A Philosophy of Education
By Ethaniel C. Aubrey-Mitchell
By Ethaniel C. Aubrey-Mitchell
As a music educator and someone whom is living in an age where education not taken as seriously anymore and no longer a priority by many, it truly breaks my heart. Many do not see the benefits of public education, nor do they value the education that they have been given. So many people take all of the knowledge and experience from their education for granted and do not realize what opportunity they were really given and how their experiences during their education has affected them; maybe even in their current state. One of my objectives within this reading is to inform those of the following topics: what education is, why it is sought after, educations importance, the effect a teacher can have on a student, as well as where I stand on the matter.
The topic of education is always an interesting one and its weight greatly differs today from when the term was likely first being used. For example, the common man did not possess as much knowledge a couple thousand years ago as they would today. A couple thousand years ago, not only was there a commonly believed myth that the earth was flat, but the average person in the world had no concept of other persons living in unexplored (for their respective cultures’) lands, nor did they know what laid at the bottom of our ocean, or even comprehend the vastness of space. This is not for insult of people of the past of course, but to merely give perspective of how far we have come.
However, education is so much more than just the regurgitating of facts from one person to another for consumption; as many may stereotype the U.S. public school systems of doing. Education is a journey, an experience, and a story to be told later.
Why is it that humans have a pursuit for knowledge? What makes us such a thirsty people to seek out for such information that is not handed to us on a platter? It’s simple really. I’ve already given the root of the answer. Humanity. Our humanity is something that is a common ground and something that all people share and can relate to. It is our curiosity that always seems to help us make strides in better understanding our world a little bit better, as well as the universe that surrounds us.
The importance of education is a topic that contrasts notably within the public opinion. There are those who define education as what individuals learn in school, while others believe that the reference to the term education refers more to a much bigger idea; an idea that I myself identify the most with. The concept is simply this, education can never stop.
The inferred interpretation of the above bolded statement is solely an individual’s abrupt choice to halt all learning. This is a dangerous territory as the moment that a person stops learning is the moment that not only do their skills; those involving life in addition to learning more about the world around them, start to plateau, but their valued experiences will surely come to a standstill. This will begin to start taking a toll on the persons drive to strive for anything, whether it be to better themselves or others, and inevitably result in the loss of their humanity.
For, what is the goal of education? The ultimate goal for education whether it is in a school’s context, or that within life in general would be to better prepare the said individual for the future. What is the purpose of humanity? This is a much different sort of existential question than why humans exist biologically. This question also differs for what the meaning of life is. This question in particular refers to the function of the intelligence and the potential for knowledge that we possess. Humanity’s purpose is to live. Our purpose is to live, to learn, and to experience.
A teacher’s performance within a classroom can play a life changing role. For instance, a teacher whom does not care to deliver their content effectively may result in a student’s or a multitude of students’ discouragement, which may lead to the group of students to have a predisposition to a negative connotation regarding a certain subject matter, thus creating a war-flashback of a certain lesson and a dislike or disinterest in anything regarding the thought. Another way a teacher might be ineffective is lacking the interpersonal skills with connecting to their students. A person gushing facts in the front of a room, where the students have no way of identifying with the said person or sometimes even the topic at hand can also be problematic. This being due to the fact that without the student being able to create relationships and parallels with a person or topic, they will simply be less likely to remember the said information.
Counter-intuitively, an effective teacher in the classroom goes beyond their degree received and granted from their respective state. An effective teacher must not only possess the skills of an instructor, but also the characteristics of a mentor. The biggest difference between a mere instructor and a mentor are that an instructor only informs others regarding whatever information is at hand, while a mentor is not only a teacher, but also a life influence. A mentor is kind, compassionate, and understanding. A mentor is knowledgeable, yet humble. A mentor has objectives for both themselves as well as bettering others, yet is patient. A mentor is inspiring to others; regardless if it is their intention. A good teacher, when going past the title must possess all of these characteristics in addition to the skills of being able to be clear and concise with their information and instruction.
Where do I fit in? I believe that my job, is to not only teach music, nor to just be an educator in a classroom. My dream is to not only help nurture my students as musicians, improve their technical skills, broaden their musical repertoire, and guide them on their musical journey, but to aid others in guiding them through life in general, with the hope of impacting them in a way that helps them to also grow into better people.
The topic of education is always an interesting one and its weight greatly differs today from when the term was likely first being used. For example, the common man did not possess as much knowledge a couple thousand years ago as they would today. A couple thousand years ago, not only was there a commonly believed myth that the earth was flat, but the average person in the world had no concept of other persons living in unexplored (for their respective cultures’) lands, nor did they know what laid at the bottom of our ocean, or even comprehend the vastness of space. This is not for insult of people of the past of course, but to merely give perspective of how far we have come.
However, education is so much more than just the regurgitating of facts from one person to another for consumption; as many may stereotype the U.S. public school systems of doing. Education is a journey, an experience, and a story to be told later.
Why is it that humans have a pursuit for knowledge? What makes us such a thirsty people to seek out for such information that is not handed to us on a platter? It’s simple really. I’ve already given the root of the answer. Humanity. Our humanity is something that is a common ground and something that all people share and can relate to. It is our curiosity that always seems to help us make strides in better understanding our world a little bit better, as well as the universe that surrounds us.
The importance of education is a topic that contrasts notably within the public opinion. There are those who define education as what individuals learn in school, while others believe that the reference to the term education refers more to a much bigger idea; an idea that I myself identify the most with. The concept is simply this, education can never stop.
The inferred interpretation of the above bolded statement is solely an individual’s abrupt choice to halt all learning. This is a dangerous territory as the moment that a person stops learning is the moment that not only do their skills; those involving life in addition to learning more about the world around them, start to plateau, but their valued experiences will surely come to a standstill. This will begin to start taking a toll on the persons drive to strive for anything, whether it be to better themselves or others, and inevitably result in the loss of their humanity.
For, what is the goal of education? The ultimate goal for education whether it is in a school’s context, or that within life in general would be to better prepare the said individual for the future. What is the purpose of humanity? This is a much different sort of existential question than why humans exist biologically. This question also differs for what the meaning of life is. This question in particular refers to the function of the intelligence and the potential for knowledge that we possess. Humanity’s purpose is to live. Our purpose is to live, to learn, and to experience.
A teacher’s performance within a classroom can play a life changing role. For instance, a teacher whom does not care to deliver their content effectively may result in a student’s or a multitude of students’ discouragement, which may lead to the group of students to have a predisposition to a negative connotation regarding a certain subject matter, thus creating a war-flashback of a certain lesson and a dislike or disinterest in anything regarding the thought. Another way a teacher might be ineffective is lacking the interpersonal skills with connecting to their students. A person gushing facts in the front of a room, where the students have no way of identifying with the said person or sometimes even the topic at hand can also be problematic. This being due to the fact that without the student being able to create relationships and parallels with a person or topic, they will simply be less likely to remember the said information.
Counter-intuitively, an effective teacher in the classroom goes beyond their degree received and granted from their respective state. An effective teacher must not only possess the skills of an instructor, but also the characteristics of a mentor. The biggest difference between a mere instructor and a mentor are that an instructor only informs others regarding whatever information is at hand, while a mentor is not only a teacher, but also a life influence. A mentor is kind, compassionate, and understanding. A mentor is knowledgeable, yet humble. A mentor has objectives for both themselves as well as bettering others, yet is patient. A mentor is inspiring to others; regardless if it is their intention. A good teacher, when going past the title must possess all of these characteristics in addition to the skills of being able to be clear and concise with their information and instruction.
Where do I fit in? I believe that my job, is to not only teach music, nor to just be an educator in a classroom. My dream is to not only help nurture my students as musicians, improve their technical skills, broaden their musical repertoire, and guide them on their musical journey, but to aid others in guiding them through life in general, with the hope of impacting them in a way that helps them to also grow into better people.
Original: 1/26/17
Edited: 3/4/2020
Edited: 3/4/2020