My Character Education Philosophy
Part I: Professional Philosophy of Character Education Our educational philosophy is governed by the image we have of a human person. I believe that human beings are fundamentally spiritual, with souls that need nurturing. Beauty, truth and goodness, give the spirit a realm in which to move, to be itself, and have validity; they are the virtues that protect the soul from pain and suffering. Moral education – the study of what is good - is therefore, the most important to me of all three character aspects we have studied in this course. Of all moral virtues, I believe empathy to be that underlying good that can lead to all other good. As Seider points out “empathy is a multidimensional construct …show more content…
I was opposed to the Kantian belief that the noumenal - that is, a thing as it is in itself - is not knowable. According to him, nothing can be known apart from what can be understood through the senses. I had a strong belief in the existence of the noumenal world, so I was overjoyed when I came across the philosophy of Edith Stein - she too shared my thoughts and devoted her dissertation to the subject of knowing things in themselves, particularly other persons. Stein (1989) wrote, “I realize now that my life is not my own” (p. 31). This was a realization that came while she served as a nurse aid during WWII. She witnessed deep pain, vulnerability and grief, and from this experience she came to believe that we can know the inner experiences of others directly through the recognition that other persons, think, feel, suffer, and rejoice. Like Stein, I too believe that we are all intrinsically part of other people’s lives, and they apart of ours; and that we possess the capacity to recognize the vulnerability of ourselves and others. I decided to pursue a degree in education because of my desire to live out this philosophy of empathy, and I hope to cultivate this virtue in my …show more content…
Faced with evil, we must feel repulsion, face with another’s pain, we must feel the desire to remove or alleviate. Faced with our own inclinations to cause harm, we must be both shocked and willing to face reality” (Seider, 2012, p. 25). To instill such passion in our students, Noddings believes that we must establish “a culture and ethos that offer students opportunities to engage in caring behavior” (Seider, 2012, p. 25). As I am in strong agreement that our job as educators is to develop moral character, my second plan of action will be to work to establish an environment that encourages my students to participate in compassionate behavior. I plan to do this through compassionate learning activities: play that requires sharing, working together to define what it means to be a caring person, and taking behavioral examples and turning them into role-play games. I would also put up a list of class rules - such as help people in need, never be mean or hurtful and think about the effect that your actions may have on others - to teach my students how to be caring
Part I: Professional Philosophy of Character Education Our educational philosophy is governed by the image we have of a human person. I believe that human beings are fundamentally spiritual, with souls that need nurturing. Beauty, truth and goodness, give the spirit a realm in which to move, to be itself, and have validity; they are the virtues that protect the soul from pain and suffering. Moral education – the study of what is good - is therefore, the most important to me of all three character aspects we have studied in this course. Of all moral virtues, I believe empathy to be that underlying good that can lead to all other good. As Seider points out “empathy is a multidimensional construct …show more content…
I was opposed to the Kantian belief that the noumenal - that is, a thing as it is in itself - is not knowable. According to him, nothing can be known apart from what can be understood through the senses. I had a strong belief in the existence of the noumenal world, so I was overjoyed when I came across the philosophy of Edith Stein - she too shared my thoughts and devoted her dissertation to the subject of knowing things in themselves, particularly other persons. Stein (1989) wrote, “I realize now that my life is not my own” (p. 31). This was a realization that came while she served as a nurse aid during WWII. She witnessed deep pain, vulnerability and grief, and from this experience she came to believe that we can know the inner experiences of others directly through the recognition that other persons, think, feel, suffer, and rejoice. Like Stein, I too believe that we are all intrinsically part of other people’s lives, and they apart of ours; and that we possess the capacity to recognize the vulnerability of ourselves and others. I decided to pursue a degree in education because of my desire to live out this philosophy of empathy, and I hope to cultivate this virtue in my …show more content…
Faced with evil, we must feel repulsion, face with another’s pain, we must feel the desire to remove or alleviate. Faced with our own inclinations to cause harm, we must be both shocked and willing to face reality” (Seider, 2012, p. 25). To instill such passion in our students, Noddings believes that we must establish “a culture and ethos that offer students opportunities to engage in caring behavior” (Seider, 2012, p. 25). As I am in strong agreement that our job as educators is to develop moral character, my second plan of action will be to work to establish an environment that encourages my students to participate in compassionate behavior. I plan to do this through compassionate learning activities: play that requires sharing, working together to define what it means to be a caring person, and taking behavioral examples and turning them into role-play games. I would also put up a list of class rules - such as help people in need, never be mean or hurtful and think about the effect that your actions may have on others - to teach my students how to be caring