Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Philosophy of Education

Jason Ferber

Medaille College

Author Note

This paper was prepared for November 19, 2017 for ECI-610, taught by Professor Centrie
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Introduction

At a young age, I was always curious about education and this curiosity continued

throughout my adulthood. I have never stopped learning and still to this day, continue to go to

school to further my education. My family are all educators and I have learned that they are out

there to make a difference in each of their student’s lives.

As a social worker, I work with children and youth, for me, I find teaching them brings

me the most joy and excitement. I look forward to that part of the job where I can teach the

children. Teaching brings me a certain joy because I know I am doing something that can benefit

the children and I know they are learning something.

The learning environment and the joys of learning is what motivated me to switch careers

to become a teacher. I reflect back at the schools I have been to recently and I have seen a

tremendous change in atmosphere from students fully participating in their work to students

actually having fun learning. I firmly believe that school should be fun and not boring and dry. I

want to be part of an educational system where they foster learning and at the same time, having

fun!

The School

Back in the Colonial Period, school was available to boys and girls up until high school.

After primary school, only the boys were permitted to attend high school and post-secondary to

further their education. In primary school, students were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and

religion. There was an emphasis on religion because people during that era were predominantly

Protestants. These Protestants, especially the New England colonies, (2014) “believed that a
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literate people who knew God’s commandments as preached by their Puritan ministers could

resist the devil’s temptations (p. 122).”

Boys that went past primary school were taught advanced reading, writing, arithmetic,

and religion. The upper-class boys that were in the Latin Grammar schools studied Latin and

Greek authors. These boys were preparing for college. In college, students would learn a variety

of subjects, which made ministers and other leaders out of these students. Girls and women of

the Colonial Period did not have the opportunities as the boys because they had responsibilities

at home. Ornstein and Levine says that (2014), “Many, especially men who controlled

educational institutions, believed that women were intellectually incapable of higher studies (p.

127).”

Today, the schools are available for everyone at all levels. From primary to post-

secondary. Students with the required prerequisites and abilities to attend post-secondary

education are welcomed. Although there is a drawback to admissions to many qualified students.

There is an abundance of students with the required prerequisite but limited amount of spots

available. Besides this issue, any person, any gender, race, religion, etc… is able to apply to a

post-secondary institution.

Today, in the state of New York and province of Ontario, there is a common core

standard in English language arts and mathematics for kindergarten through to grade 12.

Students are tested in grade 3, 6, and 9 in these subject matters to see if students are performing

or not performing. Reading, writing and arithmetic are still part of the common core subjects of

study. In addition, subjects such as science, history, social studies, music, art, and gym are now

all part of the curriculum. Religion was a dominant subject back in the Colonial Period but today,
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it is an elective or if you attend a private or faith based schools, religion is then part of the

curriculum.

Education today has also been used for political reasons. The government has taken it

upon themselves to dictate what schools should teach. For example, sex education. Is this the

school’s responsibility or the responsibility of the parents or guardians? Both sides have their

valid points as to why it should not be taught in the school and vice-versa, but who makes the

final decision? The government often does this.

The Curriculum

As time goes by, the curriculum changes to reflect the changes society goes through. The

changes are necessary so we are not left behind as a society and as a nation. The curriculum, over

time was about learning from the teacher and from textbooks to today where it is more student

centered where teachers and the environment changes to meet the student’s needs.

Although teachers have to follow the curriculum, teachers can work within that

curriculum context to make lessons interesting and fun for the students. Lessons will need to be

practical and within their grasp to understand or just out of their grasp where with teacher’s

instruction and guidance, bridges that gap so the students can learn.

Students today have a wide range in learning capabilities where you have students with

no learning disabilities to students with disabilities. These disabilities hinder the student to

completely understand or learn the material presented by the teacher. It is easy to make learning

meaningful to the students with no disabilities but much harder to the ones with disabilities.
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How can one help one with disabilities grow or have a meaningful education? I believe

teachers not only need to know the curriculum they are teaching but also get additional training

that might enhance a student with disabilities in their learning. For example, a student cannot or

is unable to complete tasks or tests on time. A teacher might learn from training or action

research that they will need additional time or modify their work so they can stay up to date with

their peers and get their work done.

Learning

In my experience with schools and the students that I have worked with, I have find that

B. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning and Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development works

extremely well to get students motivated to work, understand what they need to do, and excited

for the next challenge.

B. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning with the positive reinforcement in my opinion works

really well with students. McLeod says that (2015), “Positive reinforcement strengthens a

behavior by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding (para. 13).” If carried out

correctly or properly, it can work wonders and could become your next best practice to get

students to do their work. It could be as simple as giving out stickers to students that are able to

tell you what part of the morning announcements they found important. This practice could set

the tone for the rest of the day for the better.

Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development is more so for the teacher. In order for

learning to occur, the job of the teacher is not just to teach the material but to present the material

that is just beyond the grasp of the students so it is then up to the teacher to explain and instruct.

McLeod says that (2012), “Those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner’s
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capacity, thus permitting him to concentrate upon and complete only those elements that are

within his range of competence (para. 1).” In another word, scaffolding. An example of this

could be a math problem where the students have not been exposed to division where you

present a problem and then take the students through step by step.

Educators understand that not all students learn the same way. Some learn through verbal

instructions, some learn by doing, and some learn by way of visuals and this could be in the form

of projector or technology that has a screen for the students to look at. You also have diversity to

deal with in a classroom. Students that come from a different nation brings with them a different

way of learning and/or challenges. These challenges could be in the form of language. A

language barrier often is the biggest factor for students that are of different races. If they cannot

understand what is being taught in English, they will undoubtedly fall behind.

The Learner

Students go through stages of learning according to Jean Piaget. Shroff writes (2017),

“Sensorimotor. Birth through ages 18-24 months. Preoperational. Toddlerhood (18-24 months)

through early childhood (age 7). Concrete operational. Ages 7 to 12. Formal operational.

Adolescence through adulthood (para. 2).” A typical student that enters the school system is or

about to enter the concrete operational stage. These students are able to demonstrate logical

reasoning. This stage is critical for further learning which helps them understand more complex

problems.

Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy lays out how students are to grasp concepts as they

progress throughout their learning stages. There are 6 stages students are to progress through and
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they are as follows (1970) “Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create (para.

17).” These categories are from the 2001 revision of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Today, schools are catering to the students because the school system has become student

centered. This is due to how students learn and process information. As mentioned above, some

students learn very differently and some students are placed on IEP’s because they need the extra

help in order for them to succeed. This is about how we can make education meaningful to

individual students and help them grow in their studies and help them grow as a person.

The role and place of the child in the process of learning is to demonstrate they

comprehend the material by showing logical reasoning by proving it to the teacher. This can be

through the form of verbal reasoning and/or testing. There are numerous ways students can show

they understand and as long as they do, they are fulfilling their role as the student.

Assessment

In my opinion, the purpose of assessment to discover how well the students are doing.

Assessments show if they are understanding the material or not. If they do well, that is great, but

if they are not doing well, teachers might have to consider re-teaching that material or find a

more effective way to teach that material in a way the students might understand.

In my opinion, testing is part of education because if you did not have testing, there is no

way to tell if students are getting the curriculum being taught to them. I could tell if your

students are getting it by how they interact, react, and work. Without testing, students might not

even try and so do not give their best. This could result in illiterate students with no future of

progressing to further their education.

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Methods to for assessments can be formal to informal. Formal testing can look like tests

which are most common to informal which can look like making connections from a reading to

picking students to answer questions. Assessments of students do not have to be complex but

done in a way to measure their understanding of the material. There is the benchmark

requirement from curriculum but aside from this, teachers have free range to test and assess their

students.

Classroom Management

Classroom management is an important part of a teacher’s skills in order for an effective

learning environment. Without classroom management, the classroom will become a place of

disorderly and no learning can take place. Effective classroom management creates an

environment for students to learn to their full potential.

Classroom management does not have to be complex or cost a fortune. Classroom

management tools can be relatively simple and be cost effective. These tools can often be used

year after year. Examples of a classroom management tools could be holding your hand up for

silence and wait until the class is silence to a stuffed animal being placed on a desk to indicate

they are away to use the washroom or need space.

With any classroom management tool used, a reward system should be used to reinforce

the correct or the desired behavior. B. F. Skinner as mentioned above with his operant

conditioning would be the perfect time to apply here after students are doing what they are being

told. To be cost effective, it could be something as small as a sticker or allow students to come

up with something that they would like to receive. This could be extra reading time, computer

time, and/or recess time.

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The Teacher

As the educator and teaching children year by year, teachers should have current and up-

to-date certification and training. Society continues to change at a rapid pace that teachers need

to stay current so they too can be effective teachers as the years go by. For example, technology,

education appears to be moving towards technology and the students are becoming more fluent

with technology that teachers need to know about it so they are not left behind.

Teachers should be an agent of change for their students. Along with teaching the

curriculum, bringing new ideas in to the classroom that adds to the curriculum that enhances

learning would help the students in a world that changes every day. The more students are

exposed to, the more they can understand what is happening around them to which it would

make a more meaningful education for them. Some new things can be exciting but intimidating

at the same time. Teachers should make material as enjoyable as possible. When things are dry

and boring, you start to lose your students attention compared to making learning enjoyable.

Teachers need to be held accountable to what they teach. This could be through

communicating with other teachers, the principal, and/or parents of students. Learning is a 2-way

street where the goal is to teach the students but some learning can occur for the teacher as well.

Teachers can learn from other teachers that there are other methods to teaching which could help

out tremendously to finding out from parents that a particular student learns a certain way.

Learning should not stop for teachers and teachers should strive to continually learn throughout

their teaching career.

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Conclusion

I feel like becoming a teacher has its positives and challenges. Learning from the

challenges is rewarding because you are still learning. There are many aspects and jobs of a

teacher that for most would drive them away but for me attracts me. I have worked with children

for about 10 years and they leave a lasting impact. As a teacher, I can work with more children

and give them my knowledge and leave a lasting impact on them. I want and love to see the light

bulb turn on inside them that they get it or finally get it after instructions. I want this to be for all

students I will teach.

I can draw from experience as a social worker and from my family of teachers. Their

experience and knowledge of the educational filed will be invaluable and helpful to me as a

teacher. I want to make school an enjoyable learning place for students, especially to the ones

that do not enjoy school. I want to also provide a safe environment for the students where they

can free talk about their thoughts and ideas without judgement or being turned down. I want

students and the children to know that everyone has different ideas and no idea is less than

another.
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Reference

McDaniel, R. (1970, June 10). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from

https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

McLeod, S. (2015). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Retrieved November 16, 2017, from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

McLeod, S. (2012). Zone of Proximal Development. Retrieved November 16, 2017, from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html

Ornstein, A.C. & Levine, D.U. (2014). Foundations of Education (12th ed.).Boston: Houghton

Mifflin Company. P. 122 and P. 127.

Shroff, A. (2017, October 26). Piaget Stages of Development. Retrieved November 18, 2017,

from https://www.webmd.com/children/piaget-stages-of-development#1