Running Head: EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY 1

Education Philosophy
Lindsay Nichole Lambert
EDUC101-FAJ-J3-201320
Dr. Julie Bilz
November 13, 2013









EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY 2
What is Education?
Education is the expansion of the mind and learning new things by exploration and
experience. Education is vital because it will help children excel for the rest of their lives. This
will kick-start a process called lifelong learning. According to the Department of Developmental
Services, lifelong learning is the lifelong, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge
for either personal or professional reasons.
There are two, very different, yet very important types of education; formal and informal.
Formal education is when students are taught through curriculum and standards. For instance, a
lesson that is planned out is considered to be formal education. On the opposite end of the
spectrum we have informal education. Informal education happens when a spontaneous act
occurs, or a student interest is sparked. Informal education takes place on the spot. For instance,
a fire truck drives past your classroom with sirens and lights on. A student may ask why they use
their lights, or why they use such loud sirens. You would answer the students questions, and
possibly go further in depth based on student interest.
A progressive educator believes that the purpose of education is the self-actualization of
the child. According to Dr. Bilz in The Teacher Development Series, they believe in the
experiential, developmentally appropriate curriculum based on the abilities, interests, and prior
experiences of the child, (Bilz, 2006). The reason that my personal perspective of education and
personal philosophy reflects this is due to the fact that children will be more interested in
learning things they are excited about. Children are the center of the curriculum, and the role of
the teacher would be to guide the children in their own discovery and exploration.
One of the theories that I most agree with is the Montessori Method. This is a learning
style that includes mixed age classrooms (most commonly two year olds to six year olds, and
EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY 3
then seven year olds to thirteen year olds). The purpose of mixed age groups is to gain a love for
learning, rather than becoming tired of it. Younger students observe their older peers working on
an activity that looks interesting, and they begin to work with the older peer. This enables the
older student to teach the younger, while the younger student becomes excited about the activity.
Students have the choice of activities (or jobs) within an agreed range of options (that are most
often based on student interest). The children are given an uninterrupted block of time to spend
working on the activity of their choice. The Montessori Method also goes by the Constructivist,
or discovery model, where students learn concepts by working with materials, rather than being
directly instructed. The classroom environment is also filled with specialized educational
materials developed by Montessori and the people who worked alongside her. These toys and
tools have purpose and enhance the mental and physical growth of each child who works with
them.
What is School?
The purpose of school is for children to become well-rounded, productive adults. Though
school, students will learn how to work with not only numbers, letters and words, they will also
learn how to communicate, explore, and handle different life situations. (Expand)
The physical space should be set up with stations. There will be a spot for nearly every
activity that will go on within the classroom. By setting up stations, children will have a sense of
structure and familiarity. The organization of the classroom should be clean and clutter-free. This
will create a less stressful environment, and objects will always have a designated place. The
room will be designed in different ways throughout the school year, which will also teach
students how to cope with change, to remember where things were previously and where they are
currently.
EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY 4
The non-physical space of the classroom should be peaceful and respectful. This will teach the
students how to respect one another, and how to respect themselves. A peaceful environment will
allow children to relax with minimal anxiety. This will also create a more meaningful
relationship between the teacher and student, creating a stronger bond between the student and
their education. Rules in the classroom will be: friendly hands and feet (if a friend notices that
someone needs a hug, that will be acceptable), move slowly, talk softly, clean up own messes, do
not harm physically or verbally. In addition, the bond between the teacher and the student should
be a strong and respectable relationship, and should be more than the teacher strictly teaching the
student. A child will get more out of the lesson if the teacher is able to make personal
connections between the childs life and what the child is learning. Children learn best when they
are given the tools to explore and grow personally and intellectually, and are more likely to
succeed.
The Subject Matter of Education:
English, mathematics, social studies, science and humanities should be taught in
elementary school. Students will learn about the language we speak, English. In addition, they
will learn about the alphabet, letter sounds, spelling and word families. This will enable students
to advance in reading and writing and enhance their language skills. Students will learn math,
which will include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (depending on grade level),
Students will also learn basic geometry with blocks. They will lean shapes, how things fit
together, how many sides each shape has, how they look relative to other shapes, etc. In addition,
children should have a generous amount of time to play and explore within different subjects.
According to naturalchild.org, children learn best when they are able to play or manipulate
objects. This gives them firsthand experiences on how things work. Sensory activities should
EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY 5
also be included in elementary curriculum, because they help alleviate stress while letting them
learn and explore by playing.
The Nature of Method:
Instructional strategies that I will include in my classroom will be a mixture of auditory,
kinesthetic, and visual. According to Daniel T. Willingham, from aft.org (American Federation
of Teachers), students who learn one way (auditory, kinesthetic, or visual) need all three when
being instructed.
Students who have special needs will have gone through extensive observation and
testing. This will enable students to be place with an individualized education plan (IEP).
Students who have disabilities will be treated as equal to all of their peers. After all, students
who are labeled as disabled are really only differently abled. School staff will have meetings
with parents and/or guardians to ensure they are kept up to date with their educational status.
During this time we will also discuss methods that are working great with their child, and
methods that may need altered.
The best way to assess a childs knowledge of material is through a variation of
assessment within the classroom that will depend on each individual project. Utilizing different
methods of assessment such as verbal assessment, written assessment, projects, etc. will allow
children to exercise their knowledge of the material in multiple ways.
School and Society:
The role that school plays in society is that it prepares the children for adulthood. After
all, the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. School prepares children by creating age
appropriate problems, and letting the child find appropriate solutions to solve issues.
EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY 6
It is extremely important to keep an open line of positive communication open between families,
colleagues, and the community. When educators and families are able to communicate about the
childs home life, things they struggle with, things they excel in, etc. The child will have an
overall better chance at succeeding. It is extremely vital that the educator makes an effort to
understand the family life of the child, and how each individual child is different than one
another.
In conclusion, I most agree with the Montessori education style. Children deserve to have
rights, and should be treated with the up most respect and dignity. Children will be learning
though discovery and exploration, and will have the authority to make decisions within the
classroom about what they would like to learn (within reasonable limits). I will instruct and aid
large groups, as well as work with students on an individual level. As a teacher, my goal is to
help children blossom into knowledgeable, social, life-long learners who will contribute to
society in a positive way. Children are each like snowflakes, individual and different in their own
special way. No two children are the same. As a teacher, my goal is to ignite the fire that is
lifelong learning in the hearts of children.

EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY 7
References:
Bilz, J.A. (2006) Teacher development series
Teacher training in curriculum and instruction manuscript
Department of Developmental Services (2013, June 26). DDS: Lifelong Learning. Retrieved
November 13, 2013, from http://www.ct.gov/dds/cwp/view.asp?a=4402&q=512444
Natural Child Project (2012). Basic Abilities and Play Preferences: Birth to Age 12 - The Natural
ChildProject. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from
http://www.naturalchild.org/research/ages_stages.html
Willingham, D. T. (2005). AFT - A Union of Professionals - Ask the Cognitive Scientist.
Retrieved November 11, 2013, from
http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/summer2005/willingham.cfm