As we move to a knowledge-based economy, our global economic competitiveness greatly depends on an educated and skilled workforce. The dramatic increase in the demand for educated workers cannot be sustained by merely increasing the educational attainment of young people. They must graduate with more skills, better education and credentials to meet the crucial needs in these economic times. (Benson & Saito, 2000)
The highly competitive global job markets need the most sophisticated personality and skills development. As our global society turns to a more knowledge-based model, lifelong education becomes highly sought after. Formal education, then, becomes even more crucial, especially for many low-income youth and young adults. The students should be equipped with proper skills and experience to qualify for good jobs. They also need to further enhance their education and skills along the way.
As such, I believe that the role of education is that of a support institution, providing programs, activities and support facilities to enhance the students’ total development to achieve quality students and subsequently turn them into quality and competitive human resources. (Ibid.)
My emerging philosophy as a teacher is that of a facilitator. The institutions and the technologies available right now have surpassed all the knowledge and information a student, or more aptly, a learner, can learn. The highest duty and calling of a teacher is to light the path of the learners towards which knowledge is most useful and applicable to his life. The emphasis of education is to let students learn. (Guttman, 2003)
For this reason, I beleive a good teacher will endeavor to create an open and a very positive learning environment that motivates learners to take risks and be prepared for various learning difficulties. It is also very important that the teachers acknowledge the cultural backgrounds, norms and values of each every individual student. Teachers must also build a sense of responsibilities in their students by leading them into responsible and informed choices, wherein they are also able to manage the consequences of their decisions.
A teacher must be skillful in planning, implemenitng and evaluating the curriculum, be it online or traditional. They must be able to relate those contexts to significant meanings for their students. They must be able to integrate decision making and problem-solving strategies inside and outside the classroom experiences so that the students will be able to grasp and imbibe skills invarious situations, especially that the mold ineducation is now towards learnign through technological integration and applications. (Noddings, 2005)
Hence, a good teacher should be able to combine the rudiments of the old school system with the new demands of information and technological settings. He/she must be able to combine technologically aided educational resources and systems with the curriculum requirements, if and when applicable. This will ensure that the students are more ready to face on the new world. A good teacher will always leave time for learner’s reflection. This is part of entrusting learning into the hands of the learners themselves. The good teacher knows that learning happens when the students are ready and when they are ready to learn. These are all old educational philosophies but a good teacher is able to bring it into life, in relation to the world we live, the new resources that we have and the technological requirement of the emerging learning environment.
The rudiments of the traditional learning such as the accumulation and recall of information are less significant than the actual process of learning itself. The need for a lifelong type of learning also makes traditional learning less relevant. The teaching and learning contexts and situations must be emphasized more than the infrastructure and tools of learning.
As Mark Twain once said, “schooling must not interfere with education.” (The Quotation Page, 2012) Hence, even the modern technologies must not impede the real learning process. As the Internet displaces the other technologies, the roles of the teachers are still paramount for they are the ones who inculcate learning in the context of value and character formation. I would like to believe that even with the advances in this technological age, the total development of an individual and his general adaptations to the environment are still the main agenda of learning. This is still very much the same as Plato's philosophy of education which intends to prepare the students for a greater life. (Hamn, 1989)
I think a good teacher in this context is someone who is highly creative, resourceful, open and innovative. He/she must be adept with technology and he/she is also very curious about the things that happen in the surroundings. A good teacher must be able to utilize various technological and native resources to drive home the points of learning. He/she must be well verse with various teaching methods and strategies to make student learning more effective. (Rosenbrough & Leverett, 2011)
Since there are many extra distractions nowadays to schooling and learning, a good teacher must be able to divert the students attention and be more imaginative in his/her motivational efforts. It is also very important that teachers teach their students to be independent and self learners. Thus, the activities and lessons must be tailored into making the students more independent and industrious.
I firmly believe that anything can be learned today from the Internet. Hence, the students must be learning more value education inside the classrooms. They must be equipped with life skills, more than anything else. Learning about one’s self is very fundamental to any forms of higher learning. A student must be taught how to discover his inner being, his potentials and how he can excel in life. It is also very important that students be taught discipline and spirituality, among other values in life. Education must be a very good opportunity for students to gain greater knowledge about himself and his environment. (Guttman, 2003) In short, they must learn how to follow the values, ethics and norms of their society or community before they can be more functional.
Among other things, education must prepare students to make better, if not best, choices in life. It must be able to shape a unique individual character in every learner. Another good thing that a student must know is how to handle his finances and manage his money or wealth. (Ibid.) Finally, a student must be taught how to go on with the stages in life and understand how each stage brings opportunities and challenges or obstacles that can define the student more than the things he has learned inside the classrooms.
Lastly, I believe that a good teacher must be well adept with both traditional methods and online teaching. He/she must be confident with the use of technologies and must incorporate it in their daily activities inside the classroom.
References:
Benson, P. & Saito, R. (2000). The scientific foundations of youth development. Minneapolis: Search Institute.
Guttman, C. (2003). Education in and for the Information Society. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Hamm, C. (1989). Philosophical Issues in Education: An Introduction. London: Routledge Falmer Press.
Noddings, N. (September 2005). What Does it Mean to Educate the Whole Child? Educational Leadership, 63(1).
Rosenbrough, T. R. & Leverett, R. G. (January 31, 2011). Transformational Teaching in the Information Age. ASDC.
