A Personal Philosophy of Education

A Personal Philosophy of Education

Education refers to the learning processes involved in acquiring information. It is divided into two broad categories: formal education which is attained from institutions such as schools and informal/self taught education which is achieved through one’s life experience. Formal learning takes place in classroom settings and teachers are charged with the responsibilities of providing the curriculum according to the accepted plan of how learning should be conducted. Education equips an individual with basic life skills and advanced skills that are useful in one’s survival as well as making them more attractive than others in the job market. Education process begins when an individual is in the mother’s womb and continues throughout his life.

Discussion

Education is concerned with the future. It focuses on growth and development of all sectors of life even if one is studying issues of the past. Learning lays much emphasis on the conscious world, and as a result it entails all the activities intended to stimulate the thinking capability of individuals fostering their learning (Gibbs & Habeshaw, 2001).

For education to be effective in its purpose, there are certain beliefs that must be considered. First, education should be aimed at providing ample opportunity for all learners and students to gain information and knowledge to the very best of their effort, interest and ability regardless of culture, race, gender, ethnicity or social class. Secondly, education should reflect on democratic ideals that reflect the democratic society that we live in. Thirdly, all forms of education should be focused on how every student should be trained and moulded into becoming responsible citizens and members of the society. Fourthly, education should be aimed at teaching individuals how to think and not telling them what to think about. This involves creation of individuals who ask constructive and useful questions. Education should therefore play a major role in nurturing the curiosity and inquisitiveness of individuals.

The belief that every student entering a classroom has something the teacher can learn facilitates sharing of ideas and opinions among students. This gives the learners a safe atmosphere and a feeling that their opinions and thoughts are valued and thus they are convinced to share their challenges and accomplishments with the teacher. These beliefs are compatible with each other since they all focus on producing students who understand the importance of serving their community, helping others as well making major differences in their worlds.

The educational aims and objectives entail all the purposes for which learning is intended. To begin with, education is aimed at the physical, spiritual and mental development of individuals. Learners are trained to be self dependent and self confident with the acquisition of education. Their personalities, characters and cultures are developed and assimilated together with the knowledge they acquire (Bobbitt, 2000). This goes hand in hand with the existentialism philosophy which is concerned with what lies and takes place within and individual. Secondly, education is aimed at making individuals capable of earning their livelihood to facilitate them to lead a happy and secure life. On top of that, they should be able to contribute effectively to the society to enable grow strong and prosper. Education should also be aimed at its conformity with the technological advancements of the recent times so that it does not lag behind as the world advances. This enables the society address their problems and challenges with the best possible answers and solutions obtained from the technological advancements.

For effective learning to take place, different learning methods are used depending on the subject being studied and the type of content being delivered. For instance, a teacher may decide to use the lecture method. It is the most common form of passing information to learners.  Teachers are expected to know how to present and develop lectures in addition to understanding its strengths and weaknesses. It is mostly used by teachers when introducing new topics, showing a relationship between practice and theory, summarizing ideas and when emphasizing main points of a concept. Lecture method is suitable fo.............