My philosophy of education

Recently, I was nominated for an award. I had to write several essays about education to include with my materials to be considered by the selection committee. These essays may interest some of you. The following is my philosophy of education.

Like a pebble thrown into a pond, every choice we make causes ripples of change to reach where we cannot imagine. My educational philosophy is, “Go forth and make ripples.” This is a concept I discuss with my students at the start of each school year. We talk about how some choices bring about unfavorable outcomes, so we need to make our choices carefully. Naturally, if we make good choices, the good ripples spread incredibly far. I believe in this concept so deeply that I put “RIPPLES” on my license plate. Yes, strangers stop me at gas stations and ask me about it. I’m always happy to give them the main idea. When my students see me driving around town, they explain my license plate to their parents and the ripples continue.
In my classroom, at the end of each lesson, I ask the class how friendly, helpful and responsible they were. Students rate themselves on a scale of one to five. The scores they mentally give themselves are private. The numbers are guides to help them improve in any way needed during our next class. Using this self-evaluation tool to end each class period allows my students to keep the concept of making responsible ripples fresh in their minds. Students often stop me in the hallway to tell me about other good ripples they made at home or in their other classes. Like the threads of a spider web, we are all connected. The actions we choose to take affect all those around us. The earlier children learn the idea of being responsible for their choices and the outcomes they bring, the more successful I believe they can be.