Educational Philosophy by Thomas E. Love
****************************************
Many educational philosophies are filled with platitudes that
are
easily
written down but difficult to accomplish. Awesome
rhetoric should
be
used to describe the magnificent
endeavor of
teaching and learning.
However, I will leave this lofty task to those who are much
better at
it
than myself. For me it is more appropriate to convey
what I
consider
critical characteristics
that make up an effective
and efficient teacher.
To use an analogy, teaching and learning, I truly believe, are
opposite
faces of the same coin. Learning cannot be present
without
teaching as
teaching cannot be present without learning. We must
always
consider
the learner as the teacher
and the teacher as the
learner. I have always
learned as much, if not more, from my students than they have
from me.
Perhaps in preparation for my teaching, I have learned the
value of
hard
work and then from personal interaction with them the value of
listening.
I truly believe, hard work and
tenacity are significant in my pursuit of
knowledge. Learning and teaching have always been hard work
for me
as well as always promoted a tenacious
attitude in my quest for
better
teaching techniques and learning. If learning is easy
for a
student or
teaching easy for a teacher, then they have a specific innate
ability or
will never understand or value the essence of learning and
teaching.
Definitely, organization and
study skills are essential to both learner
and teacher. Educators should incorporate these critical
skills
into their
gestalt of learning and teaching. Many times these
skills
are left out of
learning and teaching since they are considered elementary and
not as
important as a curriculum course content. Without
allowing these
skills
to permeate throughout learning and teaching of worthwhile
curriculum,
then little or nothing will prevail after the current course
has
concluded.
Traditional approaches in Learning
Styles or Multiple
Intelligences, also
Effective Teaching Strategies,
have been discussed over and over in the
K-16 educational environment. The topic of Authentic
Assessment when
integrated with Traditional Assessment has maintained a strong
following
in the education community. Concept
Maps or Spatial Webbing have had
a large influence in both learning and assessment.
Integrating all of these
attributes into my teaching and learning is a priority
of my
professional
life.
Finally, we should take time to
reflect and revise educational philosophies or
list of characteristics which assist us in being effective and
efficient teachers.
Pragmatism and relevance
should always be the benchmarks for our continual
reflection or revision, I use them as my standards for any
course
curriculum.
****************************************