Conclusion to my Philosophy of Education

These are the last two sections of my Philosophy of Education paper that I wrote for an Education class while pursuing my Bachelor's degree.  I hope that by sharing my thoughts on education that it will encourage you to sit down and write out your own philosophy of education.  Knowing what we believe about the purpose of education allows us to instruct our children consistently according to our worldview. 

Children are like soft clay.  As we teach them, we are molding and shaping their hearts and minds for a particular purpose.  As Christians, that purpose should be for the glory of the Lord.

Motivation for Learning

            I believe that children have the capacity for learning something, and that while they may be intrinsically motivated to learn, all forms of learning should be guided in one way or another.  I am not of the belief that children are born inherently good, but that their natures are totally depraved and thus the natural inclination of their will is to choose wrong over right (Romans 3:10).  Influenced by my worldview I am compelled to act as a type of shepherd to my children, guiding them in the direction that will lead them to ultimately know God.  I believe children have an inherent desire to learn, but the type of things that they learn should be appropriate and consistent with the worldview of the parents.  This is why the purpose of learning should be defined by the parents, not the government.  The Puritan poet John Milton once explained that the purpose of learning is “to repair the ruin of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge, to love Him, to imitate Him, to be like Him” (Sproul, 2004, p.16).  When Milton uses the word God, he most emphatically meant the God of the Bible and not the generic “to whom it may concern” god of the current culture (Sproul, 2004, p.16).  As a Christian parent who holds to a firm Biblical worldview, the means by which I educate my children is also as important as the end goal desired.  This requires that; while I understand that children most certainly are hard wired to learn, what they learn is paramount to the worldview they will adopt as adults.  As it stands today, and for some time now, the corridor for which children in the public school are ushered down is one leading them to adopt moral relativism and the deal is sealed in college and university where the message that there are no absolute truths is affirmed.  As Allan Bloom wrote in his book, The Closing of the American Mind, “There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative” (Bloom, 1988, p.25).  Children are hard wired to desire learning, the objective in my teaching philosophy and methods is to shepherd my child’s motivations and will towards the end goal of knowing God and adopting a Biblical worldview.  I also want my children to not only be “educated” but I want them to be wise (Proverbs 3:13).  An underlying focus on the type of wisdom I strive to impart to my children is that the “fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).  

Conclusion

            A philosophy of education will reflect a worldview, and that worldview will generate a generation that will either benefit humanity or destroy it.  The worldview of secular humanists encourages knowledge for the sake of exalting man (Wayne, 2000).  The Marxist uses an education to prepare a child to serve the state (Wayne, 2000).  Within the capitalistic worldview, the adoption of “serve the State” has been incorporated for use in the free-market economy, fueling the goal of education as a means to financial prosperity (Wayne, 2000).  The worldview that I hold to and that influences my personal philosophy of education is a Christian or Biblical worldview which acknowledges that the purpose of our existence and education is to know God.  This not only is the standard by which I judge right from wrong, but the standard by which I teach my children right from wrong.  The standard used is based on my religious presuppositions derived from the Bible.  I believe that all parents should be aware of their own personal presuppositions about life, and understand what their philosophy of education is in order to make the best educational decisions for their children, rather than leaving it up to the State to decide in which moral direction all children should go.  True educational freedom comes in the form of privatized education and the best form of privatized education is that of homeschooling.  It has for generations created an atmosphere for true learning and enhanced the familial bond which will always benefit a nation.  While I understand that my philosophy of education is quite different from most, it is based on a strong conviction and belief that education isn’t merely about teaching the basic academic subjects but is intrinsically religious in nature and therefore promotes a particular worldview.  This is why privatized or a parent-led education is not only the best for America, but it strips the State from teaching any and all worldviews that would conflict or be contradictory to the worldviews of parents, who ultimately have sovereign rights over their children.  

Bloom, A. (1988). The closing of the American mind. Simon & Schuster INC, New York.

Sproul, R.C., Jr. (2004). When you rise up: a covenantal approach to homeschooling. P&R

 Publishing, NJ: Phillipsburg.

Wayne, I. (2000). Homeschooling from a biblical worldview. Wisdom’s Gate, MI: Covert.