Alexis Fodor

Professor Bottiglieri

Educ 111

11/16/2019

Educational Philosophy

Teachers are very influential in the lives of their students. The average person goes

through about thirteen years of school, typically from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Those are

some of the most impressionable times of our lives. As educators, it’s our duty to create effective

learning environments and provide the most impactful learning experience. Teachers should be

aware of the learning needs in their classroom and be capable of catering to the needs of their

students. We as educators are the vehicles of new knowledge to growing and developing brains. I

believe that different approaches and teaching methods should be implemented into the

classroom in an effort to reach each individual student. However, those methods should be

evaluated frequently to make sure they are being effective. If a teacher isn’t able to grow, learn,

and make changes on the go, their students may not be as successful.

The education system itself is the basic web for teachers to go off of. I believe that

curriculum should adjust and change as students age. It may not be a good idea to teach ten year

olds life skills like a high schooler would learn in a family consumer science class. It’s important

that students learn appropriate material over the course of their schooling career. I also think that

integration of both life skills and what some people would consider “book smarts” are a part of

education. Students should be well equipped to enter the work force or even the college
environment by the time they graduate, and an important part of that is being well rounded in

many aspects of learning.

Fortunately, education does not entirely fall on the educator’s shoulders. Students have a

large part in their learning as well. I think that students need to be active in their learning and

take initiative when necessary. Not every class is going to be taught the same. Not every teacher

is going to have the same tactics or strategies. Students need to be aware of that and be willing to

put in the work. I highly doubt that a student will absorb much curriculum by idly sitting by

waiting for their teachers to spoon feed them.

Even though school is the main way for children to learn, I believe that they can learn

from their community and environments around them as well. This means that an educator’s job

isn’t entirely over at the end of the day. You will be seen in public; you may even know some of

your student’s parents. Even when you may not think, someone is always watching. Educators

must play a positive role in their community. We preach to students every day about being an

advocate for others, not polluting the world, and other important lessons that bleed into their

everyday lives. If we ourselves can’t live to that standard, how can we ever expect our students

to do the same?