Gianna Kim 1

Gianna Kim
EDU 201
March 1, 2016
Philosophy Paper

It has been fifteen minutes into the Vacation Bible School lesson and I have already failed
as a teacher for these kindergarteners. The children are climbing on top of their desks, they wont
listen no matter how loud I yell and I cannot resume order. Just as I am about to lose all hope, my
mother swoops in and gathers the childrens attention with her presence. Immediately, the
children straighten their desks, sit down and start answering the questions she has about the days
lessons. Instances like this feed my respect for my mother, a pastor for children in Kindergarten
to Second grade. I look to my mother as a role model and a large influence over my love of
children. She has given me numerous opportunities to teach and lead children but it is my time at
Wesleyan where I have questioned why I want to teach and how I would like to teach.
Before learning about how to teach and educational theories, I was influenced by my
experiences at school. The way that my teachers taught me during my time in public education
includes but is not limited to group work, homework, projects, and tests. My opinions on how to
teach develop from how I have been taught. Needless to say, my idea of how to teach has
changed a lot since I was seven and reading a book to my stuffed animals. Since learning about
educational theories, I have encountered behaviorism which would reward a childs good
behavior thus encouraging it to appear again. B. F. Skinner, an influential behaviorist, assumed
that the purpose of school was to increase good behavior and discourage bad behavior. While I
think that students inappropriate behavior should be addressed I do not like his approach of

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intervention strategies that revolve around a reward and punishment system. However, despite
my opposition for his approach, the foundation of what I believe about education stems from the
idea that students have the capacity and disposition to change (Zirpoli, 2008, p. 34). I have
witnessed children who at first would not comply to my instructions start changing in a time span
of three days. This made me realize that no matter how severe a childs behavior and
incompetence, with continuous attention, the child will grow.
When a child goes to school, I believe that they continue to build upon what they already
know. Going to school will not make you a genius overnight. Instead, every day that a child
learns in school, building blocks are being set. Thus they will be able to use their preexisting
skills and information to grow more. This follows under the theory of Constructivism. Jean
Piaget, a prominent figure of constructivism, considered an ideal learning environment for
children was to allow them to construct knowledge that is meaningful for them. That is why my
ideal classroom would be modeled after a Piagetian classroom which would incorporate handson learning as an essential part of lessons. Personally, in class I am much more interested in
projects that involve more than writing down answers on paper. A student gains more when they
are engaged in their learning, absorbing information and questioning themselves.
Another instructional method that would achieve student participation is allowing
children to learn by collaborating and working on group projects, a teaching method shared with
progressivism. While I support parts of behaviorism and constructivism, an educational theory
that I wholeheartedly follow is progressivism. This theory follows the concept called teaching
the whole child. Therefore, school does not focus on just academics but works on cultivating the
mental, social, and physical health of the student. Rather than lecture students, as a progressive
teacher I would not recite information and expect children to passively take it in. For that reason

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teachers act as facilitators that guide discussion and learning. Both constructivism and
progressivism reject the idea of introducing information through rote memory. Using parts of
many theories, the product would result in a truly effective teacher.
Furthermore, students will benefit academically when teachers ignite in them a desire to
learn more. I consider engaging the students just as important as creating successful students.
Unfortunately, these qualities do not always go hand in hand. Nevertheless, a teachers ability to
show enthusiasm and engage students correlates to the both the teacher and students academic
ability. Sean Bulger, Derek Mohr, and Richard Walls in an online article Stack the Deck in Favor
of Your Students by Using the Four Aces of Effective Teaching, supports enthusiasm stating, If
you love to teach it, your students may very well love to learn it. Enthusiasm is contagious. More
effective teachers display a high level of enthusiasm that reflects their professional competence
and confidence (Ace 4: Enthusiasm). The article emphasizes the importance of making students
interested. Gifted teachers make a difference by exciting the students while teaching a lesson. I
have personal experience from watching my mother elicit cheerful response from her kids as
they answer her questions and shout over each other to display their knowledge. Every Sunday
she puts in her best effort with nothing less than a smile on her face as she begins her lessons
with a hug to each student. She is filled with pride when students recite a bible verse they learned
a year ago. They are able to do this because my mother has experience and an excellent religious
education making her a qualified educator for children. It is apparent that she adores what she is
teaching and the students pick up on that and follow her example, matching her enthusiasm while
they learn. It is common for children to dislike going to school. Even worse, students will come
back from a day in school and forget what they learned. On the walk home from school, my
brother would ask me what I had learned. I could tell my brother ten things that happened

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throughout the course of the day such as a game that I played during recess or the conversations
that I had but when it came to what I studied, my answer was always, I forget. This was
because none of my studies had grabbed my interests. This is a pity because when a child learns
something new they will tell anyone who listens about their new knowledge with absolute
delight. When a teacher is able to engage a students interest then the lesson will have more
impact. In order for a child to flourish, it is a teachers responsibility to promote joy in learning.
The purpose to school is for teachers to cultivate students who are sensitive to human
issues through the use of questions. Although teaching the classics and the basics of reading and
writing is important, teachers should also teach students to be aware of issues that do not directly
impact their life. In third grade, my teacher Mrs. Craig sat the whole class down into a circle and
started a discussion about racism. During the whole time I was caught up in confusion about why
racism didnt have to do with people running. But as time went by and Mrs. Craig came back to
this topic again and again, I began to understand that comments like None of my friends are
Jewish were not appropriate. Now, thanks to her introduction, I am an advocate for equality for
all races and also gender identities, sexualities, and disabilities. Over all, I am thankful for the
questions that she and all my previous teachers asked me. My art history teacher in high school is
the primary example of someone who made me question my surroundings and stop taking things
for granted. The use of questions had an astounding effect on me. Asking why made me more
aware of how the answer is not black and white and there are many right answers and many
different opinions. I believe that children should be aware and sensitive of issues that surround
them. So asking questions challenge children to think deeper about complex issues. A child is
primarily egocentric when they do not change during their interaction between themselves and
other objects (Heo, Han, Koch, Aydin, 2011, p.735) As a result, they need someone to show them

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to think outside the box and ask why things happen this way. It is during their interactions with
their peers when children realize that there is a difference between their world and their friends
world. As someone who lived in an Asian household, I was uncomfortable walking in my
American friends house with my shoes on. My first play date opened my eyes to see that
someone lived very differently from how I lived. Thinking differently does not come innately to
children. To students, there is only one method of accomplishing something until a teacher shows
them that there are multiple right answers. A teacher must open the minds of children to the
possibility of accepting different cultures and ways of living by questioning the unknown.
To conclude, teachers have a big responsibility to educate children. My philosophy is
rooted primarily in progressivism but also several educational theories including behaviorism,
and constructivism. I consider teaching the whole child a principal objective in education. This
means that you must gain their interest and have a child centered approach to education.

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References

Bulger, S. M., Mohr, D. J., & Walls, R. T. (2002). Stack the Deck in Favor of Your Students by
Using the Four Aces of Effective Teaching. Journal of Effective Teaching, 5(2),
Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://uncw.edu/cte/et/articles/bulger/
Heo, J., Han, S., Koch, C., Aydin, H. (2011) Piagets Egocentrism and Language Learning:
Language Egocentrism (LE) and Language Differentiation (LD). Journal of
Language

Teaching and Research, 2(4), P. 733-739. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from

http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/jltr/vol02/04/01.pdf
Webb, D L., Metha, A., Jordan, F. K. (2010). Foundations of America Education. (6th ed.).
U.S.A. Pearson.
Zirpoli, T. J. (2005). Behavior management: Applications for teachers. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Merrill/Prentice Hall.