Week 3:

I really like the prompt for this week’s blog because I have enjoyed the “phlogging” assignment so far. I don’t always take the time to write my thoughts down about things that are important to me and so taking the time to put my thoughts about education into words, and then being able to read other people’s ideas on the same topic, has really helped me to reflect on and solidify my beliefs. Bill Ferriter’s article from last week provided some suggestions for education blogs, and I really liked edublogs.org because it provides a directory of specific areas within education. http://stephenlazar.com/blog/ is a blog written by Stephen Lazar, a social studies teacher at a school in New York. The purpose of his blog is twofold; to reflect on his teaching and planning, and to discuss his thoughts on school reform and educational policy. I like his purpose, and I find what he has to say intriguing. His most recent post discusses his feelings on core standards. He says that he does see a benefit to such standards because they “clearly articulate the disciplinary skills necessary not only for reaching the relatively low bar of  “college and career readiness,” but also for the much greater calling of creating an informed and critical citizenry” (Lazar, Jan. 24).  I think that this ties into Miller’s article for this week, in which he discusses the problems with standards and the fact that they are not “standard” across the nation, because each state is responsible for creating their own. I find myself appreciating both ideas here. I do agree with Lazar’s comment that standards help to clearly articulate disciplinary skills but I think that having national standards, as Miller argues, would certainly help us to have a better idea of student achievement nation-wide. I think that Lazar’s comment also ties into Cookson’s functionalism, as he discusses the purpose of standards is to create an informed and critical citizen, but he does not go so far as a functionalist to say that the role of education is to create consensus and economic productivity. He is suggesting a “critical” approach to viewing society, while emphasizing the importance of standards in aiding student achievement that in turn prepares him/ her for college and a future career as functioning members of society. I really liked this blog because it seemed to tie into our class discussion for this week! I found a few others (http://kindreda.edublogs.org/about/, http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/) but none as relevant to class as the one I discussed… and I am now 22 words over the limit… haha.

Week 2:

I think that the fundamental purpose of education is to provide an individual with the “tools” (whether mental/ emotional or physical) needed to survive and function in one’s own space as well as in society. I feel that this is a universal concept because it seems to apply to societies and cultures around the world. My own educational background in anthropology as well as my teaching experience outside the United States has led me to this conclusion. While the purpose of education is universal, I do not feel that the same is true for the methods and techniques used to teach or the subjects that are taught. I mentioned this last week as well. In my mind this has more to do with schooling. For me, schooling takes on a different meaning than that of education. I think that schooling is education acquired through structured and guided experiences in the setting of a school.  This has a lot to do with my own experiences with school. When I think of the word schooling, I automatically think of reading, writing, and mathematics in the context of a public school classroom. I spent the majority of my childhood and adolescence in the US public school system with the exception of my early childhood years spent in a Montessori school. The education obtained from my Montessori experience was much different than that acquired in public school, which leads me to believe that schooling, unlike education is not universal. I wonder if my perception will change as I read other people’s thoughts on these concepts….

Week 1:

I think that most individuals who have been involved in education have their own set of beliefs and ideas with regard to teaching and learning. In my experience, techniques for teaching often change with each group of students I am working with but my overall purpose does not. I have never attempted to put these ideas, beliefs, or actions into words, and I am excited to use this opportunity to do so!

As we did in class, I think that exploring the term “education” is crucial to successfully outlining my personal “philosophy of education.” What is education? Based on our in-class discussion, the answer to this is different for everyone and seems to include multiple concepts. For me, education is a process that builds upon itself and is unique to every person. Education takes many forms and occurs in both formal and informal settings. As discussed both in Dewey’s Pedagogic Creed and in class, I too feel that there is a strong connection between education and the community as well as environment that surrounds each of us. Adding to this, I feel that there is a strong relationship between culture and education. I found this to be extremely true when I taught in Belize, Central America. While courses in Belize are similar to courses here, the way classes are taught, the way in which students interact with their peers and  instructors, and the learning environment differs from the US and most likely from other countries. While there may be cultural, communal, and environmental differences that play an important role in education, I do feel that overall, education serves to help and guide an individual to become a functioning member of his or her society.

I am looking forward to discussing this in more detail as the weeks go on!