Logan Hykes

Philosophy of Education

The purpose of Education is teaching people about the world. Educators teach children and young

adults prep them for the world. Education is a very important part of this world. Without education, we

would have very little to no proper understanding of this world. Teachers are to model the proper

behavior expected of adults, especially professors in a college setting. Teachers are also to teach their

students to think objectively about the world and not to let what they want to see about the world get

in the way of finding the truth. This essay will cover my beliefs on education in the following areas: the

assessment of students, the assessment of teachers, differentiation, the organization of a classroom, the

role of parents in their child’s education, the type of curriculum that should be taught in schools, how

students learn, the role of students, and the role of teachers.

Students should be assessed based on the amount of effort they put into a class. They should be graded

on their work and this should be done with rubrics when applicable. There should be no rubrics for art

projects and other assignments of that nature. Art assignments, unless they are for a professional art

class, should be graded by a completion basis. Art is very hard to grade by itself, let alone with a rubric.

By giving students a completion grade if they have given effort for the assignment gives a sense of

objectivity to the grading of these assignments yet gives them a different system to be graded on rather

than the use of a rubric. These rubrics should come with reasonable feedback. I believe every teacher

should give reasoning for why students received a certain grade and how they can improve. All teachers

can use grades to help students improve their work. There are multiple reasons why a grade-free

system is bad. First, a grade-free system for students would give many students no motivation to work

or learn. I know I would not do a lot of my work if it was not graded. Second, if students are not graded,
how can we judge whether a student has ‘passed’ a grade? The process becomes subjective and very

prone to bias, which is a third reason why students should be graded for their work.

In the content area of social studies, differentiation is easier to implement than other subject areas such

as music. In social studies, I as the teacher can use audio/visual materials for auditory or visual learners.

This would include graphs/charts, photographs, and videos that are from applicable time periods under

study. For students who have trouble with history, I would try to help them in a way that works best for

them. For example, if a student is having trouble memorizing dates, I would suggest that they use flash

cards. If someone is having trouble connecting the main concepts, I would help these students by telling

them to think of history as one big story and that history is filled with themes. These themes can be

picked out when history is seen as the story of humanity.

Students learn best when they are made to think about the material that they are learning. When

teachers ask questions of their students regarding the material that they are teaching them, the

students can come to their own conclusions about the material and have a better grasp of it. If students

are just given the material and are not reflecting on it, they will retain that knowledge and make use of

it. Compare that to the traditional way where students taught material and not made to think about it,

but rather memorize it. This works to a degree, until the student has forgotten what they were told to

‘memorize’ and have no application for the material. Students who think about the material they are

being taught and find a way to apply it to their lives are much better off and will retain much more

information that those that do not do this.

The role of the students in the classroom is one of respect, responsibility, and hard work. Students

should respect the teacher that they have and should do this by giving the teacher their full attention.

This means not doing homework from other classes in class, watching the teacher as they are conveying

the information that students need to know, not sleeping in class, taking notes, and obeying the rules
that the teacher has set up for his/her specific class. Students also have a responsibility to do the work

that is given to them in their classes. Not only for the sake of their grades, but for their own good as

human beings. Students should also put their full effort into their studies. This way, they can receive

their best possible grade and get the most out of their studies. Students should also see learning as part

of becoming a well-rounded human being. Students should not focus on getting the best grade possible,

but instead focus on learning as much of the material as they can and coming to an adequate

understating of it.

The role of the teacher is to educate their students in the subject field that they are qualified to teach in.

Teachers are to also to model the behavior of a model citizen for their students and how an adult should

behave in a professional setting. Teachers are to make sure that their students have a proper

understanding of the material they are teaching. This would require meeting the student at a level at

which they can understand it and teaching the student from there. A good way to judge what students

know and don’t know is by giving them a pre and post-test. This is what was done at the Middle and

High School that I attended. This gives that teacher a way to judge how much of the material students

already have a grasp on, and how much they have learned throughout the year.