Teaching and Education
Philosophy

Learning is natural.  We are biologically structured to learn.  We can’t help it.  No matter what, we will learn.  Why then can school be so horrendous?  Why do problems in education abound?  Something must not be right.  We learn how to oppose school and learn that we want to.  How else do we know that finals week “sucks” and that we don’t always want to go to class?  We must have learned it.  We must have learned why not to go to school.  We must have learned to despise school.  Why is this?  Many are the reasons, but I firmly believe that a central reason for the view that school is aversive is that extrinsic motivation has too much control in shaping our behavior.  This coupled with the self-perception theory, forms a sick social cycle that makes school ever so “uncool”. 

I thus believe that education should be fostered through the incitement and arousal of the intrinsic rewards of learning.  This is optimally obtained through attentiveness to the needs and desires of a student; the paramount need being the understanding that that which is being taught does concern the learner and obtaining this knowledge at the time of presentation is not an authoritative or nonsensical mandate.  More simply put, education is a gigantic game of “follow the leader” where the followers are led at the pace and gait of the followers lest they fall behind or become restless and bored.  With every step always so natural, always so smooth, always so deliberate, it is difficult to do anything but follow.

Despite the loftiness and unreality of my vision for education, I like to look at it as a goal.  Even though the probability is that no one will ever reach it, it does no harm to stretch your self to reach this star.  Instead, it will help to carry you through your journey an keep your focus up and ahead, looking toward what is right and what is true—knowing that you can’t stop solve or fix the problems all around you, but can slowly be delivered from them.

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