My Philosophy of Education

Introduction

            The personal educational philosophy is basically a module through which each educator approaches the student in the process of educating the educant. Each of us has our own educational philosophies which we use often while educating. It is possible that some people have similar educational philosophies; however, each one has something unique about one’s educational philosophies and the awareness of it and the proper use of it could reach wonderful results. We know that most educational institutions try to have a uniform educational philosophy in order to fulfill the purpose of the institution but the proper use of one’s educational philosophy within the framework of the institutions will lead to rich results. Thus though we may follow the general educational philosophy of the institute we are free to use our own philosophy of education. In this little venture I have tried to put down my personal educational philosophy, awareness of which will surely contribute to me being a better educator in the future.

            In these few pages I have tried to put down the elements that have contributed to my building of my personal philosophy of education. Basically the content of my article highlights some of the very prominent factors that have shaped my personal philosophy. I believe in putting down my educational philosophy I have actually put down also my whole philosophy of life because my educational philosophy is nothing but the part of my personal philosophy. I have also put down my views on human nature, the cause of distress among the young people, the sign of growth in a person and the characteristics or the qualities of a fully functioning person. Towards the end of my paper I have tried to highlight what the relationship between a teacher and the student should be like. And of course in the end I tried to put my personal educational philosophy with the help of a diagram. This paper also consists of the solution to the case example of the Fernandes family. On a whole the paper is highly personal; in it I have tried to express some of my personal opinions regarding certain issues in relation to education.

1. Elements Responsible for Shaping my Educational Philosophy

            It is quite difficult to pen down the things that have shaped my educational philosophy because looking back at the past I realize that there have been many things that have influenced my personal philosophy of education. However, I would like to mention some of the very strong influences in my life:

1.1 My Personal Experiences

       My personal experiences in this journey of education have contributed a lot towards building and the development of my educational philosophy. For instance my view on the boarding schools and how the boys should be treated in the boarding will surely be very different from others because I have personally lived in the boarding from my childhood and tested what it feels like to be in a boarding. One of the very vivid experiences in my life was also the difficulties that I had to encounter in educating myself.

1.2 Social Events

       Many people say that what they are or what they want to be is all because that’s what they wanted to be but I personally believe that the social events have great role to play in shaping one’s life. My life and the decisions that I have made in my life has been influenced a lot by the social milieu in which I lived. When I was a small boy I witnessed two ethnic conflict in both of which my tribe was involved, of course nothing tragic happened to my family but my outlook on other people and other tribes were affected to extent. I do not say that these events affected me negatively very much as much as positively because some of my best friends are from that tribe against which my tribe had a fight. Another tragic event that happened was also the floods that eroded our whole property consequently we had to shift to a new place.

1.3 Self Conception

      Each of us has our notion about ourselves I too have my views on myself. I have a tendency to look at myself very critically. I often like to criticize and evaluate myself. This will surely affect my philosophy because I also expect others to be very critical about themselves as a result some very silly mistakes that others commit really disturbs me and of course the result to criticize them for their foolish acts. Here I find myself a little paradoxical because on the one hand I want to encourage my students to encourage and get the best from them at the same time I have a strong tendency to criticize them if they act foolish. This I think is the area wherein I need to work at.

1.4 Aptitudes

       My aptitudes in the field of music and sports affect my thinking and behaviour. I will surely make sports and music part of my educational system because I know the worth of it. Of course I cannot force on my students my ideas of music and sports but by and large I will try to show them the value of it and try to get them to experience what it means to play a musical instrument and games. Actually the skills or the aptitudes that I picked up were not my inborn or natural talents, I have picked up and realized its beauty and this is why I would be most happy if my students realize the beauty and grandeur of it.

2. My View of Human Nature

            Human beings for me are both physical and a spiritual being. Development of human nature means the development of both these realities of human being. Basically human beings are good but people end up behaving in a particular way mostly because the circumstances push them to. By this I don’t mean that man has no freedom to get over the circumstances that one finds oneself in but we cannot deny the fact that we are influenced by what we see, hear and experience in the society in which we live. Basically each person is free and has dignity; Persons are communitarian. Though circumstance may hinder the person in trying to reach one’s goals he /she can overcome them with the will power that one has. Sometimes some people could act very cruel, unsympathetic and arrogant; this also emerges from the human freedom to act. I have less regard for arrogant people. However I believe they have power to change and be better people.

3. The Cause of Young People’s Distress

            There could be number of reasons why young people get distressed but I feel it is mostly because their expectations are not met. Their expectations could be material, psychological or social. By this I don’t mean that satisfying all one’s desires will make a person distress free. We cannot deny that some problems arise because of their own fault, or wrong decisions. There is also this problem of having ideals for oneself and not being able to reach those ideals, consequently resulting in frustration. Social norms could also be one of the reasons; some social norms curtail some basic freedom of the young people. But I think most young people get distress when most of their expectations are not met.

4. The Sign of Growth in the Young People

            Young people begin to grow when they realize that all expectations and hopes in ones life cannot be met. Thus, realizing the importance of living life as it comes. Life is not always rosy and smooth, the need to experience both sides of life neither only the good nor only the bad is vital in one’s growth. Life should consist of both bitter and sweet experiences. As one grows there is also the need and the ability to appreciate other cultures, customs, philosophies and religions, this shows one’s growth. One of the important things is also to take responsibility for what one does. When a person has reached a stage wherein he/she is able to think about others and go out of oneself to reach out to others I think one has grown.

5. The Characteristics of a Fully Functioning Person

            The fully functioning person is self-sufficient in all aspects- Economic, Emotional maturity, Personal life, philosophy etc., and also in position to go out and help others. The more a person is able to work independently without unnecessarily depending on others, he has reached the stage of fully functioning man. However I do not think that soloist has fully functioning stage. Though independent, a person should be able to work with others in the community.

6. The Relationship between the Educator and the Educant

            There should be a relationship of mutual respect and understanding from both the parties when it comes to education. Element of love concern, and care from both the sides are very essential. There should be a friendly atmosphere in the educational set up. The teacher should teach the students with a positive attitude believing in the students and making an effort to give of oneself to the maximum. The student on the other hand should respect the teacher and learn as much as possible from the teacher. I believe it is not proper for the student to try to show off in front of the teacher rather to be humble and learn. I don not say the students should not ask questions. They should and must but with some respect to the teacher. On a whole I feel there should be a friendly atmosphere in the educational institutions.

7. My Method in Educating the Students

            First of all I will try to figure out what the students know; appreciate what they know and each what they do not know. I prefer teaching the students personalized information. One of the things I believe in is the follow up. After having taught I will try to evaluate whether they have picked up the previously taught lessions. My basic method would be Enquiry-Input-Evaluation- Reward/punishment.  One of the important things I believe in is also the element of a reward and punishment, not in the literal sense but some kind of encouragement and reprimand if need be. This I believe will help in the educational growth of the student.

8. Solution to the Case Example of the Fernandes Family

            Looking at the family situation of the Fernandes family I personally feel that the problem is that of miscommunication and a misunderstanding among the family members. From the information given by Mrs. Fernandes one can make out that the problem with Bert is connected with many other things happening in the family. First of all there could be lot of shouting and quarrelling in the house which has affected the little Bert, moreover the fact that he will be missing his old friends could have affected the boy. One can also sense that Bert and his Daddy do not have a good relationship as a result the little boy behaves disobedient. This is the normal reaction of any teen. Teenage is the time when the young boys desire to get some freedom and recognition in the family and among friends. Since he is not getting it at home he reacts in a very negative way. If the boy is not handled properly at this stage of life he could be very negative towards life later on, so this is a crucial stage.

            To help this family using my philosophy of education; I will first listen to what they have to say. I will listen to all of them and when all have said what they had to say. I will speak to the father and exhort him to be little mild and understanding towards the boy because probably what he wants is little attention and less of strong words. To the boy Bert, I will request him to be a little more obedient and do his daily duties well especially his studies. I know it is not going to be an easy task because, both Mr. Fernandes and the little Bert would not take it too well. However I will try to speak to them as gently as possible.

            After having spoken to the Fernandes family I will request them to come and meet me some other time or rather I could also visit them. In my next encounter I will try to evaluate if my suggestions have helped the family in some way. If yes I will speak to them and give some more suggestions as how they need to be more caring towards each other and use strong words less. If my previous suggestions have not worked I will give them some other suggestions such as going out for a picnic or a dinner every weekend to bring more happiness in the family etc., another thing I will do is also the encourage them and give a positive stroke so that they feel nice about the family and improve.

Conclusion

            The process of trying to write down my own educational philosophy has been a very enriching experience for me. This has been a moment of self discovery and self awareness. I believe awareness is the first step towards doing something convincingly and successfully. The fact that I have been in some way able to put down my educational philosophy will surely be of some help to me in dealing with my boys in my apostolate. The awareness of my philosophy will help me also to make best use of the situations that I am placed in. Of course I will have the ability also to choose what type of apostolate will be best for me and flourish in that field of my apostolate. On a whole it will be of great help to me.

            I believe whatever we do and whatever we are is all due to the many people who have tirelessly and uncalculatingly helped us. I, as a Salesian feel the need to go out and help others. And I think all my talents will go waste if I am not able to go out and help others. And this is my priority; my philosophy of education should be of help to all whomever I work with. This is my ultimate goal. I cannot be very sure that my educational philosophy is the best but I feel it is good because I have come to this conclusion after having reflected upon my past experiences. My experiences are limited and in that way the perfectness of my educational philosophy will be limited. One of the fact of life is also that as the time passes we come to know many things in life and the experiences that we go through modify polish and better our outlook on life. I hope that my future studies experience and interactions with people will further enrich my educational philosophy which will ultimately be of great help to the people for whom I will be working. I personally think that I will change and modify my educational philosophy in future all for better.