Seventy percent of the time, people with average IQs outperform
those with the highest IQ (Bradberry
& Greaves, 2009). Emotional intelligence
(EI) seems to be a critical factor explaining this anomaly. EI
is comprised of four core skills paired under two primary competencies:
personal competence and social competence.
Personal competence includes
one’s self-awareness
and self-management skills. Highly developed self-awareness skills allow accurate perception of your emotions
and the ability to remain aware of them as they happen. Since emotional
reactions to events occur before rational thought is able to engage, developing
emotional intelligence, especially increasing self-awareness skills, results in
more effective interaction between the rational and emotional areas of one’s
brain.
Freedom is
a blessed inalienable right! Yet, that right never ensures equity in fairness.
At best, participants within a defined system can look to the system’s mission statement
to determine whether that system OR its leader walks the walk or simply talks
the talk in relation to its mission.
Often, when
a teacher is unaware of his or her educational philosophy and how it may fit
with a defined system, the result is the teacher becomes more like a struggling
tenant
farmer than a successful
entrepreneur. The love of sowing seeds of knowledge inspires the novice
teacher’s hope for a bountiful yield. Yet, results often depend on a
combination of forces beyond the teacher’s full control. One variable is
the philosophical underpinning of the system in which the novice teacher can endeavor
to promote the learning
for all mission. Self-awareness of one’s educational philosophy increases
understanding of the potential for a successful fit within the defined system.
Early in
their professional development, teacher candidates are encouraged to name and
claim their philosophy
of education. While most candidates view the first-year task of naming and
claiming their personal
educational philosophy a burdensome assignment, this early connection to
one or more schools
of educational philosophy can help the candidate later match her passions
and beliefs with a system that will nurture rather than corrupt these passions
and beliefs. When this connection is encouraged through explicit mentorship,
the experienced educator passes on a great gift: Freedom for the teacher
candidate to act like an entrepreneur and wisely choose the best system for
utilizing and implementing the passions and beliefs that promote best practices!
An
effective educator/mentor within an innovative
teacher preparation program seeks to own this wonderful opportunity. The
lessons presented during a program of professional development facilitated by
such effective educators then fan the flames of freedom rather than the mere pursuit
of licensure and acceptance of any available job. Thus, by actively encouraging
ownership of one's educational philosophy the teacher preparation program
ensures the teacher candidate’s philosophical foundation girds other leading
indicators of success. There is then greater likelihood that the trailing
indicator of success will shift from the number of candidates earning
licensure to the quality of teachers empowered to promote the learning for all
mission within a system that will invite the novice teacher’s success!
To Cite:
Anderson, C.J. (May 31, 2017)
Self-Awareness of One’s Educational Philosophy Can Optimize
Vocational Success. [Web log
post] Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/
Resources:
Bradberry, T. R, &
Greaves, J., (2009) Emotional intelligence 2.0. San Diego,
CA.
TalentSmart. ISBN: 1441842233
Cohen, L.M. (1999) Educational philosophies
self-assessment. Retrieved from:
Cohen,
L.M. (1999) Educational philosophies self-assessment scoring guide. Retrieved
from
Reform Support network (2015)
Leading indicators for school improvement. Retrieved
US Department of Education
(2016) Improving teacher preparation: Building on innovation.
Retrieved from: https://www.ed.gov/teacherprep
