My Educational Philosophy

​

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." This quote by Confucius summarizes beautifully my educational philosophy, as I see my role as an educator as more of a facilitator than an instructor. This is especially true with the advent of the internet and information technology.

I believe learners should be empowered in the classroom to take the lead in their education, this is because we find ourselves in a rapidly evolving world and demand as far as the job market is evolving at unprecedented rates, with job descriptions emerging that would be unimaginable just a decade ago, meaning we are preparing learners for jobs that haven’t been invented yet. Companies are also no longer hiring the people with the best qualifications, but people who are best for the companies.

This means there is need to have learners who not only can master content, but have the necessary skills to communicate effectively, be able to adapt quickly to new situations and be emotionally intelligent. Put in another context, in academia, your ideas sell you, but to succeed in the world, you have to sell your ideas.

Contemporary pedagogy therefore requires a mind that is more quick and technology-savvy than ever before. The learners in our tutelage are exposed to copious amounts of information but not all of it is necessarily accurate or beneficial. The teacher should be in a position to guide them through. In the words of Johnathan Swift, “falsehoods fly, while the truth comes limping after it” the child is bombarded with all this electronic noise and there is need to sieve the good from the chaff.

Classes should be inquiry based with the learners exposed to as many hands-on activities as the time frame will allow. The course of instruction should always start by setting an agenda that spells out the ‘why?’ ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ so that everyone is on board from the outset. The learners will explore and do research based on their own ideas and topics framed in a way they can relate to.

This approach does not mean nothing is regulated in the classroom, I will foster an atmosphere of mutual respect by establishing upfront some agreements that will determine the conduct of the lesson, this is to be done at the start of the learning programme and the learners and I will come to a consensus as the reprisals expected if the said agreements are breached. This is to ensure that the learners are on board, see the importance of the course of instruction and will enhance good behavior as deviant behavior will be kept at a minimum if the child feels they are transgressing against their peers. This also helps with team building and interpersonal relationships and teaches them how to manage group dynamics, skills needed out in the world.

I am also a learner in my classroom in that as the learner evolves, my pedagogical methodology also evolves, this and the fact that each learner is unique in their own way makes teaching very fulfilling.

  James Akweri Oyungu.