Lindsey Arnold

ENG 3820

9-10-2021

Philosophy of Education

I moved elementary schools for my fourth-grade year. My parents left it up to me

whether I would move to another school, and it took some thought, but I decided to take the

chance. It was nerve-racking, but it taught me that there are always new experiences to be had

and that the way you have been doing things is not always the best way to continue. This is

something I want to take into my career because we need to always be open to growing and

trying new methods of teaching and learning. Not much stands out in my memory of my middle

and high school years. It was a nice environment, but content areas were disconnected. Classes

and clubs did not interact with each other. This showed me that there needs to be some overlap in

education. You cannot have random classes that do not speak to each other. I hope to be a

teacher who collaborates with others in order to bring aspects of other content areas into my

curriculum so that students can understand how everything in life is connected.

The most important thing to do as a teacher is to help students find what matters to them

and lead them towards a personalized learning process. Yes, there is information that needs to be

taught but there is also room for individualized learning. Teachers need to provide, incorporate,

and be part of these individualized learning experiences. A teacher’s main job and responsibility

is to be an inspiration. The goal is to instill a love of learning that will continue throughout life.

We cannot forget why we became teachers in the first place once we enter a classroom. We

become teachers because we have a passion for education, so the goal is to pass that on to the

next generation of learners. Creating relationships and respect must come before we can move
into content. It is most important for students to develop the curiosity and determination to

continue learning rather than having teachers simply tell them what they should know. Telling is

temporary but teaching will last throughout a child’s life.

What children really take away from school are the bigger-picture concepts. I do not

remember the individual classes I took or the specific content taught, but rather the life lessons

that I learned. If I can teach students about concepts that are larger than their own lives, about

things that will stick with them once they leave, I will feel I have done my job. I will approach

everything in the lens that I am teaching a life-lesson, not a content-lesson. Teachers are there to

be an inspiration to students so that they may learn to love education. However, teachers are not

the only ones who have knowledge. We need to not only pass on our own lessons but also

encourage students to pass on theirs. The teacher should not be the constant center of the

classroom, but neither should they simply stand by. Teachers should lead students on their own

journey. Teachers need to be a part of the journey and have a destination, but still welcome

hitchhikers along the way. 

As a teacher, the main activity that I would incorporate is group discussion. The most

important things to teach are the life lessons that transcend time and those can be found in the

literature that I will bring in in the form of novels, articles, movies, and even music. Some of the

greatest lessons can be found in literature but in order to completely take those lessons in, the

class needs to discuss them all together and come to conclusions of their own. There are lessons

the author has to teach, lessons I have to teach, and lessons that the students discover all on their

own. I would like to have units centering around lessons and core questions and then teach

offshoot lessons about some of the content from the books. Content is important but message is

much more vital.

 I want my classroom to be welcoming with desks in a circle so that we can all discuss. I

will be part of that circle so that I am on equal ground with the students. For management, I will

not micromanage what specifically students are doing as long as they are aiding themselves in

learning. If there are various conversations going on about different aspects of a book I do not

mind as long as there are discoveries being made. As for grading and assessment, I will grade

based on the discussion and projects as much as I can because I am less worried about students

memorizing exact events or details and more worried about the lessons that the book teaches and

the themes that are covered. I will grade partially by student participation and the new ideas they

bring to the table.

        My professional goals are pretty simple: all I hope for is that I can pass on my love of

learning to students. I value the big-picture ideas. I want to be able to teach about the important

things in life like responsibility, dedication, and communication. I think that these topics teach

how to learn rather than simply passing along content. I hope for students to provide themselves

with learning situations and I hope to be able to give them some space to find who they want to

be and learn what they need to in order to become that person.