My teaching philosophy is one that ultimately aims to foster critical thought and empathy in order to bring about social change. I would like for my students to question everything—society, their own beliefs, and mine—and I would like them to pursue their inquiries in order to come to a greater understanding. My goal would be to facilitate students who are inquisitive, passionate about their areas of study, and able to look at information from a critical perspective. Additionally, I would like to teach in a manner that promotes ethical morality, and in such a way that motivates students to be caring toward others. As a future ESL teacher, my professional practice would revolve around community learning techniques and opinion sharing in the target language (English). Overall, I would like to produce lifelong learners with a strong sense of societal justice.

 

Because “educated” is a broad term that has many subjective definitions, as an educator I would aim to be diverse and flexible in my teaching methods and content. I believe it is important to preface a course with an inquiry into what students would like to learn, as well as what they would consider to be worthwhile information and/or teaching methods. Thus, rather than relying entirely on what I consider to be educational, I can cater my transmission of the education in accordance with the general student conception of an education to the best of my ability. Therefore, given that the students have more confidence in the education that they will be receiving, their motivation is likely to be more intrinsic. However, I also believe that an educated person must be able to think critically, as it is an important skill to have both in the classroom as well as in the professional world. In fact, I would go so far as to say that well-honed critical thinking skills in students are at the core of my professional teaching goals. Additionally, the ability to engage personally with their subject of choice is also important; I believe that passion is where the crossroads of caring and engagement meet, and I hope to influence students to identify with subjects or areas of inquiry which fascinate them. As an educator, I plan to be less of a teacher in the traditional sense, and more of a facilitator of discussion, questioning, debates, and student-directed projects. Students will not only learn from myself, but from their peers and from their own studies as well.

 

It is certainly true that an established education within the school system opens up many socioeconomic opportunities for learners. However, education—and by extension, educating students—can result in much more than the material outcomes. Education is transformative, and not simply based on the knowledge of facts and concepts. Students must cultivate a greater understanding of said body of knowledge by questioning it, finding its limitations and exploring other critical considerations. These are not only skills that will allow the learner to succeed in a professional and/or academic sense; the student is also able to think for himself or herself, resist doctrines and can potentially place their body of knowledge into a greater context. As there will be many different learners in my class, I will adapt using many different techniques—I would like to accommodate every student in my class, as I believe they all have important perspectives and skills to share with their peers, and I would like to help them cultivate these aspects of themselves to the best of my ability. Additionally, I would like to guide students in finding topics that pique their interests, and to nurture their inquisitiveness into a full-blown thirst to learn and grow.

 

As previously stated, my goal for the students is to equip them with strong critical thinking skills and the ability to connect personally with what they’ve learnt. Additionally, I would like students to form opinions on their society and affect social change as they see fit. I believe that students learn best when they are intrinsically motivated, and as a future ESL teacher I have the freedom to give students the opportunity to pick materials and prepare topics in the target language that are relevant to their own interests. Moreover, I believe that critical thinking skills are best fostered through inquiry projects, discussions, and debates, both in written and verbal forms. Thus, the students are able to practice English while strengthening the skills that make them educated people. My main educational strategy would be a student-directed group inquiry projects in English (with more or less teacher involvement depending on the class’ skill level.) Additionally, students will be asked to write a persuasive essays on topics of interest, and then to prepare a presentation or facilitate a debate on said topic. Finally, as I want the students to connect with the subject material on a personal level, I would like to someday coordinate class involvement with a charitable group that the students are interested in, and use journal entries or similar means to allow for self-reflection within students upon their ethics.

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Bibliography

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Barrow, R. & Woods, R. (2006). Chapter 3, “The concept of education,” in Barrow, R. & Woods,

R. An Introduction to Philosophy of Education, pp. 26-37.

 

Barrow, R. & Woods, R. (2006). Chapter 6, “Indoctrination,” in Barrow, R. & Woods, R. An

Introduction to Philosophy of Education, pp. 70-83.

 

Bay-Cheng, L. (2003). The Trouble Of Teen Sex: The Construction Of Adolescent Sexuality

Through School-based Sexuality Education. Sex Education, 61-74.

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Freire, P. (2012). “Pedagogy of the oppressed” (selection)” in Cahn, S. M. (Ed.), Classic and

Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Education. 2nd Edition. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 379-386.

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Noddings, Nel (2007). The one-caring as teacher. In Randall R. Curren (ed.), Philosophy of

Education: An Anthology. Blackwell Pub. 372--376.

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