self - evaluation

Self – Evaluation and Reflection

Who Am I?

                To be a medium of education is a great but heavy responsibility. Teaching a bunch of future professionals is somewhat challenging yet fulfilling. True, being a teacher is full of iron. That is why I thought who I am as a teacher.

                What I did was I took the Educational Philosophies Self – assessment and evaluated myself.

                The first question was “What is the essence of education?” I chose the second statement which says that ”The essence of education is growth.” I believe that through education, mentors like us will be able to provide room for development for each of our learners who have different capacities. It is our job to help them identify what they can do and who they can be

                Second question states, “What is the nature of the learner?” I answered b and d stating “The learner is a unique, free choosing and responsible creature made up intellect and emotion” and “The learner is a storehouse for knowledge and skills, which, once acquired, can later be applied and used”, respectively. Based on my five years experience as a teacher, I can’t deny the fact that whatever rules I imply on the set of learners I have, they will try to impose what they believe is good for them. So, I have to gauge things and let their rules and my rules click so that they can become a storehouse for the knowledge and skills that I transfer to them.

                “How should education provide for the needs of man?” is the third question. I replied, “Since the need of man is variable, education should concentrate on developing the individual differences in students.” A teacher cannot force his pupil to learn the academics if the pupil has no interest in it. We can only teach them the basics about it but we have to cater to what the learners are interested in to make them have the confidence and the knowledge they would need when they will be on their own.

                The fourth question asks, “What should be the environment of education?” The answer I chose was “Education should possess an environment where the students adjust to the material and social world as it really exists.” Of course we can show them how to cooperate with their “little community” and socialize with their “little neighbors”. If ever they get in a fight, the teacher or guidance counselor can talk them about how they should deal with things like this and how it would affect their life in their community and in the future. The learners get an experience on how to act in a bigger community as times go by.

                Number five asks “What should be the goal of education?” I said, “Growth, through the reconstruction of experience, is the nature and should be the open – ended goal of education.”  If education is open – ended, it is able to scrutinize possible changes and embrace that change.

                “What should be the concern of the school?” I answered in number six that “The school should provide education for the ‘whole child’, centering its attention on all needs and interests of the child” because the school was made for the development of the child. Who else was it made for?

`               Question number seven was, “What should be the atmosphere of the school?” I chose several answers to this question. First answer I chose was “The school should provide for group thinking in a democratic atmosphere that fosters cooperation rather than competition.” This makes the learning process a comfortable one. The second choice I made was “The atmosphere should be the one of authentic freedom where a student is allowed to find own truth and ultimate fulfillment through non – conforming choice making.” Though I try to make my students follow the norms of the culture, I still make them think out of the box. This makes them good decision makers. The third choice was “The school retains an atmosphere, which would introduce the student to a perceptual examination of the realities about him.” Experiencing reality is good for the learner so that he or she knows how to act on and solve the problem he or she faces.

                “How should appropriate learning occur?” I answered “Appropriate learning takes place through the experience of problem – solving projects by which the child is led from practical issues to theoretical principle (concrete to abstract).” This will probably sharpen the young minds.

                In the question “What should be the role of the teacher?” I answered, “The teacher should present the principles and the values and the reason for them, encouraging students’ to examine them in order to choose for themselves whether or not to accept them.” Teachers should only facilitate and leave the thinking to the learners. I believe this is the way to let the youth know how to decide for themselves.

“What should the curriculum include?” this is the tenth question and I answered that “The curriculum should concentrate on teaching students how to manage change through problem solving activities in the social studies….empirical sciences and vocational technology.” I am a believer of academics, yet if the students can’t cope up with this, why not try on their skills? We may not need to drop them all out of the system, instead we give importance to the other things that they can do better other than the academics.

The last but not the least questions asks “What should be the preferred teaching method?” I answered “Projects s should be the preferred method whereby the students can be guided through problem – solving experience”, “Lecture, readings, and discussions should be the preferred methods for training intellect”, Demonstrations should be the preferred method for teaching knowledge and skills” and “Socratic dialogue (Drawing responses from a questioning conversation) should be the preferred method for finding the self.” Yes, I chose all four because, whatever educational philosophy you stand for as a teacher, you still have to compromise according to the needs of your learners. Teachers should be flexible.

My answers resulted to PROGRESSIVISM. Having the Progressivists’ view, or any view for that matter, is good as long as the main aim of each teacher is to help a young mind become developed, useful and better for the future generations to come. That’s what teachers are here for.