Intelligence and Character Essay -- Careers Teaching Education Essays

Intelligence and Character â€Å"What do you want to be when you grow up?† Everyone has been asked this question at some point in their life. In fact, I am still being asked this question during this time in my life. Although the questions are in a more mature format, such as, â€Å"What are you majoring in?† and â€Å"What are you going to do with your life?† I have always answered this question with the same response. I want to be a teacher. Throughout my entire life I have respected and looked up to all of my teachers, as well as admired my parents, who are both educators. However, during my lifetime of playing â€Å"teacher† I have never actually thought about my personal educational philosophy. Yet, I can look back now on my schooling experiences to see what has been important to me and to identify the major concepts and beliefs I posses in order to form my own teaching philosophy. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, â€Å"Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.† I believe this single statement reflects my entire philosophy of education. I do not believe that any student can gain intelligence and a true character without being introduced to a variety of teaching philosophies and styles. Education, at any level, needs to encompass the needs and learning styles of all students; therefore, I intend on incorporating certain elements into my classroom from three main educational philosophies: Essentialism, Existentialism, and Progressivism. First and foremost, I will definitely use parts of Essentialism in my teachings. Because my goal is to become a secondary English and Language Arts teacher, I know it will be necessary to use this philosophy in order to teach classic... ...r in secondary English education and English, I plan on obtaining my Masters degree so that I can be the best teacher possible for myself and my students. I want to have the main role in my classroom at times, but I also want my students to feel as if they have an important voice as well. Combining parts of each of these methods will successfully make my classroom both a teacher and student oriented classroom. The students will of course learn their English skills and increase their intelligence, but they will also have a feeling of independence and respect, which will lead to the development of or addition to a personal character. Throughout this philosophy statement I have stressed the importance of accomplishing intelligence and character training in the classroom, and according to Martin Luther King Jr., my students will gain a true education in my classroom.