Philosophy of Edu.

Today I started my Philosophy of Education for my Intro to Ed class. I was having trouble figuring out just what I believe the curriculum aspect of my philosophy should be (why I think what I teach is valuable). I came up with the paragraph below.

Social studies is a vital key to understanding humanity and the “how” and “why” of past events. When the decisions and events of the past are more clearly understood, it is easier to comprehend why the world, a country, or a community is in its current state. Armed with knowledge of how the conditions of today have come into existence, the path for the future and the ramifications of future choices becomes much less ambiguous. History and other fields of social studies, as well as decisions in life, tend to be relatively subjective and so developing problem solving skills and the tools needed to make informed decisions should be taught in such classes. To make wise decisions, students should have good character and ethics. Of course, fine character may not be taught at home, so studying “great men and women” and important turns of events of today and yesterday are needed in order to produce moral and ethical students. Focusing on controversial events and topics and developing students’ own opinions requires integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines to ensure an informed view. Higher level thinking is encouraged when students are engaged in combining various disciplines and using problem solving skills to form their own opinions.