PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
My Philosophy of Education is that education should: teach universal truths, teach about our history of humankind, teach about the history of America, teach practical abilities, teach students to think critically, and to help empower students to achieve their goals in life. I believe this is a very well rounded approach versus focusing on any one of those. I do believe different subjects will definitely have more of a focus on one or the other. This is because in my experience this is what school has done for me. When I think of the best things school has taught me, most of it falls into one of those different categories. My discipline is going to be financially literacy. My purpose will translate into this subject by giving students a great understanding for how things work financially, where that came from, and emphasizing practical skills toward finances and the ability to think critically for themselves when it comes to financial decisions. This is important because many people’s lives and dreams are handcuffed by bad financial decisions they have made. I want my students to be able to avoid this. I have chosen education because I am tired of the business world and am excited to bring all the years of experience I have to help students.
In order to enact that philosophy in the classroom I will be very clear to communicate: what I expect from my students, what they can expect from me, and further try to learn their goals and interests in order to motivate and accomplish learning. On the first day I will hand out a syllabus stating what I expect from them, and I will gather feedback on what they expect from me and my course. From me students can expect a sincere, passionate teacher who truly has a desire for them to learn and be ready for their future. Many people make financial mistakes and it hampers their goals, family, and marriage and I have a desire to try and enable my students to be able to prevent that. I plan on using real world examples along with personal stories articulating mistakes that have been made. In order for me to keep up with student interests and changing worldly financial landscape I plan on engaging in continuing education, leadership and coaching clinics, reading books, and continued study of the financial markets and economics.
I expect my students to approach my class with integrity, a willingness to learn, and an open mind to new ideas or new way of doing things. I expect my students to have a good attitude and have a classroom environment where we have a mutual respect for each other. In order to know what I expect from them this will be continuously communicated along with anything else that I might expect from them. We will be constantly talking about attitude, and discussing ways we can have a positive attitude in my class and in life. If a student is displaying poor attitude, I plan to verbally ask them to change their attitude. If further action is needed I will ask the student to see me after class. Hopefully in doing so we can get to the root of the problem and no further action is needed. I truly believe in the importance of financial literacy and how it can affect people’s lives. That is why I want to teach this. I hope to have to students buy into that so they can truly accomplish their dreams, and not only financial dreams but any dreams. Many times finances and even bad financial decisions serve as handcuffs in preventing people from chasing what they really want in life. I plan on empowering my students to see that does not have to be them.