So, I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how to respond to Dina’s challenge. I thought about mirroring Peter over at Chalkdust101, but decided to kinda go my own way. So, in the spirit of trying to think about my own teaching, here’s my educational philosophy in quotes. It’s by no means complete. I hope it makes sense.
If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. – Rachel Carson
When test scores go up, we should worry, because of how poor a measure they are of what matters, and what you typically sacrifice in a desperate effort to raise scores. – Alfie Kohn
Justice must always question itself, just as society can exist only by means of the work it does on itself and on its institutions. – Michel Foucault
Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind. - John Dewey
So in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you. - Jesus
First, all education is environmental education. By what is included or excluded, students are taught that they are part of or apart from the natural world. - David Orr
We are just a speck, on a speck, orbiting a speck, in the corner of a speck in the middle of nowhere. – Bill Nye
Calmer than you are. – Walter Sobchak
There is a remarkable absence of the Swedish Chef here.
But you can make it seem like there is with the “Bork! Bork! Bork!” extension for Firefox. I’m not kidding, though I’m also being jovial. Here’s a more serious response:
“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”
- Woodrow Wilson