Well, here it is...I know, you didn't ask.
My educational philosophy is made up of basically two parts (referring to first and second grade especially):
First, I think it is very important to give children structure and facts so that they have the tools in their mind to understand new things for themselves. Children need to know the rules of the English language. If they have a background in grammar and phonics and stumble into an unfamiliar word, they have resources in their brain to draw upon to decipher it. Math is the same. When children can understand and rattle off addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts by heart, they won't be limping along mentally when they are faced with the deeper concepts of mathematics. They need to know their history, and read, read, read! A groundwork of understood, memorized facts is essential to a functional education, and, to me, is a natural result of the Biblical idea that truth can be known and taught.
There should also be plenty of hands-on experiences and exploration in education. And by plenty I mean daily, not just a special project here and there. There should be butter-making, leaf-classification, laying on the floor listening to Handel, and visits to farm animals. The world God created is an amazing, mysterious place, and children should be given opportunities and put in situations that allow them to experience the thrill of discovery, or give them the chance to feel, see, taste, and hear what they are learning about.
Education is not just teaching children to explore and discover, but teaching them discipline and providing the tools they can use to discover with. Classical education with bugs, dirt, fabric, glue, and paint splatters everywhere!
My educational philosophy is made up of basically two parts (referring to first and second grade especially):
First, I think it is very important to give children structure and facts so that they have the tools in their mind to understand new things for themselves. Children need to know the rules of the English language. If they have a background in grammar and phonics and stumble into an unfamiliar word, they have resources in their brain to draw upon to decipher it. Math is the same. When children can understand and rattle off addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts by heart, they won't be limping along mentally when they are faced with the deeper concepts of mathematics. They need to know their history, and read, read, read! A groundwork of understood, memorized facts is essential to a functional education, and, to me, is a natural result of the Biblical idea that truth can be known and taught.
There should also be plenty of hands-on experiences and exploration in education. And by plenty I mean daily, not just a special project here and there. There should be butter-making, leaf-classification, laying on the floor listening to Handel, and visits to farm animals. The world God created is an amazing, mysterious place, and children should be given opportunities and put in situations that allow them to experience the thrill of discovery, or give them the chance to feel, see, taste, and hear what they are learning about.
Education is not just teaching children to explore and discover, but teaching them discipline and providing the tools they can use to discover with. Classical education with bugs, dirt, fabric, glue, and paint splatters everywhere!
1 comment:
Can I go back to school and be in your class?
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