My Educational Philosophy

Pragmatisim

teaching students the things that are practical in life and encouraging them

Yes, I see the value in teaching students life skills that will benefit them on an everyday basis and encouraging students

Dewey's 4 Principles of Education: Learning by Doing, Discussion, Interactive, Interdisciplinary

Yes, I believe asking questions to problem solve during lessons encourages critical and independent thinking

I agree with preparing students for citizenship, daily living and future careers

Progressivism

focus is on the student over content or the teacher

Yes, I believe students learn best when they are interested in what they are learning about and have a say in how they learn

Interest in a subject will keep the attention of the learner

Interest in any subject can be applied to all academic areas

No, I do not believe students should solely decide what is taught or learned

Students often focus on the immediate, what is applicable in their current world and not how a skill may help them in the future

Existentialism

every individual is unique and education should cater to individual differences and strictly student choice

Yes, everyone is created uniquely with a certain set of gifts and talents

I agree students should not be viewed as objects but as human beings who have meaning, purpose, value and worth

No, I do not believe everything should be student choice

Students may choose to do nothing or believe they. have authority over adults in school

Essentialism

students should learn the traditional subjects thoroughly strictly through lecture

Yes, teaching traditional subjects are important

Reading, writing, math, science, history, art, literature, language

No, I do not agree that students should learn strictly through lectures but through universal design for learning

Giving students options in how they complete assignments allows them to complete work according to their preference and how they learn best (essay, poster, slideshow etc)

Constructivism

learners construct knowledge through personal experience and not by sitting and taking in information

Yes, I believe personal experience heavily shapes one's view/outlook on life

Learning from experience creates a more memorable pathway in the brain

People can still learn even if they haven't experienced what they are learning

No, I do believe knowledge can come from taking in information in a classroom setting