As many of you have already probably figured out, I went back to grad school in pursuit of a Masters Degree. One of the subjects I surprisingly enjoyed was Philosophy of Education. It was a surprise for many reasons, First, I didn’t know that I am still capable of reflecting. With how crazy my life has been since college, I haven’t really stopped at anything to think. I just keep going. Second was that I had misconceptions about thee teacher. i am easily threatened and that is a curse I forever will live with but our teacher here really made me feel like she genuinely cared about where our lives would go even when most of us are past half way through it.

I will very be honest. I will not remember all the terms but I am definitely a different person now as compared to the first day of class. On the first day of class, I was ready to already tackle why Montessori is the best education philosophy of all time only to be hit by hard core truths I never really had the time to reflect on before.  I now have more dignity when it comes to my profession and my call. I may not remember all the terms but I learned to stop, sit down and reflect.

As John Dewey said, “Education is not the preparation for life; education is life itself.” This gives me confidence that even if I don’t memorize all the terms, I’ve learned to reflect on what life throws at me, which I think is a better skill than memorizing. The things I’ve learned in class is now a part of who I am. I now view the learner as a unique human being—humane, productive, democratic, moral and creative in their own ways. When I see a child, I now see an innovator, a reformer and a leader even when they don’t go about things the way we expect them too.

I also found inner peace when we discussed about how our circumstances do not define who we are. We can be happy and okay despite of the things life threw our way. One of the many verses I like to reflect on now is Psalms 139 which talks about how the heavenly Father knows us intimately. It talks about how God takes care of us and this is just life changing for me in my search for true happiness. I have been living my life in impossible standards when the One who created me knows me and searches me.

It gave me an open mind. That I may have preconceived notions about a generation or a concept when I should try to understand first and question. It changed my attitude entirely about how I should treat people who have a different circumstance than mine.

It also taught me that Montessori might not be the best for everybody and there are many things I can learn from all the different philosophers. I learned that I should be able to pick out best practices from the different philosophers, challenge them, test them and then apply them in my own teaching.

As to how family involvement is important in a child’s education, I have been conscious about the gaps I need to fill and how to fill those gaps from home.

In summary, yes I may not be able to cite all the terms but I have learned to reflect and question. I have a lifetime to still clarify things that aren’t clear to me. I have a life time to challenge my own beliefs and to be a better human being. So yes, time may not be enough for me to memorize all the -isms but I have the rest of my life to apply it.