My Philosophy of Education

 

It is no doubt that different people have different perceptions, even on the same thing. Likewise, in the field of education, philosophy of education varies markedly from individual to individual.  For me, I believe that children can reach their highest potential if they are enthusiastic in and have a clear, concrete goal of their learning.  Based on my own experience involving in teaching English as a foreign language, my belief is that students can learn best by (1) involving in the first-hand activities, (2) focusing on their need and interest, and (3) exposing to a conducive and inspiring, learning environment.

 As educators, we need to scrutinize closely what the purpose of education is.  According to an American journalist and author Harris (2010), the sole purpose of education is to turn a mirror into a window. In this sense, I will try to assist students in experiencing things themselves. By allowing them to do so, they will be able to form a set of knowledge about how to face and deal with the real-world problems in a practical way.  Children, on one hand, do not need their teacher to tell hem what to do all the time, and they, on the other one,  just need a guidance so as to feel secure that they are going in the right direction.  In his book Democracy and Education, John Dewey (2008) believed that the development of human mind was a communal process and a person only became truly meaningful when they fully engaged within his or her society.  Dewey strongly believed that children should not be taught by rote nor should they learn simply by having a teacher go to take fact. He believed in a process we know as learning by doing.  His belief is quite similar to what I have observed while teaching my students at Institute of Technology of Cambodia. My students learned well when they were asked to find the solution to deal with the problems they faced, and practiced with their friends.  Thus, I strongly believe that if students are exposed to authentic, hand-on activities they will learn more and will consequently become efficient, autonomous learners.           

Another major factor that can help children learn faster is to allow them freedom of choice to seek for their need and interest.  It is generally believe that one can master their area of expertise as long as they choose what they love to do and love what they choose to do.  In the article titled Crowdfunding Program that Aims to Help Students Follow their Dreams Will Pilot at U-M, Moore (2012) wrote a speech form Zurbuchen who said "You have to follow your passion because you're more successful when you do. Very often, things you're passionate about are, in the long run, things that have more impact in this world." Moreover, according to the educational philosophy I have learnt in class, “Existentialism”, students are empowered so that they can choose what they want to learn based on their own interest.  I, therefore, believe that children should be provided with choices in learning in order that they will learn faster and more effectively.

Last but not least, it is critically important to create a conducive and inspiring, learning environment in order that children will be unhesitant to participate in class activities. It is highly unlikely that children, as well as students, will zealously join in the classroom activities if they are not interested, or even bored to joining, in those activities. By contrast, in my opinion, educators should instill in their students with a sense of responsibility, community, and direction. Through my own observation while teaching English to second and third year university students at Institute of Technology of Cambodia, I could draw a conclusion that without encouraging students to participate in classroom activities and creating a teacher-student-friendly-learning environment, students do not feel secure of learning language, which means that students will still keep an I-feel-bored-whenever-the-class-starts-and-I-do-not-want-the-teacher-to-blame-me-on-my-mistakes-I-make idea. Our role as a teacher does not mean that we only pass on knowledge to students, but we also need to facilitate them how to learn. Moreover, in his article titled “The Motivation of L2 Learners: Does It Decrease with Age?”, Ghenghes (2010) wrote about a student who said:

 “I think my motivation is low when I ask question that I don’t know and the teacher just totally just look at 

 me as if I’m stupid or something for not knowing that thing, but the teacher is there to teach you and you’re trying to learn and they are trying to bring you down, so I feel very low about herself when like they just brought you down like that.”

Therefore, as educators, we should not ignore this problem because it will make our students feel demotivated, and consequently the classroom atmosphere will become so boring that students do not want to learn anything.

         To sum up, over and over again, I would like to emphasize on the three aforementioned key factors if teachers want to help students learn a second or a foreign language effectively and successfully. 

Bibliography

Dewey, J. (2008). Democracy and Education. The United States of America: Wilder Publications, LLC.

Ghenhesh, P. (2010, November 01). The motivation of L2 learners: Does it decrease with age? Retrieved November 28, 2012, from English Language Teaching: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/5244

Harris, S. J. (2011, April 05). English Language Arts Blog. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from English Language Arts Blog: http://elateachermrsthall.blogspot.com/2011/04/whole-purpose-of-education-is-to-turn.html

Moore, N. C. (2012). Crowdfunding program that aims to help students follow their dreams will pilot at U-M. The UniversityRecor Monthly.