Jami Centrella Dr.

Garrett December 8, 2010 Philosophy of Education I believe the purpose of school is to educate students by providing opportunities for development in intellectual and social skills, political and civic responsibility, and economic understanding. Students should learn how to become active and beneficial members of society through experience and relatable information, and to appreciate their purpose in that society. Development of social skills should be demonstrated by students in everyday occurrences and should be fostered in every aspect of education. As social skills progress, students will become unafraid to use all available resources in their environment to achieve diverse successes, not only inside but outside the classroom. Intellectual skills should provide a strong foundation for student understanding of crafts necessary to their society, while political and civic responsibility should encourage students active response to that environment. Lastly, economic understanding should present students with the opportunity to learn the principles and roles necessary for personal and community advancement. My teaching will focus not only on encouraging students to reach their greatest potentiality through the use of these educational developments, but also on the capability of students to maximize their personal understanding of information. Instructional strategies such as demonstration and guided discovery will present an engaging approach to material within the classroom, and will provide students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the subject outside the classroom. Also, strategies such as lecture, recitation, and discussion will provide informative and foundational knowledge necessary to proper student application. Integration of both teacher-centered and student-centered instructional strategies will be crucial to the success of the classroom.

Through the use of instructional strategies, student engagement will promote active learning. Student involvement is the heart and soul of truly understanding and applying information and consequently, is the center of learning. Learning is not about what a student knows but how they know it; therefore, it should take place in two ways. First, students should acquire knowledge in subject areas and be able to use that information in ways that are beneficial in and out of class experiences. Second, students should gain enough satisfaction in their own abilities that they will want to pursue subject matters further than required. Student learning can be expressed through a variety of different ways and, as a teacher; my expectations will strive to meet those expressions. Through the use of observation, demonstration, explanation, and clarification, learning will not be forced, but rather fostered into classroom activities. While the ultimate goal is to promote and assess a comprehensive understanding of subject information, this is not the only instance in which learning occurs; therefore, assessment of student learning will not be recognized solely through curriculum based testing, but also through student willingness to explore and apply information further than inside the classroom. Academic curriculum should be based on a fundamentally sound, environment centered criteria. My teaching will focus on integrating the information required by the state with discovery and explorative methods that reach beyond basic inquiry. Students should be presented with as many opportunities as possible to succeed in present day and in the future; therefore, a curriculum that teaches fundamentals in a relatable matter is crucial to a productive classroom. By using real life examples, historical connections, and diversity, students will learn through the integration of both culture and curriculum. By using this approach, students will understand that education is more than just a destination they try to reach; it is a direction they learn to explore.