Mrs. Jessica Brown
Jessica Brown
Western Governors University
Bachelor of Arts: Interdisciplinary Studies (K-8)
Student ID: 000176947
Philosophy of Teaching
Alexander the Great said, “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well” (www.brainyquote.com). He was a man who knew something about both living well and about teachers. No man has ever risen to a place of greater prominence in such a brief span. Furthermore, very few could boast of having a better teacher than Aristotle. He has been dead for well above two thousand years, yet there is not an undergraduate student, perhaps in the western world today, who has not studied Aristotle to some degree. This is the quality teacher the author of this quote had. He had it right, in my opinion. This is the ultimate goal of teaching and teachers to enable the student to live well. Now, this does not necessarily mean enabling the student to become rich and powerful. Some, who are both, do not live well and some, who are neither, live rather well. It is about fulfillment, which comes from purpose. That is the impetus driving my passion for teaching. I want the students under my tutelage to not only assimilate knowledge but to obtain it in order that they might use it to fill a void in the world. Alexander left the world a much better place than he found it having filled it with ideals the Western world still extols today. Or did he? Perhaps it was not so much the mighty Alexander as it was the teacher who groomed him. After all, Alexander admits that his father who left him the crown did not imbue him with so great a gift as his teacher who molded his character. I wonder if most teachers realize the power of the scepter placed in their hands in the form of a black board pointer. Not only to impart information but to prepare students to make a tremendous difference in the world with the information we impart; to create Alexanders -- that’s the benevolent power with which we have been endowed.
Western Governors University
Bachelor of Arts: Interdisciplinary Studies (K-8)
Student ID: 000176947
Philosophy of Teaching
Alexander the Great said, “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well” (www.brainyquote.com). He was a man who knew something about both living well and about teachers. No man has ever risen to a place of greater prominence in such a brief span. Furthermore, very few could boast of having a better teacher than Aristotle. He has been dead for well above two thousand years, yet there is not an undergraduate student, perhaps in the western world today, who has not studied Aristotle to some degree. This is the quality teacher the author of this quote had. He had it right, in my opinion. This is the ultimate goal of teaching and teachers to enable the student to live well. Now, this does not necessarily mean enabling the student to become rich and powerful. Some, who are both, do not live well and some, who are neither, live rather well. It is about fulfillment, which comes from purpose. That is the impetus driving my passion for teaching. I want the students under my tutelage to not only assimilate knowledge but to obtain it in order that they might use it to fill a void in the world. Alexander left the world a much better place than he found it having filled it with ideals the Western world still extols today. Or did he? Perhaps it was not so much the mighty Alexander as it was the teacher who groomed him. After all, Alexander admits that his father who left him the crown did not imbue him with so great a gift as his teacher who molded his character. I wonder if most teachers realize the power of the scepter placed in their hands in the form of a black board pointer. Not only to impart information but to prepare students to make a tremendous difference in the world with the information we impart; to create Alexanders -- that’s the benevolent power with which we have been endowed.
References: Brainy Quote (2001). Quotes by Alexander the Great. Retrieved from www.brainyquote.com September 5, 2012.