Alberta T. Davis Foundation (ATDF)

The American public educational system has been established as the place for American children and children new to America to learn what it means to be a contributing member of American society and a citizen of a free and democratic world.  I believe this to be a daunting task for our educators, parents, and community leaders. With changes in our socio-economic, socio-political, and socio-cultural systems and related issues on the rise, increasing demands for educational and social services, increasing demands for the limited resources available, and the tax base and system eroding in most major cities and towns, the impact of financial and material constraints on education has seriously restricted our ability to provide a quality education for all children. At best, our educators and youth and community workers are reduced to glorified day care workers and not the dedicated learning specialists that they have trained to be

Consequently, we are faced with a challenge.  And for the sake of our children and future generations, we have to press forward and meet this challenge head on. We have to be committed to improving the educational system, to providing the resources necessary for every child to learn and find success, and to ensuring that the professionals whom impact the lives of our children and youth are properly trained and adequately supported.

I am committed to this challenge.  I press forward with a firmly grounded value system and understanding of the learning process as a significant part of my being.  Therefore, my philosophy of education is more a philosophy of life.  I believe that there is an art and science to living and I attempt to instill this belief in all with whom I interact with.  As an educator I am charged with developing and fostering the art and science of learning and living in our children and youth.  It is what I believe I was put on this earth to do. It requires me to continue to develop, grow, and be an active learning and participant in our society.  In order to do what I love, I have to understand why it is that I have been given this charge.

A well grounded philosophy begins to provide resources to answer this question.  Philosophy has been described as the art which teaches us to live.  What then fills the void of providing the science by which we live? It is my responsibility as an educator to provide learning opportunities for our children and youth and the professionals that serve them. These opportunities have to be directed at preparing learners to use art and science to make their lives and thereby our society better than it is.  Consequently, we must develop and maintain a system that is reflective of the culture and environment that our children will grow up in, not just where they are presently situated. This means that we have to develop and provide curricula, instructors, and resources that prepare them as active participants armed with the tools for living in a global society.

First and foremost among these preparations is to develop a mind that is free to think and challenge contemporary notions and practices. This is the definition of what it means to be free in a democratic society. Each individual is free to think and seek their own truth.

If we are to provide opportunities for our youth to seek truth, then as educators we are required to have a firm grasp of the past and present while seeking to plan for the future.  This required knowledge has to be acquired. It does not happen by chance.  Einstein believed that knowledge existed in two forms. One form is lifeless, stored in books, etc. The other form is alive, developed, and fostered in the consciousness of men (Einstein, 1954).  I agree.

I believe that it is virtually impossible for educational leaders of today to plan and articulate a vision for the future without knowledge of the tenets, rules, laws, philosophical constructs, and sociological constructs impacting our educational and learning systems.  This is necessary and vital if we are to prevent a repetition of the problems and errors of the past. Secondly, we must be aware of the impact of historical events and key people involved in the past developments and challenges.  For us to be effective educators, then we have to maximize the resources that we have and ensure that our youth have an environment that allows them to delve as deeply and as intensely into their search for truth and living as they choose, while meeting the requirements established by the Nation, State, District and local education institutions.

Ultimately, the desire is to have our philosophy or life translate into positive action. For this to happen we must keep our central focus on the key purpose of our being: to ensure that each child has the resources necessary to learn to be a contributing member of thier society; a society that requires their involvement and action to remain viable.  Our youth are the foundation of our existence. If we do not prepare them for the challenges they will face, then we are contributing to our own demise.  Education is not a panacea. It is a means to and end; a positive, creative, purposeful, and sustaining end.

Philosophy of Education – Dr. Dwayne B. Thomas, Ph.D.