Discussion Historical Education
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Liberty University *
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604
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English
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by novayaw83
Sylvia Sessoms
Professor Hutter
EDUC 604
February 4, 2024
There are four prompt options for your initial thread. Read all four thread options, select the one prompt that is most applicable to you and respond. Ensure your thread fully answers and explains the one prompt you selected. Thread Options:
1.
Do you think schools should emphasize that truth and values are certain, as in the case of idealists and realists, or that truths and values are probabilities, as asserted by pragmatists? Explain your answer.
2.
Do you think American schools have been influenced more by essentialism or by progressivism? Support your answer with examples and evidence.
3.
Which education theory is most evident in your current teacher preparation program? Support your answer with examples and evidence.
4.
Do you agree with the realists' argument that conceptual knowledge of subjects such as language, history, mathematics, science, literature, and art is needed to make rational choices or with the pragmatist contention that the most important decisions are made by solving problems? Explain your answer.
Essentialism is the philosophy that there is an inherent nature or essence that defines an object or
concept. Or in other words, essentialism is the belief that things have a set of characteristics that
make them what they are. This concept or idea can be traced back to Greek philosophy. In which
Plato’s idealism held that all things have an “essence” or “form”. In relation to education
philosophy, it is the belief that children should learn the traditional subjects thoroughly.
Moreover, essentialism is one of the four major educational philosophies along with
perennialism, progressivism, and reconstructionism. Essentialism is a teacher centered
educational philosophy that emphasizes learning skills through traditional subjects like reading,
math, and science. All of which promote focused learning. Essentialism also promotes critical
thinking and creates a structured learning environment that helps students develop good study
habits and a sense of responsibility. While there are several benefits of essentialism, it has been
criticized for its lack of diversity and not considering the needs of marginalized students. Critics
also argue that this concept does not account for all aspects of life such as creativity. Which
raises a concern that it could limit individuality and diversity. Moreover, by focusing heavily on
traditional subjects, essentialism may overlook the importance of teaching students about diverse
cultures, perspectives, and experiences. Progressivism in education is a student-centered philosophy that emphasizes the need for
students to learn through their own experiences and be actively involved in their own learning
process. It began as a movement in Europe during the nineteenth century. It was a response to the
narrowness and formalism of traditional education. Its objective was to teach the “whole child”
in which it intended to attend to the physical, emotional, and intellectual growth of children.
Unlike essentialism, it recognizes and celebrates students’ creativity and passions. It also
promotes individualized instruction that meets the students’ needs and interests. Some examples
of progressivism are project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and technology integration.
Progressivism has many benefits as well as challenges. One of the challenges of progressivism is
its lack of structure. Progressivism is often seen as unstructured and open minded which can be
overwhelming for students and teachers. Moreover, progressivism focuses on individualized
learning, which can be difficult to measure through standardized tests. Its focus on individualized
learning can also be difficult to achieve in large class sizes. Both essentialism and progressivism
have had a significant impact on American schools. However, the influence of progressivism has
been more withstanding. It has expanded the idea of who schooling should be for and how it
should be done. As well as departed from the “one size fits all “approach. An article from Glen
Urquhart School states that a truly progressive educational setting can help children not only
survive a post pandemic world, but more importantly thrive.
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Sylvia Sessoms
Professor Hutter
EDUC 604
February 11, 2024
Good evening, Britnee
While I believe that progressivism has taken the forefront of education in the past years, I also
agree that essentialism is the core of American education currently. Moreover, you made a very
good point in which you stated that students are not excelling in subjects such as mathematics
and literature. I believe that the pandemic had a significant impact on education. In which it
widened achievement gaps particularly in math and reading. While progress is being made, I
think there is still a long way to go in recovering from the pandemic’s impact on education. Good evening, Kelsee
I’m all for progressive approach in instruction. However, it’s evident that this may be
challenging since many students are behind in the fundamentals. Which is the result of many
different factors. Perhaps one of the biggest factors is the pandemic which affected so many
aspects of our lives, especially education. Additionally, as you mentioned in your discussion,
many students are put in grade levels in accordance with their age rather than their academic
level. While I like that progressivism is student based and centered around student inquiry, I can
understand the need for essentialism as the root or foundation of instruction.