My Philosophy of Education
I believe that students not only need academic achievements but also good characters development, including honesty, kindness, responsibility, and respect. People who are very intelligent but without good characters are difficult to grow as an individual. They are not easily accepted by people and may do harm to the society. If students are not only taught academic knowledge, but also how to be a good person, they will know how to treat people and they are more likely to succeed since connections matter a lot in today’s world.
I believe that students should be taught to be life-long learners. Study does not just happen in the classroom, but everywhere in life. Study does not just happen when people are young, but for the whole life. It is never too old to learn. If students are cultivated with life-long learning habits, they will benefit from it for the whole life. Study in school can not meet all the needs of people. It is imperative to help students to be able to improve Self-directed learning ability.
I believe that teaching and learning should be student-centered. As educators, we should play the role as a guide for students and make students study in an authentic environment rather than cramming. We should be able to stimulate students’ interest and motivate them to learn. Every student is unique. Students have different learning styles. We should make teaching and learning favorable and appropriate for students with different learning styles and various needs.
I believe that students should be encouraged to explore and try. Study in school can not meet all the curiosity of students. Students need to be able to explore and try by themselves sometimes. When students are growing, they have to do something by themselves, which can not be replaced by parents or teachers. It is also a good way to increase students’ maturity, creativeness, and innovativeness. Although there may be some pain when they try something new, it is human nature to experience and grow stronger since then. If we cut the pupa to help the butterfly, it will die instead of flying out. Just let the butterfly struggle and it will be stronger and fly out.
I believe that students should be taught how to manage themselves. Students grow gradually as independent individuals and it is increasingly important to know how to manage the time and develop good habits. As we know, many students have the procrastination problem which easily influence their learning performance, and the other aspects of their life as well. If teachers can help them develop good habits, students will greatly benefit from it not just for studying at school, but also for the whole life after they graduate and leave school.
Last but not least, I believe that students should be taught 21st century skills including critical-thinking, problem-solving, digital literacy, collaboration, interpersonal communication, and team work. We are not cultivating students for some specific jobs since the world is changing so fast and the jobs exist now may disappear soon and new jobs will emerge. Shift happens. Our mission is to make our students ready for the jobs that are even not existed yet. We should value every progress our students make and their grow as an individual. It is our responsibilities to be open-minded to see the changes in the world and prepare our students for an ever-challenging world.
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
—- William Butler Yeats