Department Philosophy

Human beings are born with the capacity for wonder.
Human beings are social beings who learn from and with others.
Human beings construct their understandings over time by connecting the new to what is already known.
Human beings have a multiplicity of intelligences.
All knowledge is connected.
Wisdom comes from the way in which knowledge is held.
Thinking is central in coming to know.
Communicating is the matrix of thinking.
Teachers are also learners, and students are also teachers.
All students can learn.

Teachers should be committed to the value of all individuals as unique, responsible, and worthy human beings.
Teachers should be committed to the intellectual, social, emotional, artistic, and moral growth of all learners.
Teachers should be committed to the worth of knowledge and to the value of all ideas as worthy of consideration and reflection.
Teachers should be committed to role of inquiry and to reasoned discourse in the search for truth and wisdom.
Teachers should be committed to the value of judicious and compassionate action in relationships with other human beings and with the environment.
Teachers should be committed to an ethic of service through teaching that extends beyond the classroom.
Teachers should be committed to the understanding and value of discursive practices that construct meaning from culturally diverse perspectives, especially with respect to the articulations of pedagogies and school culture.

Teachers demonstrate their understanding of the centrality of inquiry in a learning community; the critical role of communication in inquiry; and the confidence that grows with the development of our ability to participate in a community of inquiry.
Teachers demonstrate both a general knowledge of all subject matter in the school curriculum, in order to understand the interrelationships among disciplines, and an in-depth understanding of the subject matter for which they are directly responsible, including the origins, development, and structure of each discipline; its core concepts and principles; its pedagogical framework; and its application to daily life.
Teachers demonstrate that they understand that authentic learning requires experience (direct and vicarious), inquiry, time, interest, self-correction, and external criticism.
Teachers demonstrate understanding of the foundations of education through their ability to plan, implement, and assess developmentally appropriate learning experiences for all students.
Teachers demonstrate their understanding of the importance and role of cultural diversity in constructing meaningful pedagogies for all children.
Teachers demonstrate understanding of and the ability to employ appropriate technological tools for developing students’ knowledge, understandings, skills, and dispositions.
Teachers demonstrate responsibility for their own professional development and for their own learning as a lifelong process.