Reflective Essay: My Search For Truth

When I was growing up it was not considered acceptable to ask questions or second guess authority. If you were given directions, then those instructions were to be followed without any questions. It did not matter who was giving the directions, it was understood that you would do what was asked. If it was my parents, grandparents, older siblings, friends’ parents, and especially my faith leaders I was taught to obey. Doing what I was told taught me to automatically assume that those who were older than me or believed to possess more knowledge had the facts on their side. There was no reason to doubt or ask questions because everyone else already had the answers. Their ideas of truth became my ideas of truth.
The first time I remember their …show more content…
A quote from the reading emphasizes this point to “develop the habit of asking why . . . rather than simply accepting what you are told or assume to be true” (Grant & Sleeter, 2011). Searching for truth takes courage because that road makes few friends any many enemies. Over the past few years, my search for truth has brought me to question my religious leaders, beliefs, and especially my Creator. This road builds strong character because it is who I am choosing to be not what others are deciding for me. Even though I have had to redefine what those religious beliefs are my search for truth has brought my secular and religious beliefs close …show more content…
The school and the teacher made the rules and I followed those rules or a punishment would be handed out. If a student did not follow the rules they were seen as a disobedient child. I did not feel a part of the class or felt like I had a say in my own learning. Even though it was this way for me during my time as a student it does not have to be that way for my future students. As a teacher I have a choice about how the classroom should function and that will depend on my “philosophy of education” (Grant & Sleeter, 2011). I have a choice between making it my classroom based only on what I feel is important or asking the students their opinions and making it everyone’s classroom. Before I began pursuing a degree in teaching, a friend of mine was preparing for her first year as a fourth grade teacher. She shared with me her plan to include her students when making the classroom rules because those rules would be theirs. They were more likely to follow those rules and accept the consequences when those rules were broken because they were the ones that created the rules. A place where each child has a voice and control over of their learning is how I envision my future classroom. I want each child to feel they belong and matter but I also want them to recognize that everyone else should feel the same way and our actions can have effect on