A colleague of mine asked me if I had a philosophy of education. “Of course, I did,” I replied. I took an entire philosophy of education class which culminated in my philosophy of education paper. Philosophy is an integral part of my work as an educator, so I found part of this paper, which I published on my blog back in 2012.
Oh boy. So, I wrote this thing back in 2005, before I had never taught in a classroom. Reflecting on my “ivory tower” setting, this statement has no connection to current issues and the needs of society. Instead, it is very much about the idea of music education as a study that somehow has meaning within, well, the search for musical meaning.
A lot has changed in the sixteen years since I wrote this philosophy statement. I see myself more as an “educator” than a “music educator.” Back then, I was dedicated to studying music pedagogy, and now I find myself spending most of my professional development improving my skills as a diversity practitioner. I had visions of being a music teacher, waving a baton in front of advanced wind ensembles and marching bands, and now I find satisfaction teaching 5th graders camp songs and teaching band students about issues with whiteness in the music education.
More importantly, my understanding of the world has changed. In the past sixteen years, I’ve learned about privilege, systemic racism, systems of oppression, the myth of meritocracy, the false dichotomy of gender, a social construct, intersectionality, and other topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, I’ve made progress in my identity development and embraced my own identity as a person of color. All of these things have become central to my work as an educator.
So clearly, I have some work to do on this philosophy thing.
Every educator should have a why behind what they do. A strong philosophy defines values, and choices that we make are based on these values. This is how educators make many difficult decisions every day, which are often made very quickly.
In the past year and a half, the ability to make decisions has been one of the most important and most difficult parts of being an educator. While teaching during a pandemic, there were many moments that decisions were easy, but many more times when decisions were hard. Never before have the consequences of educators making wrong decisions have been dire, and at times fatal.
What is my philosophy of education that guided me through this school year?
I’m going to have to think on this one, but I’ll share one thought.
Education helps students better understand the facets of their own identity and the lived experiences of others. Students explore the different academic disciplines in this pursuit, which provides them with experiences with the different ways that people have sought truth: objective, scientific and emotional. It is in understanding truths and in the pain and trauma of our past and present, that students find purpose and meaning. It is studying different ways that people have told the story of the human experience that students learn to tell their own students, and it is through education that students are empowered to use these stories to create a more equitable world.
It’s a start. I’ll keep working on it.
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