Philosophy of Education
Learning Together
As a new special education teacher in the late 1970s, a poster hung in my classroom picturing a student with Down Syndrome in a classroom experience with a small group of elementary school children. The caption on the poster stated “Learning Together.” Special Education was a new area in the field of education and inclusiveness for children with disabilities was new ground. Reflecting on inclusiveness in schools today I recognize the work needed for equitable education for all children - children with disabilities, children with cultural, religious, and linguistic differences from the dominant culture, children with economic challenges, and the many various other life factors creating interesting and yet challenging situations for our formal education systems. Thirty years later inclusiveness is still new ground.
Learning is a social process. From the very beginning of a child’s life the quality of the social connection with parents forms the likelihood of the child’s successful learning and emotional relationships. Through the relationships with parents and caregivers as their first teachers, very young children construct knowledge and make connections that are meaningful to them in the context of their families and earliest experiences. I often hear the idea that “children need early childhood programs to enter school ready to learn.” The fact is that children have already learned and bring their knowledge and working models for learning with them when they enter school to begin their formal education. These working models are based on the culture of the child’s early experiences.
Children come to school – eager, trusting, observant, cautious, advantaged, socially competent, disadvantaged, distrustful, verbally precocious, hungry, and so on – with diverse characteristics of many descriptions and working models for learning just as diverse. And educators come to school ready to carryout the mission of the school “to educate students to become global citizens.” Educators bring their constructed working models of teaching and learning based on training, previous teaching experience, and the culture of their family and community. Education continues for the children based on the teacher – student relationship established. Each teacher – student relationship is unique, requiring on-going individual reflection to assess the development, learning strengths, needs, and interests of each child. A successful educator recognizes the gifts and learning needs each child brings to the school community. The social context for learning promotes interaction of students in their construction of academic, social, and moral / character knowledge and connections. When supported and guided well within the social context the resulting relationships in the learning community are inclusive of all.
As students move through their school years the structures, curricular, instructional, and assessment components may change. Still the heart of education continues to be the quality of the various relationships in schools supporting students as they develop constructed knowledge, skills for critical thinking, problem-solving, and motivation for continued learning. Just as a child in the early years is developing a working model for learning, a student in the later school years is developing a model for working and living in society. Education that emphasizes evolving, socially constructed knowledge, and exploring meaningful connections as a strategy develops citizens who will learn, collaborate, create, and contribute throughout their lives.
Spring 2010