Courtney Wood
April 5, 2015
A Professional Philosophy for Teaching Family and Consumer Sciences Teaching is not merely about methods used and material presented in the classroom, but about shaping students’ lives to help them construct a firm foundation for a successful future. I desire to teach my students basic life skills as well as challenge them to set and reach their highest goals.
Thinking about teaching and learning
The purpose of education is to prepare students for their futures with both knowledge as well as fundamental life skills. I believe students are highly capable beings who have a desire to be productively challenged. To empower students to meet and exceed high expectations set forth by the state, school, or teacher, it is imperative that educators “teach for enduring understanding through partnerships and by drawing on brain-based education, students ' multiple intelligences, and culturally appropriate curriculum innovations” (Laster and Johnson). Beyond guaranteeing students can read, write, and perform basic math functions, we should be producing graduates who are responsible individuals positively contributing to society, reliable workers, and devoted family members. Whether students receive a scholarship to attend college or go to work immediately following graduation, we must train them to conduct themselves with integrity, have an admirable work ethic, and solve challenging problems they may face throughout their lives.
In order to enable
Yet even with these realizations that delve into the deeper meaning of education, modern education is still calling for simple measurable outcomes and continues to be geared towards specific employment ideas. This model of education is blatantly inadequate though. Many students today will end up holding jobs not yet invented in fields not yet discovered, so the teaching of answers to today’s questions is utterly useless. Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” and this statement reigns true throughout time. To continue academic success, the education system needs to impart a mastery of one’s own mind that allows students to not only answer current questions but also to pose questions that will shape the future world.
There are several scholars in various institutions who are deeply concerned with how education is being delivered in American institutions. As a matter of fact, they consider that the American system of education is broken -even dead. In particular, Tony Wagner last January 2015 released a documentary titled Most Likely to Succeed, in which he explores the question how to better prepare students for the 21 century. He radically asserts that the school’s role of transmitting academic knowledge is obsolete and that in today’s world skills, disposition and motivation matters more than knowledge (Wagner, 2015). Although this might be true, knowledge, skills, and embodied learning experience are not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, when knowledge is combined with a learning experience that is fully integrated, its power is profoundly transformative. On the other hand, Sir Ken Robinson in his speech at The RSA in How to Change Education describes the relevance of changing education from the ground up. He proposes going back to basics, not on the matter of subjects, but to redefining its purpose and revitalizing the connection between educators and students. I believe students are demanding a different approach to education, they feel something is missing and, alas, they are looking for it outside College’s campuses. Pew’s statistics state that students when asked to how do they prepare themselves for the labor force, half of all college graduates say gaining more
In my eleven years of public education, I have noticed certain patterns emerge in the classroom. Students are often judged by their standardized test scores, forced into classes or persuaded to follow career paths that they do not wish to pursue, or left bored by content that, for them, is insultingly easy. The purpose of education is to create an environment of mutual learning and growth that accepts and nurtures natural talents while providing opportunities for constant growth by offering content appropriate for each student.
Reaching my full potential and being all I can be is something that I take pride in. “Free the child 's potential, and you will transform him into the world.” Giving students the keys to success is something that schools should not only be required to do but also strive to do. Schools should not have the right to hold academically advanced kids back. All schools should be required to offer the same amount of advanced classes, such as honors classes, AP classes, or even foreign language classes. Every student should have the opportunity to take the classes that suit him or her academically and should have the right to take any class that will help prepare them for college.
“Our educational goal [is] the production of caring, competent, loving, lovable people” . The students found in the schools across the United State are the future of America. They are the doctors, teachers, business people, lawyers and many other roles, that will be out in the workforce in the years to come. What they learn in school will impact them immensely; it is the responsibility of a teacher to give students the best education in order to ensure the common good of the future. It is essential for students to not only learn content matter, but also the skills to enable them to participate in a democracy. Due to standardized testing, the emphasis of education has become on score and rankings rather than learning. A standardized test does not look at the whole student, the scores provided are on a very narrow aspect of education. In the classroom, there are countless ways for teachers to assess the student as a whole person not as just a score. Standardized tests scores should not be the sole criteria for determining a student’s academic achievement.
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”. Margaret Mead once said this, basically stating that an education should guide a child in what to do when they think, not what they should be thinking. The primary purpose of education is to provide and train students to obtain knowledge and skills that allow them to progress through life as a capable, contributing individual. Many think that education consists of elementary school, middle school, high school, and then finally, you’re completed finished once you graduate college. However, that is not true; we continue to learn for all of our lives and our education should prepare us for that. Ultimately, the purpose of an education is to prepare students effectively for the life they
Education is more than just reading and learning from books or taking test that tell what type of student you are. Being a educator is a vast career, it is not just about striking students with information. Teachers should connect with students more to improve classroom environments. Despite its work relief elements and large government programs,The U.S education system should be rebuilt on providing the same type of education for all Americans. American students shouldn’t have to spend large amounts of money just to receive a higher level of education, educators must change the way students are being misunderstood by changing their relationship with the students, and American students should not have to endure hardship like racism to obtain
Education is important for the future leaders. However, an education is more than achieving the “American dream” of receiving a high school diploma, bachelor degree, master degree, or doctorate degree. Moreover, education allows an individual to increase their knowledge of political issues, economic issues, and current issues. Furthermore, education gives someone the opportunity to acquire skills that will allow them to be constructive in society. America is ever changing; therefore, it requires one with the intellectual skills to understand the problems that occur. Identically, society requires a human being that has the capability to solve the problems and the capability to construct ideas in order to prevent problems in society. Uniquely,
education system is the lack of representation and attention to the multiple intelligences: logical-mathematical, visual, musical, verbal, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic. Traditional methods of teaching primarily cater to the logical and mathematical aspect of learning, while the other seven are completely ignored. This results in an atmosphere that more closely resembles an assembly line rather than a classroom where students are given necessary material in a lecture fashion, tested on their ability to memorize and repeat the information, and no emphasis in placed on creative learning or application outside of the classroom. Given the nature of schooling its actually understandable why America’s public schooling is seen as inferior to other developed countries, there is simply little desire to learn amongst the students due to the seemingly lack of importance and attention to the individual student. This problem can be addressed by placing more consideration into the needs, skills, and desires of each and every student, not by treating them as a single unit that functions on the same mentality. But such attention to detail could prove to be very time consuming, strenuous, and costly, so what must change in order for positive results to be seen? The mentality that lecture-based teaching styles are the only way to educate must be corrected and there needs to be an inclusion of other
Today, education is treated as a business opportunity for school corporations. They all want to make money and save money no matter the effect it has on the students. This can be very dangerous because it warps the purpose of education by not considering students’ needs. Although it may be difficult to transition to an education focused on the students, it is essential. Eliminating testing, hiring dedicated teachers, creating a more personalized learning environment, and offering career preparation would turn the focus of education back on to the student.
In order for students to gain the learning needed to be successful in the classroom, learning goals must be translated in a way that is clear and transferable. Students learn best when they know where they are going. McTighe (2010) explains “the most successful teaching begins with clarity about important learning outcomes and about the evidence that will show
Education seems to be the only pathway toward success in the United State of America and in order for anyone to succeed our policymaker must not fail our student. One of the
Everyone in this country is extremely unique and each person has individual goals and passions in their lives. The one thing each person has in common is growing up completing some level of education through public schooling, charter or private schooling, or home schooling. So, with something mandatory like education, educators in any schooling system can expect to encounter all types of students. If providing an education for students is supposed to prepare them for careers and post-secondary education while providing them with opportunities for experience, then educators should be committed to helping each student succeed in their unique way during their education. This means educators should be focused on meeting the individual needs of each student in order to help all students discover and learn while providing encouragement to find their passions. It is important that this is implemented by educators and administration in all subject areas of education.
Education is a student’s ticket to endless opportunities. Obtaining a higher level of education positively benefits students and helps them serve the people around them effectively. A person with a profuse amount of wealth and fame but no type of education may wake up one day to find it gone. However, someone with a degree or diploma can never have that education taken away from them. The traits of an educated mind includes sound judgement, a broad liberal-arts education, and the capacity to endure and persevere through life’s challenges. This educated mindset can be cultivated through classroom learning, but also through unconventional, less formal environments such as mentoring programs, internships, and uncustomary teaching practices in the classroom.
We live in a world where we are constantly being pushed by modern cultural influences to move forward and teach our next generation to think independently; but the approach we take is completely contradictory. Teachers are meant to guide children through their youth, and many professors are very successful with this when it comes to the subject they teach because it’s what they’re passionate about. But then there’s standardized tests that force educators to show students specific skills, that are sometimes irrelevant, only so they do well on the tests. The tests become a wall between inspiring growth and independent thinking, and memorizing information. There needs to be more attention on the subject of teaching when the news concentrates on terrorism. We need a solution. One that allows teachers to spread their passion for a subject without worrying that students aren’t getting everything they might need for a test, incorporates a way for school systems and the government to make sure that every student is on the right track and way to inspire creativity as we spiral towards memorization-based learning.