Philosophy of Education
Philosophy of Education
Teachers carry a heavy burden of responsibility and accountability before man and God which is stressed in Romans 12:6-7, 1 Peter 4:10, and James 3:1-2. As such, my philosophy of education reminds me to hold to what I believe is important about teaching and how I can best use my passion for teaching to serve and prepare students. There are four areas within the field of education that are important to me: the 40 developmental assets, inclusive education, incorporating technology into our classrooms, and cross-curricular teaching. I enjoy the challenge that comes with incorporating aspects of these four areas into my school days.
Search Institute has come up with a list of 40 Developmental Assets that help determine the current trend of a student’s success in school, development of healthy habits, and positive behaviors. The number of assets a child has is often determined by the type of home life they have. Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18) and the Lords prayer entrusts believers in Christ with the responsibility to bring Heaven to Earth. My desire is to apply these scriptures by creating a space where students have a sense of belonging and working with the school to build a strong support system to increase the number of assets they have. Asset development can come from something as simple as spending a few minutes chatting with each student throughout the day to developing projects that reach into the community. I know that children are resilient and my heart’s desire is to do what I can to make a difference in the lives of my students and show them Jesus’ heart.
Inclusive education involves making adaptations for differing ethnic backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and varying student maturity in one classroom and using it to benefit my students. Every classroom is unique and it can be difficult for a teacher to meet the needs of every child. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about the body of Christ, how each part is unique and necessary to function. Likewise, our classrooms are made complete as each child brings their own unique element to it. Making adaptations for my students is a continual learning process. I have found that developing activities and teaching to the different learning styles and abilities of my students ensures that they each receive instruction that challenges them and makes sense. It is also important to teach about the different cultures my students come from or may come across in their communities and how to respect each. When each student contributes to a thriving classroom using his or her God-given gifts, I would say that it is well on its way to being an inclusive environment.
Incorporating technology into the classroom is important to help engage and challenge students to new levels. The parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-29 talks about investing the resources that we have been given. This can be applied to how we should use the latest advances in technology to invest in our students’ growth. Using technology in the classroom allows us to enter the virtual world, much in the same way that books can transport us into another time and place. A classroom with computers develops student researchers and curious minds. If a question comes up a student can go to a computer and look up the answer. Use of the Internet also allows schools across the world to connect and learn from the other. Classroom websites allows students’ to publish their work for a larger audience and allows those who are away to still be part of their class. However, with the tools or talents that we have been given comes great responsibility to ensure the best use of these tools. I believe that teaching students how to appropriately use technology to their advantage will help benefit their personal and future work lives.
Cross-curricular teaching looks at developing a theme and using each subject area as a lens to examine the theme. I believe that teaching in this way adds depth of understanding to the objectives being taught and helps the student answer the question, “Why should I even care about what I am learning?” as the content becomes relevant to the student’s life. Teaching this way takes some piecing together of curriculum objectives and a creative mind. However, by doing so I am creating an environment for higher-level thinking in students. There is also an added benefit within a Christian setting since students will also be able to see what the Bible has to say on the topics being examined. In doing so, students will develop and strengthen their convictions through discussion and see the Bible as being relevant to their lives today.
As Christian teachers, there are so many areas that we can specialize in, making us a body within the body of Christ. I have chosen to learn how to incorporate the developmental assets, inclusive education, technology in education and cross-curricular teaching as habits in my teaching practice. To do so, I rely on the work of educators who have made it their life’s work to specialize in each of those fields, each seeking to add value to the current system of education. My desire is to bring honor to God in the classroom, and work within the Christian education community to bring up a child in the way he should go so that when he is old he will not depart from it.
Teachers carry a heavy burden of responsibility and accountability before man and God which is stressed in Romans 12:6-7, 1 Peter 4:10, and James 3:1-2. As such, my philosophy of education reminds me to hold to what I believe is important about teaching and how I can best use my passion for teaching to serve and prepare students. There are four areas within the field of education that are important to me: the 40 developmental assets, inclusive education, incorporating technology into our classrooms, and cross-curricular teaching. I enjoy the challenge that comes with incorporating aspects of these four areas into my school days.
Search Institute has come up with a list of 40 Developmental Assets that help determine the current trend of a student’s success in school, development of healthy habits, and positive behaviors. The number of assets a child has is often determined by the type of home life they have. Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18) and the Lords prayer entrusts believers in Christ with the responsibility to bring Heaven to Earth. My desire is to apply these scriptures by creating a space where students have a sense of belonging and working with the school to build a strong support system to increase the number of assets they have. Asset development can come from something as simple as spending a few minutes chatting with each student throughout the day to developing projects that reach into the community. I know that children are resilient and my heart’s desire is to do what I can to make a difference in the lives of my students and show them Jesus’ heart.
Inclusive education involves making adaptations for differing ethnic backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and varying student maturity in one classroom and using it to benefit my students. Every classroom is unique and it can be difficult for a teacher to meet the needs of every child. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about the body of Christ, how each part is unique and necessary to function. Likewise, our classrooms are made complete as each child brings their own unique element to it. Making adaptations for my students is a continual learning process. I have found that developing activities and teaching to the different learning styles and abilities of my students ensures that they each receive instruction that challenges them and makes sense. It is also important to teach about the different cultures my students come from or may come across in their communities and how to respect each. When each student contributes to a thriving classroom using his or her God-given gifts, I would say that it is well on its way to being an inclusive environment.
Incorporating technology into the classroom is important to help engage and challenge students to new levels. The parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-29 talks about investing the resources that we have been given. This can be applied to how we should use the latest advances in technology to invest in our students’ growth. Using technology in the classroom allows us to enter the virtual world, much in the same way that books can transport us into another time and place. A classroom with computers develops student researchers and curious minds. If a question comes up a student can go to a computer and look up the answer. Use of the Internet also allows schools across the world to connect and learn from the other. Classroom websites allows students’ to publish their work for a larger audience and allows those who are away to still be part of their class. However, with the tools or talents that we have been given comes great responsibility to ensure the best use of these tools. I believe that teaching students how to appropriately use technology to their advantage will help benefit their personal and future work lives.
Cross-curricular teaching looks at developing a theme and using each subject area as a lens to examine the theme. I believe that teaching in this way adds depth of understanding to the objectives being taught and helps the student answer the question, “Why should I even care about what I am learning?” as the content becomes relevant to the student’s life. Teaching this way takes some piecing together of curriculum objectives and a creative mind. However, by doing so I am creating an environment for higher-level thinking in students. There is also an added benefit within a Christian setting since students will also be able to see what the Bible has to say on the topics being examined. In doing so, students will develop and strengthen their convictions through discussion and see the Bible as being relevant to their lives today.
As Christian teachers, there are so many areas that we can specialize in, making us a body within the body of Christ. I have chosen to learn how to incorporate the developmental assets, inclusive education, technology in education and cross-curricular teaching as habits in my teaching practice. To do so, I rely on the work of educators who have made it their life’s work to specialize in each of those fields, each seeking to add value to the current system of education. My desire is to bring honor to God in the classroom, and work within the Christian education community to bring up a child in the way he should go so that when he is old he will not depart from it.