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Philosophy of Education

Emma Kiyo Admiraal

Department of Education, Geneva College

EDU 202: Foundation of Education

Dr. Mack

December 12, 2022

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Philosophy of Education

Education today is controversial. Everyone has different ideas about how a school or a

classroom should be run, but if you get down to the root of it, everyone has different thoughts

about the purposes of education. Personally, I see education as a means for us to glorify God.

When you learn more about the world around you, you learn more about God. He is present in all

things, so I see education and learning as the way to know God and His world more. As an

aspiring teacher, this is something that I want to pass on to my students. I want to show them the

love of Christ and help them know the love of His creation and, through the love of His creation,

the love of Him. Education’s purpose is to learn about the Lord and His world in a caring and

safe environment.

To begin, the primary purpose of education is to learn about God. If you reduce education

to its most basic level, what is the point of it? To learn! Why do we learn? Some say it is to make

money, get a respectable job, or learn simply for the sake of learning. However, as the

Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him

forever” (1986). To glorify God and enjoy Him, we must know Him. We learn to read so we can

read His Word. In education, we learn about our heritage and those who have gone before

us—heritage, remembering, and tradition are all highly prized in the Bible. Education cultivates

our minds, giving us knowledge. This knowledge brings us closer to the Lord, who is the source

of all wisdom and knowledge. Hopefully, the curriculum being used would also reflect this

purpose, but today I know that this may not always be the case. Though education has many

purposes, the primary purpose is to know God better.

Secondly, education teaches us about God’s world—examining God’s world teaches us

more about Him. I have seen this personally in my courses at high school and college. Through
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my science courses, I have learned that He is creative and orderly. In history, you see the story of

the world and how the Lord has worked through the ages. In literature classes, you read stories

that show the work of Christ in individual people’s lives, whether fiction or real, as well as

stories about those who have forsaken Him. In physical education, you take care of your body,

the temple of the Holy Spirit. Art and music classes teach us new ways to glorify Him and show

that glory to the rest of the world. In this case, my focus is on science. I love finding God in

creation—the way He paints the sky in the morning, the way that we were created in such an

intricate, delicate way that only He could sustain us, the similarities in the way that the smallest

atom and the largest planets move, and the wonder of the things that we do not yet understand. I

get to learn about Him through learning about His creation, and, as it relates to education, I want

to be able to impart my love of science to my students. Why would you want to teach others

what you do not like yourself? All teachers should love their subject and show their students the

wonder of God’s world.

Finally, I think that a classroom should be a loving and safe environment. In John 13:24,

Christ commanded us to love one another (ESV). Therefore, teachers cannot be just scholars.

They are mentors and guides. A classroom should not just be a formal lecture period. Instead, it

should include open discussion between the teacher and the students. While a class should be

structured and orderly, I believe that the best learning takes place when the student feels safe and

loved in the classroom. No student should feel as if a teacher is trying to make them fail, but

instead that the teacher is helping them succeed. I would want to make my students successful

and help them along the pathway to learning as much as I could. However, a loving environment,

just as with parents, cannot simply let the students do what they want. A teacher is an authority

figure. This will help prepare the students for life outside school, where mistakes will be made,
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and they will have to face the consequences and learn from those mistakes. In secondary

education, students should be expected to manage their time, do their assignments excellently,

and behave appropriately in class. Discipline is an important part of having a loving

environment, because you want the students to grow and become better people. As a teacher, I

want to glorify God in everything I do, and that includes being compassionate and showing

mercy. Mistakes will happen, and I do not want to be the teacher that gives no exceptions. These

are some ways in which I would show my love to my students.

Another way that I really want to create a loving and safe environment is getting to know

my students. I should know how they learn, what they like to do in their free time, and what they

are interested in at school and outside of it. The better I know the students, the better I can teach

them. I also want to be a mentor to my students, able to ask them how they are doing and

remember details about their life. I want them to understand that I care about them, and that they

are important to me. Hopefully, this will also motivate them to be committed to their work,

although even if it does not have that unintended side effect, I will still try to love them as much

as I can. That is what Christ did to me. When students walk into my class, I want them to feel

happy to see me and excited for what they are going to be learning that day, not constantly

worrying about grades or, even worse, whether the teacher likes them or not (although

realistically I know that students will worry about these things). Students should be comfortable

in my classroom and able to focus on learning.

In conclusion, my philosophy of education involves a faith-centered view of learning that

focuses on education to glorify God and learn about Him and His world in a safe, caring space. I

know that I will not be a perfect teacher. I do not know a lot about the future, and mistakes will
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be made, because I am not perfect. However, I do serve a perfect God, the Creator of all life and

knowledge, and all that I want in the end is to glorify Him to my students day by day.
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REFERENCES

English Standard Version Bible. (2001). Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois.

Westminster Assembly Kelly D. F. Rollinson P. B. & Marsh F. T. (1986). The westminster

shorter catechism in modern english. Presbyterian and Reformed Pub.