My educational beliefs are intricately intertwined with my values, beliefs and understanding of the educational system and the institutional systems that influence it. I am not a teacher or a formal educator for that matter but below is a list of things that I believe as it relates to my educational philosophy.

 

I believe that…

 

Everyone is an educator at heart. In the same vein, that everyone is a role model (i.e. someone is always watching, observing, learning from you); all people (including infants, toddlers and teens) influence other people and can teach them how to be their best self. This can occur based on how they live their lives (i.e. action) or through great conversation.

 

Students/youth are educators too! Similar to the previous statement, it is important that educators see the lesson in everything (in the same manner that we want our students to learn from each lesson, from each school experience), educators can learn a lot from their pupils who have different experiences and different perspectives.

 

Everyone has a standard. It may appear that some people have no standards based on how they present themselves physically, socially or academically. However, this presentation is often a result of lack of exposure, lack of experience and/or lack of resources. As educators, it is important to tap into who our students/youth are at their core not simply what they present as students (e.g. the student who is the class prankster may be acting out as a result of some sort of lack). So as educators, helping students identify, refine and revamp their standards as a student, and even as a person is all a part of the goal!

 

Multiculturalism matters. As educators, it is important that we bring our experiences to the classroom. Appropriately sharing makes others feel as though they can share as well. For instance, an educator's recent family trip to Disney can turn into a lesson on geography, forms of travel, how to navigate a new environment and virtues (such as patience which is definitely needed when waiting in long amusement park lines). Multiculturalism comes in the form of different things and life experiences should not be overlooked in how they can help students through their educational journey.

 

Collaboration and teamwork are essential in a student's development. There are not many professional careers where an individual does not work with others in order to obtain a goal. It would be helpful to our future doctors, lawyers, journalist and mobile app creators :) to learn how to work with others at an early age so they can see the benefit in working with a team.    

 

Choice matters. Students should play a role in the program planning of their lessons. While some things are “set in stone” due to state requirements, the way in which a lesson is taught and/or tested can be developed in a manner so it can reach all students. When students feel as though they play a role in their education, in their learning they feel empowered, and connected which leads them to wanting to engage more in the classroom setting and ultimately, helps them to perform better.

 

Flexibility is an important characteristic of life. As an educator, it is important to model flexibility both for our students and for our own sake! It’s important to demonstrate that things do not always go as planned and that it’s ok to take another route in order to get the same result. This can be modeled through instruction or through managing some sort of classroom conflict.

 

Education is life-altering. Being properly educated can change the uncontrollable life circumstances of one’s pedigree, socioeconomic status, geographical location and familial history and trajectory. By becoming well-educated, a person can change their entire life through the opening of doors that may have previously been unavailable to them. As well, a person can make more informed decisions on things because they now have a wider range of knowledge as well as having a variety of resources that were accumulated through the years that they were being educated.

 

Everyone should have the right to a proper education. I say this as my final statement as I believe that each person has something valuable to contribute to society and through education, people are able to tap into a myriad of resources that help them understand different things about themselves and life. 

 

Please check out the video below from Dr. Maya Angelou; she speaks to my philosophy perfectly!