My Story
My Personal Educational Philosophy Statement | by Nellie Deutsch Abstract:
My love of education and learning never ends. My after school activities also deal with education but on a deeper level as I collaborate with other educators worldwide. In this article, I would like to reflect and discuss my personal educational philosophy of learning and instruction as a way to enhance my personal and professional developments. |
There are many educational philosophies that determine which teaching instruction you use. These include: perennialism, idealism, realism, experimentalism, existentialism (UOP, 2002), essentialism, progressivism, and behaviorism (Shaw, n.d). Effective teaching may be classified as transmission, apprenticeship, developmental, nurturing, and social reform (Pratt, & Collins, 2001). Many of these schools of thought reflect my own personal educational philosophy (see Appendix 1) and my instructional practices and choice of classroom curriculum. This paper is a reflection of my personal educational philosophy and teaching ideas.When I was in grade eight I took part in a public speaking essay contest at Humewood Public School in Toronto, Ontario. Each candidate had to go from class to class and speak. The students nominated and later voted for the best speech. I came in third. My topic was the value of education. I was petrified as I spoke in front of the whole school on parents' night but was determined to make my points heard. Two years later I started reading books by Jean Paul Sartre and other existentialist writers. I never intended to go into teaching but circumstances changed that. My move to Israel brought me into the classroom by chance. I volunteered to teach by substituting at a public school where I was needed. Once again my ideas of what education should be came back as I stood in front of my students. I have been teaching for over 30 years. My philosophy of education has remained existentialist with a combination of experimentalism
My love of education and learning never ends. My after school activities also deal with education but on a deeper level as I collaborate with other educators worldwide. In this article, I would like to reflect and discuss my personal educational philosophy of learning and instruction as a way to enhance my personal and professional developments. |
There are many educational philosophies that determine which teaching instruction you use. These include: perennialism, idealism, realism, experimentalism, existentialism (UOP, 2002), essentialism, progressivism, and behaviorism (Shaw, n.d). Effective teaching may be classified as transmission, apprenticeship, developmental, nurturing, and social reform (Pratt, & Collins, 2001). Many of these schools of thought reflect my own personal educational philosophy (see Appendix 1) and my instructional practices and choice of classroom curriculum. This paper is a reflection of my personal educational philosophy and teaching ideas.When I was in grade eight I took part in a public speaking essay contest at Humewood Public School in Toronto, Ontario. Each candidate had to go from class to class and speak. The students nominated and later voted for the best speech. I came in third. My topic was the value of education. I was petrified as I spoke in front of the whole school on parents' night but was determined to make my points heard. Two years later I started reading books by Jean Paul Sartre and other existentialist writers. I never intended to go into teaching but circumstances changed that. My move to Israel brought me into the classroom by chance. I volunteered to teach by substituting at a public school where I was needed. Once again my ideas of what education should be came back as I stood in front of my students. I have been teaching for over 30 years. My philosophy of education has remained existentialist with a combination of experimentalism