My Philosophy of Education
My Philosophy of Education
My philosophy of education is based on the premise that formal education is not the only form of education, that fostering talent from a realistic standpoint is necessary, and that in either case we are lacking. My philosophy of education further includes the idea that there are of course external factors beyond what we are currently capable of amending to address educational problems or create an altruistic educational experience (globally).
My Philosophy of Education: What is the Purpose of Education?
What is the purpose of education? Growing up, I thought of school as a place I went to learn basic life skills, academia, and to eat! Even during my high school years I had no direction and definitely no guidance as to what to expect after high school.
I ended up dropping out of high school at age 16 and getting my G.E.D. I had no prospects of going to college, had no clue about any talents that I might have possessed, etc. Years later I enrolled in school and received my B.S. in Human Services and have about 6 courses left until I receive my Masters.
I could go on and on, but the point that I am trying to get across is that there is no avenue for youth to explore possible talents that they possess. Funding continues getting cut while classroom sizes continue to grow. Technology and available resources are limited and unless teachers are extremely creative, students are missing out on the opportunity to explore and grow with the ever evolving technology.
My philosophy of education has definitely changed since my high school years. However, those are the years that we should be fostering creativity and talent. Instead, we teach skewed ideals about history, reading, writing, and arithmetic. A limited amount of students coming from a privileged background or those fortunate enough to receive a scholarship; college is a possibility. For the majority, flipping burgers or changing oil is more likely.
I know there are problems with the way we view education, we all know that there are problems with the education system. I am not trying to address all of those issues here (I will over time!). I am merely trying to suggest a different approach to education in the school system. What I am suggesting is simply offering creative ways for youth to explore valid talents that can be applied in the real world.
Sure they have auto shop, keyboarding, computer basics, drafting, and other electives available to students. We educate our youth in one sense. We teach the basics, we prepare them for tests, maybe gear them towards the military or college, but we don’t mentor, foster, and drive the youth. We don’t focus on developing leadership or members of society, at least not in public schools.
My philosophy of education would include classes on entrepreneurship, social responsibility, ethics, social networking/social media marketing, and other classes that are becoming necessary. Many schools teach economics, basic business principles etc. What about taking a group of kids and starting a business from scratch? Teach them the a-z of building and growing a business to include marketing, accounting, how to apply for a business license, how to file for 501c3 status etc.
I am merely throwing around some ideas for what I think we should be concentrating on in public schools, things I wish I would have had the opportunity to participate in at that age. Those fortunate enough to graduate from high school have a piece of paper with no real value. We need to create an opportunity for high school aged youth to graduate and move into a career or continue pursuing education in a sustainable and responsible manner.
One of my professors told me that the purpose of high school was to develop patriots and the purpose of college was to develop free thinkers. I think we should be developing free thinkers in high school. We need to change the philosophy of education to incorporate practical and applicable real-life curriculum. We all know the current system is failing. There are numerous issues that I have not addressed here. My main purpose with this website is to strike a conversation surrounding the current philosophy of education and creative ways of fostering the talent of our youth, driving them in a direction that is valid.
