Kelsey Sommer
Philosophy of Education
I believe the purpose of schooling first and foremost is to educate students in scholastic or academic areas. The traditional academic areas include math, reading, and science, but I extend the academic title to include music, art, foreign studies, and health and physical education. I don’t think that schooling is limited to solely academic knowledge. A child develops socially, mentally, and emotionally in the school setting, but I am a firm believer that health is one of the most important subjects in school. Topics in health class could range from simple first aid techniques to mental health issues such as eating disorders and suicide, depending on the age or needs of the students. Students learn what appropriate behaviors are in certain situations, consequences of decisions they make, how to establish healthy habits, why caring for your body at a young age is going to be beneficial in the long run, how to maintain a healthy level of self-esteem and self-confidence, what abuse is, etc. The list could go on and on, considering that some aspect of mental/emotional, physical, or social health influences almost everything a person does during the day. Every single student has needs that must be met when they step into the classroom, and as basic and simple as they may be, they are unique to each child. In order to reach these needs, the environment in the classroom should be positive, caring, friendly, open, safe, and non-threatening. Children need to have the freedom to be able to say how they feel and express themselves without worrying about their safety or how they will be treated.