Sunday, January 17, 2010

Philosophy of Education


After re-reading my ten-year old philosophy of education statement, I realized that it has changed but not much. My old statement focused on teaching students the value of community, social responsibility, and diversity through literature. Today, I still believe in teaching students to value social responsibility, diversity, and the notion of community. I believe it is important for students to see themselves as more than just individuals, but as part of something larger, something better, greater. I believe that we as a society have been programmed to go about our lives each day like robots needing to get the "job" done, whatever that job may be. This type of thinking allows us not to see how all the parts fit together and thus makes us look at life and each other as less valuable, less human.

Teachers and librarians today can instill the values of social responsibility in students by finding ways to engage and involve them in the learning process. One way to do this is through the use of technology. Technology in education is not new but a growing trend. Today, students can communicate with people all around the world. What was once small and local is now large and global. Technology in education allows students the opportunity to get involved in the world. Teachers and librarians can help students by teaching them how to become information literate and ethical users of technology and information by creating research-based and project-based learning opportunities involving technology. By doing so, teachers and librarians allow students to go beyond the old Power Point and poster presentations and become invested in their own thinking and learning.

Sources:

Munroe, Randall. XKCD: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. Date Accessed 17 January, 2010. http://xkcd.com/220/
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 4:33 PM

    I will be interested in reading your thoughts about how technology can help build community, and more about the kinds of community that are possible when technology is key to their formation and maintenance. That sounds perhaps too formal -- how do online communities differ from real-world communities, if at all? Anything gained? Anything lost?

    jd

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  2. CKFebruary 3, 2010 at 9:38 PM

    I like this concept of the students being taught to "become information literate and ethical users of technology." I agree that the students need to be educated on what is available to them and also need to have the opportunity to explore what is out there. What I have a hard time with is who decides what a student has access to and when (both in relation to age and throughout the day)? How do we teach a student to be responsible on the internet? To me this is much like, "how do we teach a student to be responsible in life?" But in what we do for students to guide them in life, we can't click on the "history" button on the web browser to see what is done. For life we give them as much guidance and information and assistance as they want to listen to. In life they are sent on their own to make decisions about their life, which is not as immediate as what they find or choose to do with technology.
    I don't think that I am being totally clear, but what I am trying to say is how do we teach the students to be literate and ethical? And then do we just trust that they will?

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