Everyone who teaches has a philosophy of education. Everything that a teacher does is colored by the philosophy he/she holds. Every philosophy has at least the three following elements: ontology-what is real, epistemology-what is true, and axiology-what is of value (good) ethics. So what exactly do we mean by the phrase "Educational Philosophy?" The
             definition of Educational Philosophy is the desire to arrange all of the various experiences of education into a meaningful pattern. Arranging the "experiences" of one's educational philosophy is like putting together a big "picture puzzle." There are at least five major "pieces" to the puzzle. This paper will define the five pieces in an attempt to better explain and give an understanding of one's educational philosophy. However, there are two views to be looked at when explaining one's educational philosophy- the view of the "World" and the view of the "Word." Both views will be reported.
            
             The first piece of the puzzle is the Purpose and Goal of Education. Some
             of the "thoughts" of the world are as follows. One is for Reconstruction, which means to form a society in a certain way. An example of this is "Busing"-- when schools are used to meet a social goal. A second purpose of education according to the world is for Life Adjustment, which means helping children to become successful and productive citizens. National Survival is the world's third purpose of education. It is believed that an "educated people is a free people." When Russia beat us in space, our country put an emphasis in math and science education in order to gain power. A final goal of the world's for the purpose in education is for Psychological Maturity- knowing and understanding thyself.
             Now the purpose and goal of education according to the "word" is as follows. "To educate&...