POINT OF VIEW Because this is a PERSONAL Philosophy of Education paper, you may use first person pronouns such as “I” and “me”, but please don’t overuse them. For example, try not to overuse “I believe…” or “I think…” This is a position paper; therefore, it is assumed that the entire contents contain your beliefs and thoughts. Do not use “I feel…” (Despite a popular notion, the APA manual does permit first person. Anytime third person would confuse the reader or anytime the purpose of the paper is appropriate to first person, it may be implemented.) PRONOUN USAGE (Please don’t use “he/she” or “his/her.”) Some writers solve this by stating to the reader that for simplicity’s sake the pronouns will be masculine or will rotate periodically between masculine and feminine. I recommend that you write in plurals as consistently as you can. For instance, use students, principals, teacher ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Plagiarized papers will be rejected. Every paper will be evaluated by www.TurnItIn.com for originality. Turn-It-In reports to the professor the degree to which your paper is suspect for plagiarism Direct Quotes: No more than 15% of your paper should be made up of direct quotes. Short quotes should be in quotation marks and longer quotes should be indented (see APA). If you do not set off direct quotes in this manner and also cite them, it is plagiarism. HEADINGS There is a rubric that will be used in grading (see below). You will want to ensure that the following eight elements of the rubric are clearly identified with headings. You are welcome to submit whatever subheadings under the headings as you wish. 1. Title • Consider the title of your paper to be your motto, slogan, coffee-mug or bumper-sticker version of your philosophy. 2. Abstract • Write this paragraph last. • This should be what you would write on an employment application or what you would say verbally in an interview if asked directly about your philosophy of education. • Consider this an abridged version of your full philosophy statement. Some call it a vision or mission statement. 3. Introduction • In this section, you will introduce your thesis statement that will be developed throughout the paper. • You may develop your thesis by using a theme, metaphor, quote, motto, slogan, etc. 4. Worldview • How will a Christian worldview influence your practice as a teacher? 5. Metaphysics • What is ultimately real or true? 6. Epistemology • How do students come to know reality? 7. Axiology • What do you most value? • What ethical principles will guide you? • If appropriate to your content area, what principles of beauty do you hope to instill in your students? 8. Professional Knowledge • How will professional knowledge guide your practice? • “Professional knowledge” refers to the knowledge base in teacher education that includes educational psychology, philosophy, methodology, curriculum development, etc. • From what specific professional knowledge will you draw in your practice? Whose theories, ideas, etc., are meaningful to you? 9. Instructional Philosophy / Teaching Model / Methods • What pedagogical practices will you tend to use most frequently? Why? • What learning theories will guide your practice? • What instructional strategies will you value and implement? • What do you hope to accomplish by using these strategies? 10. Teacher/ Learner Relationships • What is the nature and role of the learner? • What is the nature and role of the teacher? • How should they relate to each other and why? 11. Diversity • What diversity factors need to be taken into account by the teacher? • How do factors of student diversity impact instruction? 12. Your Choice of Headings • You may insert as many other headings you would like here to address issues that are important to your philosophy of education. • Here are some ideas you might want to consider: o My calling: grade level, public or private schools, etc. o Classroom management philosophy o Content/subject-area philosophy o Assessment philosophy o Parent role and relationship with teacher 13. Conclusion • Your conclusion should tie in with the introduction somehow so that your paper has a measure of coherence.