Education is….
I believe that one of the most important professional duties of a teacher is that of mentorship. To pass on our knowledge and experiences to other teachers, and in turn help them to be better able to reach more students. That’s why I created this blog. It’s also why I take on student teachers every year.
My newest student teacher starts Monday. As with every student teacher I put together a little care package, something to welcome them to the profession and my classroom. To let them know a little bit about myself, and what they’ve gotten themselves into. As part of this package I always include my written philosophy of education, and request that if they haven’t written their’s yet that they do so before the end of the practicum. I find knowing one’s educational beliefs and solidifying them on paper creates a wonderful teaching compass. I know philosophies can change over the years – but everyone needs a starting point. In times of confusion I pull mine and read it. It helps me remember what I hold dear, and can cut through the politics and other flotsam that can come with our profession.
Everyone has a different view as to what education is, and what’s truly important to learn. In preparing for this post I came across the following quotes:
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.” – Albert Einstein
“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper.” – Robert Frost
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” – Buddha
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” –Confucius
“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” – Albert Einstein
What is education? Is it learning facts and figures? The memorization of dates and events? Earlier this year I was talking to a principal who stated “All children are not only capable of learning – they all WILL learn something. Just not always what you want”. What is it that we want our students to take home with them at night?
To me education is the empowerment of our student. To provide them with the skills they need to solve their own problems, and discover solutions no one else has ever thought of. I have heard that Einstein had a sign in his office that read “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” I believe that education is the process by which teachers give our students that which can not be counted – self esteem, self empowerment, and pride.
What does education mean to you?
I remember as a student teacher and also as a beginning teacher moments of panic where I realized that the greatest determining factor in the children’s education was ME. Breathe in… breathe out… What an exciting and positively frightening thought at times. Yet I also recall a wise principal once consoling me with the notion that ‘they will learn despite us’.
So what is education? For me, aside from covering the curriculum outcomes in the program of studies, education is:
– learning how to learn, how to ask questions, how to work collaboratively with others, and how to solve problems
– developing a love for learning, a love for others, a love for life (and as a Catholic educator a love for God)
– developing the confidence and belief in oneself to take risks in learning new things, to accept new challenges, and to solve problems
Once again, a very thought-provoking question Mr. G!
Danny
What is education? Simply put, but much more complexly fulfilled. I think it’s preparing our youth for life. Now, that includes many things: the knowledge base and work ethic that will allow them to pursue their interests and be successful in their career, the ability to make difficult decisions when the world calls upon them, and the social skills to become well-rounded and contributing members of society. It’s not the daily math drills, or the ability to recite tons of historical dates, or even craft the neatest handwriting – it’s “everything that remains after one has forgotten what he learned in school”. The ability to stand on your own two feet and be the very best that you can be. How did this one woman at teachers convention put it? We can teach them everything we know, but they’ll still need to know more to live in their adult world. We have to teach them how to learn and find things out for themselves too!