Philosophy of Education
Education is a dynamic process. It relies on the hard work, cooperation, motivation and determination of students, teachers, staff, administrators and parents, all of whom form a team that enables all members to grow socially, academically and personally. Each part of that team has a role, but no role is stagnant, and all roles overlap with one another. Students must want to learn and excel, and their teachers must have the ability to constantly foster an environment in which learning is the leading priority. Administrators and parents must always provide support for both students and teachers and constantly fight for the student’s right to education.
Students must have some intrinsic motivation to learn in order to fulfil their role in the education process. The learning that they want to do might not necessarily be strictly academic, and they should be encouraged to strive to learn things beyond their textbooks. Without even a slight motivation, the role of the teacher becomes impossible.
It is the responsibility of teachers to take their students motivation to learn and build upon it. They must create exciting, nuanced lessons that focus on more than what is written in the curriculum. Teaching needs to constantly link the academic to the social in order to not only build students’ motivation to learn and absorb, but to strengthen their understanding of the world in which they live. Teachers must be open to the idea that students are an integral part of the teaching aspect of education. While teachers are the experts in their particular subjects, students provide fresh perspectives on the modern world, and it is the teacher’s duty to synthesize those. All teaching must be meaningful, which necessitates connections between student life in school and beyond. Teachers also need to constantly feel supported in their efforts to teach, which is where the role of administrators comes into focus.
Administrators must back their teachers. All staff in the school should be on the same page in regards to that. Teachers should feel comfortable trying a variety of teaching techniques and know that their administration is behind them. While students always have their parents to fall back on, teachers need a similar relationship with their superiors. Administrators must fully understand each teacher in their schools and have the confidence that all students are in good hands, and exude that confidence in all interactions with students, teachers and parents.
Parents need to be involved in all aspects of school- from the academic, to the extra-curricular and beyond. Communication between parents and teachers, as well as between parents and administrators is absolutely essential. Parents should constantly be made aware of how well or how poorly their child is doing, and be ready to be a part of the process of improving behaviour, marks or otherwise. Parent involvement ensures that an element of consistency is maintained between school life and home life, and consistency allows students to feel safe. When students feel safe, they are more ready and willing to come to class and learn productively.
As teachers, we emphasize team-work in our classrooms. We encourage students to work together to promote positive social relationships, cooperation and the merging of a variety of ideas. The benefits of team work do not end after Secondary School. Team-work is essential in the work-place, especially in an environment where it is already heavily incorporated. If teachers, students, administrators and parents all work together, the environment for learning will drastically improve for all members involved. When each member feels supported by another, they will feel safer, and that is essential to creating a dynamic, productive school environment.
Students must have some intrinsic motivation to learn in order to fulfil their role in the education process. The learning that they want to do might not necessarily be strictly academic, and they should be encouraged to strive to learn things beyond their textbooks. Without even a slight motivation, the role of the teacher becomes impossible.
It is the responsibility of teachers to take their students motivation to learn and build upon it. They must create exciting, nuanced lessons that focus on more than what is written in the curriculum. Teaching needs to constantly link the academic to the social in order to not only build students’ motivation to learn and absorb, but to strengthen their understanding of the world in which they live. Teachers must be open to the idea that students are an integral part of the teaching aspect of education. While teachers are the experts in their particular subjects, students provide fresh perspectives on the modern world, and it is the teacher’s duty to synthesize those. All teaching must be meaningful, which necessitates connections between student life in school and beyond. Teachers also need to constantly feel supported in their efforts to teach, which is where the role of administrators comes into focus.
Administrators must back their teachers. All staff in the school should be on the same page in regards to that. Teachers should feel comfortable trying a variety of teaching techniques and know that their administration is behind them. While students always have their parents to fall back on, teachers need a similar relationship with their superiors. Administrators must fully understand each teacher in their schools and have the confidence that all students are in good hands, and exude that confidence in all interactions with students, teachers and parents.
Parents need to be involved in all aspects of school- from the academic, to the extra-curricular and beyond. Communication between parents and teachers, as well as between parents and administrators is absolutely essential. Parents should constantly be made aware of how well or how poorly their child is doing, and be ready to be a part of the process of improving behaviour, marks or otherwise. Parent involvement ensures that an element of consistency is maintained between school life and home life, and consistency allows students to feel safe. When students feel safe, they are more ready and willing to come to class and learn productively.
As teachers, we emphasize team-work in our classrooms. We encourage students to work together to promote positive social relationships, cooperation and the merging of a variety of ideas. The benefits of team work do not end after Secondary School. Team-work is essential in the work-place, especially in an environment where it is already heavily incorporated. If teachers, students, administrators and parents all work together, the environment for learning will drastically improve for all members involved. When each member feels supported by another, they will feel safer, and that is essential to creating a dynamic, productive school environment.