My Philosophy of Education :: Teaching Teachers Educational Essays

My Philosophy of Education Mrs. Carson stands at the front of the programmeroom explaining the homework she had just assigned. She hears a few muffled voices in the backside and directs her attention to those students. One of the boys raises his hand in a nervous mood wondering if he should follow through with the question. Mrs. Carson calls on him to speak and he asks, When are we ever going to use this in the real solid ground? This question is one that every teacher hears his or her students ask. The question for me is, Should we transform the curriculum of the school so students wont be able to ask that, or should we change the method of teaching in the classroom so the students wont loss to ask that question? In my opinion, the answer lies in the philosophical approaches of behaviourism and progressivism in the classroom. There are different aspects of behaviorism in which B.F. skinner noted, that I would like to take into my class. I am a banging advocat e of positive reinforcement. I see where rewarding the students for doing something correctly and doing it salutary encourages them to continue in that like manner. In this approach, the students will learn the substantial even if they are not sure what effect it will clear on them in their future. The goal in this philosophy is to turn the foreign rewards I give the students into intrinsic rewards, over a period of time. when I was in elementary and junior gritty school, the only reason I wanted to make good grades was for gifts (mostly money) and praise given by my parents and teachers. As I got a little older and went into high school and later on college, I started wanting to do better because of the satisfaction I would regain with myself. The philosophy of behaviorism also deals with the big role environment plays in a students academic career. I completely agree. Throughout junior high and most of high school, I had the worst science teachers anybody could po ssibly imagine. In the ninth grade, my teacher was always preparing a lab for us...but during out class period. Amazingly, we never did anything because he could never find the right materials.