Personal Educational Philosophy

By Maria Soto.

The social responsibility of teaching is frequently overlooked by society and even by teachers and schools
personnel. Schools are the place where children will face a social environment different from home for the
first time. The experiences that the students will be part of or witness within their schools will have a crucial
impact on their intellectual, emotional and social development. To be a teacher we must be willing to take a
responsibility that demands commitment from our professional and personal lives.
As a teacher, I see my classroom as small community, where understanding and living by a strong code
of ethics based on respect to the students, colleagues and the community is a must. Like any community, the
classroom needs rules and regulations, rights and responsibilities. Every teacher has the choice to be a dictator
who creates the rules to follow or a leader who invites members of the community to participate on the
development of those rules. Personally, I believe that a wise teacher is able to take both roles to respond to
the needs of the students.
I believe that a teacher should guide students knowledge, but not only academic knowledge. Childhood
and adolescence is the time when we learn who we are and who and what we will become. The purpose of
education should never be limited to math or language, sciences or social studies curriculum. The goal of
education should be more oriented to an integral development of children, where teachers, parents and school
personnel develop creative ways to meet our children needs in order to enable them to reach their full
potential and to meet their expectations rather than ours.
Helping children to become happy, healthy, responsible and successful members of society is a task that
takes a lot more than individual efforts. The relationship between parents, school and community are essential
for an integral development of the individual. Teachers are a great vehicle to build these relationships. Having
an open door policy is a great way to invite parents to be active part of the school community. Also exposing
children to safe interactions with the community will provide positive experience and tangible example of
good citizenship.
Parents and guardians are the cornerstone of any children academic, emotional and social development.
I believe that teachers should provide opportunities to maintain parents not only informed but involved. It is
important to understand that for working parents and guardians sometimes the school schedule is a barrier
to stay in touch with their childrens teacher, therefore scheduling phone conferences or providing an e-mail
address may the little bit of help they need. Also for students who for different reasons may have to be away

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from school frequently or those who struggle with their work habits, creating a class website that allows them
and their parents or guardians to remain involved with the class and the school.
Assessment is probably one of the most controversial and subjective issues that we face as educators; after
all who can tell with confidence that this or that way of measuring knowledge is fair and accurate. I dont
know a fail proof method to assess students progress; I just strongly believe assessment must be an ongoing
process and students efforts and personal growth should be component of any evaluation. The same way we
do not expect children to develop physically at the same rate and at the same time we cannot expect that their
intellectual development to meet those expectations. Assessment should measure the children progress
against him or herself rather than against an arbitrary norm.
Assessment for, as and of learning should be an ongoing process. Since the learner is an active participant
of the course design process he/she should also play a crucial role when it comes to assessment. The students
should be provided with choices to demonstrate their learning as it is a personal journey.
As teachers we must understand that every child learns differently and that our teaching methods and
course design models are more likely a work in progress than a task we have mastered. Every student will
teach us something new and will defy what we think we know.
When it comes to a course design model, a teacher must balance the course learning outcomes, students
needs, expectations and goals as well as the available resources to deliver the course. None of this factors
remain steady from course to course or from student to student which is probably the greatest challenge. The
model then should be simple enough to be easily adaptable and complex enough to be meaningful.
There is not a model or even a school of thought that can address the complexities associated with the
learning process, therefore establishing a commitment to any particular perspective is out of the question, at
least for me. A course design model is a living document that must change with time in order to reflect
professional growth, research innovation, life experiences and, above anything, each individual student's
expectations, passions, needs and goals.
Although I recognize the importance of content/learning outcomes, learning management systems, and
all other "practical" elements related to the learning process, I strongly believe that the most important aspect
of any learning process is a meaningful connection between all those involved: students, teachers,
administrators and community. The student is of course at the center of this process.
The theoretical framework that I feel more congruent to my teaching philosophy is the George Siemens
Connectivist Theory as it emphasizes the importance of establishing links between those with similar interest
(communities of practice) and that "learning and knowledge rest in a diversity of opinions" (Siemens, 2005).
We tend to connect learning to institutionalized settings when in fact the most incredible learning
opportunities often happen "outside the box".
The opportunities to acquire knowledge have grown exponentially with the development of informational
technology. Learning is no longer the transfer of content from teacher to pupil, from parents/adults to

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children, from master to apprentice. The role of the teacher and the role of the content have changed
substantially during the past 30 years.
The teacher went from being at the center of the stage to a more "behind the scenes" role with occasional
appearances at key moments. Teachers have now the opportunity to "...supply the students with the basic
framework for the course and then lead from behind..."(Kolowich, 2014). Content is simply a vehicle to provide
students the opportunity to develop personalized learning outcomes like higher level thinking, life skills,
overcome personal challenges, awakening curiosity, inquiry and passion. Within this context learning
happens in a variety of ways, traditional, non-traditional, within institutions and in our homes, face to face,
online, etc.
The accessibility and variety of information that we have access to makes the learning process much more
dynamic. Course materials are suggestions that can be easily modified and personalized by the teacher and /
or the learner to suit individual needs. Giving the student the opportunity to have an active role in the
selections of course materials increases engagement and attachment to learning and therefore have a
significant impact on the assessment portion of the course.

Sources:
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for a digital age. International Journal of
Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1). Retrieved February 20, 2009 from
http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm
Kolowich, S. (2014, January). George Siemens gets connected. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Retrieved February 20, 2009 from http://chronicle.com/article/George-Siemens-Gets-Connected/143959/

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