Philosophy Statement 1

Running head: PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT OF EDUCATION

Philosophy Statement of Education
Lisa Chernoh
Educ 201: Foundations of Education
Philosophy Statement 2

Philosophy Statement of Education
Children are only children for a short length of time. After that time is over, they become
adults that are responsible for how this world progresses, advances, and develops. They in turn
become the instructors of the next generation of children who will become responsible for the
next generation, and so on, and so forth. How they learn the information they need to become
the best possible adults however, varies from individual to individual. The teacher is the key to
showing them how to discover their own individual method of learning and helping them to
cultivate it to achieve their highest potential.
Cognitive Constructivism is the philosophy that I find myself most in agreement with. This
philosophy states that The constructivist model, one of facilitating learning, views teachers as
facilitators whose main function is to help students become active participants in their learning
and make meaningful connections between prior knowledge, new knowledge and the processes
involved in learning. The role of students from this perspective is to construct their own
understandings and capabilities in carrying and challenging tasks (Copley). Another way to look
at it is that children, through teacher guidance, will take the information they already have and
reprocess it, adding new details and understanding, and thereby becoming able to analyze and
breakdown new challenges and solve them.
The part of this philosophy that I connect with the most is how the teacher acts as the
facilitator for the learning. Looking back over my own experiences in grade-school, I have
discovered that the most effective teaching was done by teachers and instructors that got you to
think. They encouraged my classmates and I to look beyond the answers we found and discover
the hows and whys behind them. This in turn aided us in discovering the methods that best
enabled us to learn. I fully believe that each child is an individual and has their own technique of
learning that is perfect for them. If they are directed at an early age how to best engage that
learning style, than it can be applied to every aspect in their life throughout their life, leaving
nothing un-learnable.
I also fully support a common standards or core in education. Without it, children from
different classes, schools, towns, etc. have no continuity in learning. For example, a child is in
school in northern Idaho. But for some reason, the parents of that child have to move and transfer
that child to a school in South-Central Idaho in the middle of the school year. Without a common
core set of standards, that child has a very great possibility of either being so far ahead of the new
class of students and becoming bored with the work, or being behind all the other students and
becoming overwhelmed . Either way it is an invitation for failure. This does not mean that I am
against having programs for those that have a tendency to excel, as they need to stay challenged,
just as those who find learning extremely difficult need to have special programs in place to help
them develop their individual style of learning so that they can also succeed. However, all of
these programs can operate under a common core of standards so that if transfer is necessary, the
child is not left behind.
Finally, I thoroughly believe in presenting all information to the children in a manner that
they can connect to the real world and build upon their understanding. Teaching them how to
question their own knowledge and look for deeper meanings and understandings helps them to
build a solid foundation of education. Without knowledge, or the pursuit of it, children cannot be
expected to become responsible adults of the next generation. An old saying says "Give a man a
fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Another
way to say it is Tell a child to read a book and they will be entertained for a moment. Show
Philosophy Statement 3

them the world behind the book, they will be engaged for a lifetime. These children are only
children for a short period of time and then the type of adults they become depend upon the
lessons they were shown.
Philosophy Statement 4

References
Chen, I. (1995, January 1). Copley. Copley. Retrieved June 18, 2014, from
http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/et-it/copley.htm