Education philosophy: outline and rationale

Philosophy of Education

Create an outline communicating your educational philosophy using the following guidelines. Consider the historical development as it impacts educational philosophy.

The modern classroom is nothing like the classroom of even two decades ago. In most areas of the country, 40% of the class is of non-Anglo descent, many do not speak English as their first language, and, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, this trend is rapidly growing to where it is projected by 2020 there will be less than 30% Caucasians in the modern classroom (IES, 2010). What does this mean for the contemporary teacher? Certainly, no teacher can be expected to know every language, or be familiar with every culture from every student. However, is that what is meant by diversity in education or necessary to be effective as a modern teacher?

In essence, the idea of diversity in the classroom is to operate with the idea of a global village and overlap in cultures within the microcosm of the classroom. This means simply that the modern educator be sensitive about culture, gender, sexuality, and individual differences within the classroom. History, for instance, has been incredibly Eurocentric and male oriented for generations. What this has meant in the classroom is that white males of European descent have been emphasized as those who were important to the human race opposed to others. Successful diversity within the classroom simply encourages a change in curriculum and focus: look at history from alternative points-of-view; look at innovation cross-culturally; look at the contributions women and minorities made towards technology and historical development; ask questions about a student's own cultural development and heritage and allow them to celebrate that (Rosebery, et.al., eds., 2001).

ii) Reflect on your belief statements in Module 1 and create your mission statement as an educator.

Mission Statement: My classroom will reflect the highest standards of intellectual and social development, bringing relevant and multidisciplinary subject matter to the student in order to show that the world is a synergistic organism. Using the inquiry method, I will strive to move students from rote knowledge acquisition, to higher levels of analysis, synthesis, and actualization via Bloom's hierarchy ("Bloom's Taxonomy, 2005).

iii) Describe your own educational philosophy in terms of its metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic.

Metaphysics: Metaphysics is often difficult to define when focusing on tangible outcomes, but is essentially concerned with explaining the nature of being. It allows us to ask what kinds of things there are in the world, and how those things relate to one another. My educational philosophy is, above all, an inclusive paradigm for intellectual growth. In math, for instance, we will include science, reading, history and other social sciences as relevant -- and vice versa. It is important for students to understand that the world does not exist in isolation, but the skills we learn overlap in our journey into learning.

Epistemology: Epistemology asks us to ponder the question: what is knowledge how does knowledge of one event or process impact other events, how do we know what we know? Within my educational philosophy, the concept of knowledge is, as it is in Bloom's hierarchy, at the bottom of the pyramid -- knowledge is there as factual information. It is however, the function of my concept that knowledge is just the base; it is how we slice and dice that information, how we ponder, bring in past experiences, tie together other thoughts and ideas, and ultimately actualize a unique and individual set of ideas.

Axiology: Axiology is the study of value, or a common term for combining ethics and aesthetics. My theory of education requires high standards and expectations (e.g. modeling behavior, adherence to high moral principles), as well as utilizing the learning process to ensure the transmission of appropriate intellectual and social values.

Logic: Logic examines arguments and how knowledge is verified. Within my philosophy, the concept of basic knowledge is not enough. Truth must be verifiable, not simply accepted. It is the skill of vetting sources, of analyzing what bias or point-of-view the author may have, or in the case of mathematics asking how that theory om came to be that moves us towards a logical conclusion (Gutek, 2008).