My Phlosophy on Education

My Philosophy on Education

When I first read over the assignment on educational philosophy, it was not something I gave much thought to. It also seemed like a daunting task as I read the handout. The terminology alone was foreign, Metaphysics, Epistemology and Axiology. I had to look Axiology up in the dictionary, I thought it might be some sort of medieval craft lumberjacks practiced.

Then when reading chapter nine things became somewhat clearer to me. I wrote down notes and some thoughts while reading the chapter. Then once I reviewed the notes, the notes helped formulate my foundations and philosophies on education. The easy part was done and now below I will try to explain my philosophies on and about education.

"All Men by nature desire to know" (Metaphysics by: Aristotle) words spoken by Aristotle over 2500 years ago. They are timeless words, the statement itself is as powerful today as it was in ancient Greece. Aristotle was a man dedicated to acquiring knowledge. He studied for 20 years at the Academy, under the teachings of Plato (www.edu.research/iep/a/arisotol.ht

m, paragraph 1). His phrase is the basis of what my philosophy on education is. We need to know and we need to share it. It is the "it" part that separates the teachers from the rest of the public. My love is History and I never get tired of reading about it. I also am known to expound my knowledge of it excessively. I need to know what happened in the past and think everyone else should know as well. One of my favorite authors is David McCullough, he states " History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are the way we are" (John Adams by: David McCullough). History shapes us, it gives a hint of what we might be. I also believe we are only doomed to repeat past mistakes if we do not learn from them. Whenever someone tells me history is useless, I think back to World War II. Hitler in his mad quest to rule the world, waited too long to invade Russia. The Russian winter would eat up Hitler's troops much like it did to Napoleon's a century earlier (Hitler's War: Germany's Strategic Decisions 1940-1945 by: Heinz Magenheimer). Because of that, he duplicated what Napoleon did and brought his empire to a crashing halt. The Russian winter would eat up Hitler's troops much like it did to Napoleon's a century earlier (Hitler's War: Germany's Strategic Decisions 1940-1945 by: Heinz Magenheimer). The desire to know is what helps form our Logic and how as individual we each see things on our own unique way. Only by increasing our knowledge can we also increase our validity to solve problems. While epistemology defines reasoning as one way to gain knowledge, logic defines the rules of reasoning (Page 352, Paragraph 6,Teachers, Schools and Society, 7th Ed. by Sadker).

I am committed to helping students learn, to revert away from standardized testing and memorizing useless information. Once a lesson plan is put into action it should help students with their inductive reasoning. Take for example that a syllogism is modernly known as "a particular kind of argument containing three categorical propositions, two of them premises, one a conclusion" (Page 1, Paragraph 2, Aristotle's Syllogism: Logic Takes Form by: Professor Gregory Crane 1995). In simpler terms if men are mortal and Greeks are men than all Greeks are mortal. When students are able to use their inductive reasoning they are better able to learn and retain new information. One example might be the execution of Charles the 1st of England. (Personal Rules of Charles 1st by Kevin Sharpe). The majority of people can tell you they know that Charles the 1st was executed but many cannot say why. Its when you can take the events leading up to his trial and link it all together, that your able to see the big picture on why he was executed. I think every time you teach a lesson plan, students need to see the end result or big picture first. The ability to take information and then formulate to the conclusion is invaluable. This exactness helps students to not only retain information but come to their own conclusions when problem solving. The best measurement of this is testing using an essay format. This allows the student to make a statement

then back it up with the knowledge they have learned. It really makes standardized tests look obsolete. The only weakness to this theory is that not everything is logical or has a exact conclusion.

I am also a person that strives for consistency and values. I would like to instill this is my students as well. Axiology is the study of the nature of values and value judgements (www.thefreedictionary.com). As citizens we must all be consistent in our actions and use values in our decisions. The educational values that we teach are students are ones they will carry on with them the rest of their lives. The use of social values and ethics are crucial in shaping any decision. One must mold together logic and axiology when they strive to find answers. An example could be college, is it something that is really needed to succeed. Arguments could be made defending either side you may be on. The facts dictate that college is essential to succeed. The college graduate earns nearly one million dollars more over a working career than a highschool graduate (June 3rd 2005, Page 1, Paragraph 7, Is College Worth the Money? By: Daniel Cheever, The Boston Globe). This data helps increase the value of education. The ethics side of education is a little more cloudy. People all have ethics, its which ones that hold the most value to each that makes us to think and react differently. Say for example you are rich and successful, is it your responsibility to donate money to the poor? Of course the poor need help but you each of us uses our own level of values to help or not. This analogy best fits when one discusses the arts in school and what constitutes art. Many books that I feel would be exceptional reading for students are banned. How can someone experience diversified authors when not all authors may be offered in their school district. I remember when an artist painted a rendering of the Virgin Mary that included elephant dung and naked ladies photos (The Brooklyn Museum of Art's exhibit included Olfili's

portrait of a black Madonna entitled The Holy Virgin Mary (1996). The painting features elephant

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