Teachers’ need for Philosophical Framework
There is a core belief behind every educator. We all have known teachers
who are simply amazing. They inspire, they impart knowledge and they add
value to their students’ lives. These individuals understand the sacrifice and
dedication one must make in order to be successful in the lives they touch.
Teaching is rewarding, exciting, and ever-changing. But it isn’t a perfect
career. And there are days all teachers grow weary and tired. Many
educators feel undervalued and overworked. The job of a teacher is never
done. That’s why it is important that an educator have a “Philosophical
Framework” that will help them stay focused on the good, great, hard and
challenging days.
Why have a teacher have a philosophical framework?
Teachers who perform with a purpose will find themselves more focused,
rejuvenated and excited. Through the various highs and lows, a philosophical
framework or “mission statement” helps an educator stay true to one’s core
beliefs. Making a set of philosophical framework may take some time, but
most instructors will find the process easy once they pause and think about
what drew them to this field in the first place. Reflecting on core values and
beliefs about education and the role of educators can bring life and direction
to any framework.
A philosophical framework, often called teachers' philosophy of education, is
simply, as a teacher what we believe about the educational process, and
how we plan to approach our classroom/students given what we believe.
I think there are two ways to approach this question: cerebrally and
practically. A "philosophy of education," cerebrally speaking, is never going
to remain stagnant once you enter the teaching world. As a senior in
classroom our level of experience with teaching likely does not exceed
student teaching and internships. This is a great time for us to think
about how we wish to approach the classroom, our students, the curriculum,
and the entire educational process because we are the most unaffected by
some of the negative sides of teaching as we will ever be.
Personally speaking, developing our philosophy of education will at least give
us a beginning goal. Then, understand, with every single year of experience,
our philosophy will likely change. We will start to realize what it is really
