Our education is one of the most important aspects in all of our lives—we base our beliefs, values, and much of what we know about ourselves and the world on how we have been educated. I am a proponent of the idea that the world becomes what you teach. As teachers, we have so many opportunities to impact the lives of our students, either positively or negatively, and it is imperative that teachers are working to affect positive changes. I think that the purpose of educating students is to prepare them to be productive members of society once they are on their own, scaffolding until students are self-sufficient learners. Students should be exposed to a wide array of learning experiences, expanding far beyond the core subjects and including life skills classes and courses that enhance critical thinking and relevant problem-solving skills. A school should be a positive, welcoming environment for all students, and all students should receive equitable opportunities. In order to have a school system that works in the best interest of all parties involved—teachers, students, and society at large—each of these parties have specific roles that they must fulfill. The quality of education that our future society members are receiving does not lie solely in the hands of any one individual; it is a continuous effort that must be made by everyone.
In my opinion, a teacher’s most important role is to affect a change in their students. It is my belief that every student has the potential to bring greatness into the world, and it is every teacher’s responsibility to recognize that potential and inspire students to achieve it. When the teacher acts as a resource and a mentor for students—someone who can teach beyond the confines of their subject matter and guide students to answer some of their own questions—that is when students learn to think critically and begin to discover themselves. Understanding and implementing instruction aligning with the Constructivist theory is crucial to my philosophy of teaching and learning. Within this structure, students construct their own meaning with the guidance of a teacher through participation in student-centered activities. Students’ brains are not empty vessels simply waiting to be filled; each student plays a role in their own accrual of knowledge. It is the job of teachers to make our students feel capable and successful, and the way to do that is to give them the tools they need to become independent thinkers and problem-solvers. I believe that teachers should serve as a safe space; it is important to be trustworthy adults in the lives of our students. Many students do not have positive role models at home, and I believe it is the teacher’s duty to take on that role and guide students to the best of their ability. Also, an effective teacher must always desire to continue learning for life, because if we want our students to be passionate about education, then we must model that passion and pass it on to them.
Along with teachers, students play an equally crucial role in education—without learners, there would be no need for teachers. In pursuit of their own knowledge and growth, students should be active participants in their learning, which means completing assignments as thoroughly as possible, openly engaging in classroom discussion, and asking questions when they arise. For a student to be successful, they must self-motivate, along with the inspiration from teachers, and dedicate themselves to learning. It is a student’s job to understand that they are ultimately in charge of the construction of their own knowledge, and they must have the drive to learn how to effectively solve problems and think independently. Overall, a student must want to learn in order to truly learn. As our students are young adults who are learning more about themselves and the world around them every day, it is also their job to make mistakes. Every classroom is composed of many imperfect students and at least one imperfect teacher. It is the job of teachers and students alike to be flexible, forgiving, and resilient. We need to be patient with ourselves and one another, learning from mistakes as we move forward, working together to overcome obstacles.
The purpose of using a curriculum is to theoretically ensure that every child across the nation is receiving the same educational opportunities. Whether or not using a curriculum actually works in practice is another question; many schools rise above or fall behind due to socioeconomic and other factors. I believe that academic learning should be the most heavily emphasized thing in the curriculum (learning history, science, math, and English as the core subjects), but I also think that an important part of students’ education involves critical thinking in contexts relevant to their lives. This can be achieved by implementing student-centered learning activities within these core classes. Bringing in more discussion-based lessons, in which students truly have a voice, in order to teach them to form educated opinions and to listen critically to the ideas of their peers is necessary if we are to guide them to become self-aware and self-sufficient learners. Focusing on providing experiences during which students feel competent, appropriately challenged, and that their learning is immediately relevant to their lives also helps to create a more engaging learning environment where student more is more authentic. Secondary school is a crucial time in a child’s development, when they are learning more about themselves and becoming more mature young adults, and we need to teach classes that address some of the issues that so many students face. While I do think that one of the purposes of education is to prepare students for college or the workforce, I think the ultimate goal for schools should be to effectively prepare students to be significant members of their society as adults, in whatever way that may be.
Education plays a key role in the way our society functions, as students currently being educated will soon be the adults capable of making political, educational, philosophical changes in the world. As I have said before, it is my opinion that the world becomes what you teach. The type and quality of education students receive in schools impacts the knowledge, values, and skills that they can bring to the table when they are in charge. I think that in order to ensure a future society that has the critical thinking skills needed to address major issues that we face throughout the world, educators need to focus much of our energy on strengthening and empowering our students to want to continue learning and growing long after graduation. As Zoe Weil calls it, we need to create a generation of “solutionaries”—students who are motivated to and capable of tackling serious and complex problems. Schools should be producing well-rounded, open-minded critical thinkers who are equipped with the tools that they need to take strides towards bettering themselves and pursuing their passions.
In conclusion, education affects every facet of our lives—the way that societal leaders have been educated shapes the way in which they think, act, and even legislate. These leaders affect all of us and our daily lives, and soon, the students that we are teaching will become those powerful individuals who make world-changing decisions. The way in which we teach our students can make all the difference in how they see and experience the world. While many believe that the quality of a student’s education lies entirely in the hands of the teacher, it takes the effort of everyone to create a system that is as effective as possible. As Helen Keller, a pioneer of education for the blind and deaf, once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” The true goal of education is to create students with high intelligence and good character, and to maintain a system in which the curriculum includes a plethora of courses relevant to students’ everyday lives and encourages them to think intensely and critically. The kinds of “solutionaries” we need are created in a system as such. Effective education is a collaborative effort—one that we all must contribute to in order to ensure that every student has the opportunities to maximize their potential and be a force of greatness in the world.