“Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.” ― Scott Hayden
I grew up in a very poor and bookless home. Like my brothers, I stared working at the age of seven. They say that the letter doesn’t go inside of you when you are hungry, but many times I rather bought a magazine than food. I always found the way to grab a newspaper, a magazine, and when I was lucky a book. In some way, learning isolated me from the perilous environment I lived. Most of my childhood friends become drug addicts, died in gang fights, or made a career on prison. My brothers and I were a little bit different than our friends, we loved to read and learn. We learned to do many things, we were street smart, and we learned to make money. No child should have that much money at that so early age. It is a blessing, but most of all it’s a curse. I regret nothing, but I would have liked to have a “normal childhood.” Even though, I started my formal education at the age of fifty, I have always been a tireless learning machine. I love learning, I love learners, and I’m constantly learning to educate.
“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” ― Phil Collins
One of the main reasons I decided to become a teacher was because I wanted to transfer to my students the vast amount of information and experiences acquired through 50+ years of my life. But, as most autodidacts (self-taught people) , I lacked the proper guidance. My concepts of learning and teaching were somewhat incorrect. I believed that teachers were the transmitters of wisdom and that students were the receivers. This simple statement which, although apparently accurate, is nevertheless misleading because it just does not appear to suit anymore in the 21st Century theories of education. According to Harapnuik (n.d.), “… a teacher is a person who imparts knowledge or skill through instruction or example while a learning facilitator is one who creates an environment in which someone can come to know something, acquire knowledge, or to gain information and experience” (para. 3). Even Socrates knew that “education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” Even though, I am the classical teacher. I am on the fast track to becoming learning facilitator.
“Change is the end result of all true learning.” ― Leo Buscaglia
Since I was a child, I embraced change as a natural part of life. I was a resilient kid. Although I had a tough childhood, I never carried with me any resentments or psychological traumas. Change has been a constant in my life, and my learning philosophy is not an exception. My learning philosophy has become eclectic; it means that I adopt ideas from a broad and diverse range of sources. I don’t believe that everything that comes to light is good and everything that is old is obsolete. If we don’t want to rob our students their future, we must see further as Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Yes, I embrace change but I only incorporate “the new” that will help my students become better learners. Yes, I believe in classic; in the sense that classic is the best of something. When it comes to learning, I stand upon the shoulders of giants and their theories such as Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. These theories are the most popular Learning Theories used in education today.
“What I learned on my own I still remember” ― Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Learning is a changing process in which in order for students to improve their skills in an area of learning, they must have a broad foundation of factual knowledge and a robust conceptual framework (Harapnuik, n.d.). We need to create a supported learning environment where students acquire (by themselves) the factual knowledge they need to master the learning skill and transform facts into usable knowledge. The conceptual framework will allow students to organize information into essential patterns and store it hierarchically in memory to help them when they need it to solve a problem (Donovan, Bransford, & Pellegrino, 1999).
“The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero
Since I was a child, I knew that change and learning were inevitable. There is no way to escape from them. As the Proverb says, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” In my journey throughout the realm of learning and teaching or teaching and learning, I had many vicissitudes (a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant). But as Alexandra K.Trenfor said, “The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill; The willingness to learn is a choice.” I choose to learn, and I choose to teach, and I welcome all the good and bad things of my profession. During his weekly lectures at Lamar University, Dr. Harapnuik has cited John Hattie several times, and from his quote, I create my learning philosophy in a nutshell. “Do no harm (to your pupils), and every outcome is learning.” Throughout my life, I learned that there are no good or bad outcomes, there are only outcomes from whichever one can learn.
References
Donovan, M. S., Bransford, J. D., & Pellegrino, J. W. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn: Bridging research and practice [PDF file]. Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice, National Research Council. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9457.html
Harapnuik, D. (n.d.). Learning philosophy [Blog post]. Retrieved from It’s about learning website: http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=95
Pagliaro, M. M. (2013). Academic success: Applying learning theory in the classroom. Lanham, ML. Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Powell, R. A., Symbaluk, D. G., & Honey, P. L. (2009). Introduction to learning and behavior (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
