy will be provided with references to four theorists- Mathew Oilman, Paulo Fire, John Dewey, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It will also be demonstrated that my personal philosophy is in contrast to B.
F. Skinner and A. S. Neil. Aim of Education The aim of education is to develop individuals with critical thinking skills pacifically in reflective thinkers. According to Oilman (in Johnson & Reed, 2008), education is to create individuals with critical thinking skills with the use of community of inquiry in classroom. Teachers should encourage children to ask questions Instead of feeding them with pre-packaged Information. For example, children work In group to solve mathematical problems.
Children will be able to express Ideas and listen to other ideas where reflection takes part while listening to others. According to Fire pedagogy (In Lewis, 2009), he believed that learning should be a two-way process which Includes communication between teachers and dents. The other aim of education is to develop individuals to become life-long learners. Learning should be a continuous habit throughout an individual’s life. It is vital for children to learn to engage, gain interest in learning and enjoy the process of learning since young in order to become a life-long learner.
For instance, children who enjoyed solving mathematical problems will continue to acquire knowledge and looking for more complex mathematical problems to be solve throughout their life. Thus, learning should be appropriate according to the children’s stage of development and also based on individual needs. Rousseau (In Lewis, 2009) stated that education should parallel the natural five stages of development of a child which are infancy: age of nature: pre;adolescence; puberty and adult.
Learning will only take part when children are ready to learn. This is because children at different stages of development have different cognitive and literacy abilities that will diverse learning needs. Children in early years tend to have short attentiveness that causes them to lose interest very easily if the learning makes no meaning to them. Therefore, learning has to be appropriate based on stages of development of a child to engage, lid interest in learning and enjoy the learning process in order to become a life- long learner.
Other than above, the alma of education Is also to develop a peaceful and social harmony society which everyone are treated equally regardless of race or gender. Confucius (In Lewis, 2009) had focus on social harmony where each and every individual has to know their duties, place, responsibilities and also the proper way to perform tenet outlets In ten social order. He also TN Ks Tanat sell snouts not come before society. His basic human right is what you do not wish for yourself, you do not vive it to others.
Children have to learn how to build different relationships between self and others to gain understanding in the moral order that will contribute in creating a harmonious society. Children will learn to respect each other through learning about Confucius education for harmony which includes humanity, moral order and filial piety. Therefore, children should apply knowledge that they have learned to increase consciousness of the reality of life and create a social harmony society. Role of Teacher A teacher should be kind, loving, patient and observant.
These qualities are important to create a comfortable or child friendly environment in order for children to engage in learning. Maria Interiors (in Gutted, 2001) had stress on the stage one: period of absorbent mind of children age O to 6 that they are particularly sensitive in learning from environment. Hence, it is essential for the teacher to create an environment that are rich in materials, resources and activities for children to build their seniority, intellectual and moral development. Children will be able to use various materials to express what they have learned.
For instance, by providing arioso kinds of drawing materials, easy access to resources and real life objects will encourage children in their early years to present what they have learned through drawings. However, I do not agree with Skinner (in Common & Craver, 2008) that had emphasized on manipulating the environment whereby carefully create an external environment to shape a good person by controlling behavior. According to Rousseau, children are born good and we as teachers should help them to develop their inborn capacities through exploring instead of conditioning an external environment to prevent them from growing naturally.
They will need to use their inborn abilities to adapt themselves into this fast-changing world. Next, a teacher should be the facilitator of children’s learning. Dewey (in Johnson & Reed, 2008) suggested that teacher should plan learning experiences according to children’s previous knowledge. This is important as it allows children to make connections between the old and new knowledge to gain deeper understanding. This also encourages children to build interest in continuous learning as they are able to make meaning of their learning. Thus, they will slowly develop to become life-long learners.
This was supported by Firer’s pedagogy ((in Lewis, 2009) which emphasized on praxis; the link between theory and practice. Children will be able to apply learning experiences to real life situations whereby they will also develop critical thinking skills, and act accordingly to situations. Children can also confirm a theory while reflecting over their actions. Therefore, there must be a true communication between teachers and students that allows them for critical thinking and to become a reflective thinker. Moreover, teacher should be a leader in the learning environment.
Teachers need to treat can Ana every student equally. As Trot Dewey (In Johnson & is vital for teacher to practice democratic culture in classroom. Everyone should have the freedom to voice their opinion. Teachers and students are to share the same moral standards and expectations so that everyone will respect each other. For example, teachers and students discuss to set some rules in the classroom and everyone is willing to obey. Besides that, a democratic culture also allows teachers and students to make mistakes so that both can learn from each other mistakes.
This helps to create a harmony society and develop one’s moral character when teachers ND students are willing to apologize and admit to their mistakes. According to Group (in Lewis, 2009), classroom should be a place for social engagement of children which allows them to develop language skills by communicating with others. Thus, children learn to respect others as an individual and also learn to develop thinking skills while communicating with others. Method of Education Methods of education should be varied according to different children’s needs.
This is because every child comes from different background and every child learns differently. According to Maria Interiors (in Gutted, 2001) children need to be expected; therefore, teachers need to provide suitable learning experiences and learning environment accordingly. For example, teacher can provide drawing materials for the quiet and inactive children to express themselves so that teacher can understand them better and be able to create lessons that are suitable. Moreover, children should be given the freedom to choose which role they would like to perform in a role play.
They will develop thinking skills as they are part of the decision maker. This will also create life-long learners who are engaged into continuous learning as they are interested in what they are doing. Conversely, I do not agree with A. S Neil who started the Summertime School that does not meet with parents and keep track on children’s achievement. Teachers will not be able to plan suitable lessons for the students as they do not know the children’s needs and also too much freedom was given to the students.
Lastly, teacher as a leader in the learning environment have to encourage a community of inquiry in classroom. According to Oilman (in Johnson & Reed, 2008), children learn better in collaborative thinking. Students are more engage when they explore problems in a group as everyone will give ideas according to their previous knowledge and experiences. They might experience argument or intolerance during the discussion, but they will learn to reflect and improve themselves by accepting others’ point of views and this is where reflection takes part.
Thus, while working together to find solutions, they will develop the moral character where they respect each other ideas and help develop harmony in society. Conclusion As a conclusion, my aims of education are to develop reflective thinkers; life-long learners Ana Monolinguals Walt moral connecter Tanat Nell create a social maroon society. Teachers to create positive environment and be a facilitator of children’s learning as well as to treat every child equally.