How to Write a Philosophy of Education

Perhaps as a child you have thought that a teacher’s job is quite easy and it does not require too much from the personality of the teacher. School students very often ask why they should study so much when their teachers are strictly specialized, i.e. the latter do not have as much knowledge as school students. This is a very wrong attitude. Not only that teachers know much more than it appears (for they are paid to teach a given subject, and not everything they are familiar with), but they also need to have peculiar personal traits, skills and abilities. In short, a teacher should demonstrate much more than mere knowledge in his/her field of teaching.

Some of these skills and abilities should be mentioned in the so-called philosophy of education, or an application letter written by teachers. If this is your first application and you are not certain how to write a philosophy of education then you could use the tips that follow below.

Writing a philosophy of education – 8 essential tips

1. Analyze carefully everything that you have learned at college regarding teaching practices and activities. Also, try to remember your first teaching experience. This could cover different activities and areas; for instance, a summer camp or an extracurricular course during which you have presented something or have taught something to your classmates. Why is this important? Because by showing that you know your strengths and strong points you will be able to better convince the employer that you are an appropriate person for this teaching position.

2. Write a short outline which will serve as a basis of your Philosophy of education letter. In the outline you can write down anything coming to your mind. Then you can reduce the information and present your thoughts in a more logical way.

3. Make preliminary research about the school you are applying with; it is important to know more about its history, teachers, philosophy, etc. Also, read some comments by students and parents online.

4. Introduce yourself in the first paragraph. Tell about your idea of education. What is education for you? Write this in short. After that you can take this idea again and explain it in detail.

5. Tell about your favorite teacher; i.e. the teacher whose manners and behavior you follow (although without being aware of this).  Every teacher has had someone to follow, this is not something shameful.

Advice: the teacher in question could be also a college instructor. Skillful teachers are good also when they teach in college.

6. Write about your personal traits related to teaching profession. Such traits and skills are, for example, to be communicative, tolerant, responsible, but also some specific skills such as to present information and to explain it carefully, to respect your students (including their private life), to be able to work in a team with other teachers (when this is necessary), and so forth. 

7. Now tell what motivates you to apply for a teaching position exactly at this school, and not at the other? What attracts you? Here you can demonstrate your knowledge about the history of the school and other important details.

8. At the end you can put stress on your educational philosophy- take the idea from the first paragraph and analyze it. What are you going to do in class? How do you figure out your classes?

You may also add other information; about working on projects, work with parents, and so on. The teacher’s job is to be not exhausted with teaching.

As you can see, writing a philosophy of education requires a lot of preparation, self-reflections and research. Try to be confident and show your best while writing. At the same time, be honest and never pretend to be another person than you really are.