My teaching philosophy can best be described with the Chinese proverb, “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.” This proverb sums up my own experience with education as a young child. I only wish that I had had teachers who had believed in this proverb. The teachers I encountered did not look at the uniqueness of a student but taught to the classroom as a whole. That in turn left me and many others with a low self esteem and dislike of school that carried on for years. As a teacher I would never let that happen to a student. Therefore, my philosophy of education is not based on one theory but on a combination of theories. Just as my style of teaching is not one method but a combination of methods.
The theories that I believe are the core for my approach to the education of young minds are: Piaget with Cognitive-Development and Maslow’s Basic Needs theory. However, all theories have some merit and therefore a piece of each theory will be integrated into my academic approach in order to create a positive learning environment.
Teachers should always strive to understand their students personally as well as academically based on the uniqueness of each child. Today’s families can be single parent households, or two working parents therefore students do not always arrive at school ready to learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. It then becomes the teachers’ job to stimulate their interest in learning.
It is the teacher’s responsibility to not only guide and nurture but empower children to establish the skills necessary to learn, grow and develop in order to become well rounded, adjusted individuals, capable of exceeding their potential. Teachers must also provide the tools necessary to discover answers. In order to allow the children to grow, become empowered, and discover answers, I must incorporate a variety of methods and theories so that no child will be left behind. In order to provide these tools, I will provide an environment which includes Maslow’s Basic Needs theory, which states, “Higher needs can only be met if lower ones are satisfied.” Maslow’s theory includes: physiological, safety, love, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self actualization and self transcendence.
I believe all students regardless of ethniticity, race, religion, socioeconomics or any other type of classification are deserving of an equal education. Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental theory of children actively constructing knowledge as they manipulateand explore their world reinforces their uniqueness and allows them to see all facets of the world in which they live. Therefore, the Chinese proverb, “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand” sums up my theory of education.