Eugene Said:

Why is it important to formulate a philosophy of education?

We Answered:

It is easier to achieve a goal if you have one.

Sean Said:

what is your own philosophy in education?

We Answered:

Our education system needs a major reform. If we are talking public school, the school board should change every year and the MAIN criteria should be, being a PARENT, not a "career" board member. Parents need more involvement with their schools (plural), not just the school their child attends, but surrounding schools too.

As for the superintendent of the public school system, they too, should be a parent and familiar with the area, replaced yearly. It doesn't take a board of politicians to decide what a board of parents can decide in less time. Talk about action...put some concerned parents on a board (not PTA bs) about their children, their neighbors children and then their county’s children...oh my, what would we have created? A board of caring parents, looking out for the child’s best interest, not a government intrusion or a stepping-stone of a political agenda.


As for the schools, teachers and students of these public schools, we should hold them accountable for their positions in our lives.

1) Schools - every homeowner pays a tax toward public schooling, accumulated in the millions. We as taxpayers, pay for the teachers, the real estate on which the school sits, and many other necessities needed to run a successful school. They, as professional politicians, will try and convince the taxpayers, we don't pay enough. We can cut some of the fat by choosing our school board members with different credentials. Read above.

2) Teachers - who wouldn't enjoy a "job" that automatically gets minimum two months vacation every year? The pay may start off a little short, but if you're not in it for the students, why choose teaching as a profession? As you grow with your school system (you may move to another state) your years in your profession do not diminish, your pay increases with time doing what you like.
As a parent, we need to hold these people to the highest esteem; they represent us to our children. Teachers can also turn our children against us. They will use propaganda that "our" school board (read government) insists they teach. The teachers will "learn" from these members and pass this information on to our children, who then bring it home and teach it as gospel. If this was not your belief before they attended public school, it will create your first battleground. Remember, we as parents, only have our children the first five years of their life before we give them up to our government and outside intrusion.

3) Students - these are our children first, students second. If the parents were more involved in our school system (read above) our schools would be less intrusive, less feared. This is our child’s first opportunity to intermingle into our society. Our parenting lessons become more apparent to the outside world. Our children, our “students” represent us, their parents, to society. "Look at what I created," we scream to the world, "Look at our future".

Our public educational institutions need a major transformation. The first hint is the first word...public, meaning you and I, public as in taxpayer. We, as taxpayers, should have more control of the money we so graciously give our government. This all begins with our public school system, our children. Get involved.
<good luck>

Kelly Said:

What is the connectio of buddhist philosophy to education?

We Answered:

None. At least not in western countries. Certainly the teachings of the buddha are relevant to many aspects of living ones life-- but not to education in the western hemisphere.

Wayne Said:

Why is the philosophy of Existentialism the best philosophy of education?

We Answered:

Um, existentialism is a TOXIC form of education philosophy, and I AM an existentialist and LOVE existentialism.

Teachers should believe in simple rational ideas and convey them as if they were real. The fact that that is nonsense should not be introduced (especially to young children) because it is confusing and interferes with the process of rote memorization and sympathetic indoctrination that is the proper purpose of education. Or maybe you just want to undermine the status quo and help children to think out of the box and find their own realities using their own brains for their own purposes.

THEN maybe you would want existentialism as a form of education philosophy. But what UTILITY would that serve, and isn't education about making good and passive citizenry?

Emma Said:

Other than education, what professional fields require their practitioners to compose a personal philosophy?

We Answered:

Umm... what?

The purpose of the personal "philosophy" in the interview process to becoming a teacher is at least two-fold. Obviously it communicates to your prospective school of employment what you think of yourself, your potential, your career, your plans, etc... But it also communicates these things to YOU.
YOU clearly and undeniably have these things in mind about YOU which gives YOU focus and clarity.

In my opinion focus and clarity are good things.

You are confusing yourself. The personal "philosophy" of a teacher can do as much harm to the field of Philosophy as a bird can do to the sky.

And yes, Philosophy is already relative. That's precisely its strength and beauty.

Jack Said:

what is the importance of philosophy to education?

We Answered:

There's more than one.

Philosophy is about thinking deeply about something. So, thinking deeply about education, what's it's for, what makes an education a good education (and a good educational system a good educational system) are prerequisites to developing and assessing educational systems and methods.

Also, those being educated need to learn to think deeply about what they learn, and to explore the big questions, and see how all of the parts they learn fit together to help explain the world.

Philosophy includes reasoning about reason, and improving one's reasoning (to make it clear, relevant, broad, deep, accurate, and consistent).

Philosophy also includes reasoning about what is right and wrong and how we can tell; reasoning about what knowledge is and how we know what we know and whether we really know this or that thing.

Thus, the topics of philosophy: reason, ethics, epistemology should be taught so all students learn to think deeply and relevantly about them, and use their understanding to inform all of their beliefs and actions.

Dorothy Said:

Things to include in resume, philosophy of education and discipline?

We Answered:

With NCLB, uncertified teachers have a much rougher go of it.

Although you may be, in reality, better trained than a lot of others, NCLB has very specific standards for "highly qualified" teachers which you won't meet, and a lot of school districts won't want the ding on their percentages. (They have to report the percentage of classes not taught by "HQ" teachers).

Your best bet will be to get well known in a school by being a sub. A school may take a chance on a teacher that they know, but they may not want to interview a non certified teacher from a charter school (which many public schools personnel are not that fond of).