Chapter 8- Philosophy Of Education Essay

As a student of education, I have been able to gather many ideas and opinions about practices and ideals I want to implement in my future classroom. My philosophies about education are still being formed and continually change with every class I visit and with every educator I encounter. My ideas, admittedly, come from random experiences and intangible texts, but as I gain more experience in the field through my courses, my philosophies about teaching will become more clearly defined. These few ideas I have now will undoubtedly be added upon as I enter student teaching and my professional career, nevertheless, they are concepts of which I hope to never lose sight.

I believe that education is an individual, unique experience for every student who enters a classroom. In order for children to benefit from what schools offer, I think that teachers must fully understand the importance of their job. First, I believe that teachers must consider teaching to be a lifestyle, not a mere forty-hour-a-week job, because a teacher's goals for his/her students encompass much more than relaying out-of-context facts to passive students. As professionals entrusted with the education of young minds, teachers must facilitate learning and growth academically, personally, and ethically. By providing a quality education to each individual in one's classroom, a teacher equips children

My life has been influenced greatly by teachers. Since I was a child, teaching is all I wanted to do. My mother is a fifth grade teacher. I have quite a few friends that are teachers. I have been fortunate to be influenced by some great teachers throughout my academic career. I love to be around kids and I like participating in the process of learning. I appreciate learning even today. I enjoy the learning process and hope to one day influence students in the future. I hope to one day become a high school social studies teacher. I enjoy history and geography, and I especially love politics and discussing current events. I like class discussions and letting different opinions express themselves.

I have known my entire life that I would one day be a teacher. I have always been a leader. I have always felt as if I should be the boss, the one in control. Just ask my parents. Then once I got the opportunity to counsel summer camps and be the volunteer assistant coach for a basketball team. I knew my hear and my dedication was with children. So I am pursuing an education profession. I will be a teacher.

What is the philosophy of education? It is a set of ideas and beliefs that guides teachers’ actions and provides a framework for thinking about educational issues. (Kauchak and Eggen, 197) Teachers use philosophy everyday in their classrooms. From the time the first student enters their room until the last student walks out, philosophy is affecting the way the teacher runs his/her classroom and how they interact with their students. There are four different types of educational philosophies: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Social reconstuctionism. There are also five classroom applications that help teachers decide which philosophies are used while they

Education entails individual human development in the cognitive, emotional, creative and social areas. All children are entitled to a free education regardless of race, cultural background or handicaps. For education to be an effective part of the students life, the student and teacher must be actively and enthusiastically involved in learning. A teacher needs to be well prepared and organized. They need to know the perspective goals for each student and ways to achieve these goals. Teachers need to work with students to help them grow and develop ways to use their knowledge.

A teacher once told me that it is not his job to teach a bunch of facts; it is his job to teach people to think and actually use their minds. Too often in education, the focus of classrooms is on the material being taught, instead of the students. In my personal experience I have found that students are not challenged to think nearly enough. They are told information and expected to regurgitate it back to the teacher. Is this truly the goal of education? I certainly hope not. Education is about teaching children to think, create ideas, and become individuals. This idea, along with a love for children, is the driving force in my decision to become a teacher.

Developing a personal education philosophy is a process that may never end, but I believe that I am in the midst of creating one based on my own experiences and the lessons I am receiving in college. After examining the various education philosophies outlined in the “Teachers, Schools & Society” textbook by Myra Pollack Sadker and David Miller Sadker, I have decided that my present philosophy is an eclectic combination of Essentialism and Progressivism. This approach covers my beliefs and the way I hope to interact with students.

Education is inevitable. It is all around us because we can learn from virtually anything. When you are cooking, dancing, talking or any other activity you have actually had to learn several things to be able to do them. In the educational perspective, I am a pragmatist and I tend to follow after Dewey's footsteps. The concept of Pragmatism is one that developed in the 20th century. My philosophy is based on the idea that learning should involve real-life situations. Learning becomes more concrete to a student when they apply it to real-life situations, as where learning things that do not connect to them has more of an abstract sense. Personally, I would have to agree with Dewey when he said, "I

Aristotle once said, “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” Teaching enables students to gain the intelligence needed to excel in life. I believe that a teacher’s philosophy of education is a crucial role in his or her approach to leading students on their educated path. A philosophy of education is the set of beliefs that every school and every teacher stand behind. The certain philosophy that one chooses provides the answers to many vital questions, such as the purpose of schooling, a teacher’s role, and what should be taught in the classroom.

In order for a society to function, individuals must be productive members of that society. This is accomplished through education. The philosophy of education is determined by society. As society changes so does the concept of education.

In class we have discussed three philosophies that have provided us with three different perspectives with how to view education in America. Each philosophy promotes educating people based on their point of view. The first philosophy is the Classical Traditional/Conservative philosophy established by E.D. Hirsch and Mortimer Adler. The Classical Traditional/conservative philosophy provides us with a historical rhetoric perspective of education. Hirsch and Adler believe in educating everyone the same way with the perspective of the dominant western culture and Judeo Christian values. The second philosophy is Liberal Progressive philosophy established by John Dewey and W.H. Kilpatrick. The Liberal Progressive Philosophy provides a refreshing perspective on education with empirical data to support its claims. In the Liberal Progressive philosophy education is seen as a social environment and a democratic ideology is promoted. The third philosophy is Critical Pedagogy established by Henry A. Giroux and Paulo Freire. Critical Pedagogy promotes Utopian ideas and provides people with a new consciousness on their oppression. Each philosophy has its own perspective on the role of the teacher, the learner, and the desired results.

After reviewing these teaching philosophies and educational theories, many of them reflect my own personal educational philosophy and my instructional practices and choice of classroom curriculum. The four that I found the most appealing are: Realism, Pragmatism, existentialism and progressivism. I find the combination of the three very complementary.

Education is a concept that people believe will never change. Most people believe that education only goes as far as the basics: reading, writing, math, science, social studies. But, with that being said, how will our children ever be mentally prepared for reality and what it entails? I believe that it is our duty to prepare our children for anything that may happen to them on a daily basis, teach them right from wrong, give them opportunities to learn on their own.

Across the world, every single teacher has a philosophy of education. Which is a set of beliefs that influences how students are taught. Political view, religious views and social views usually influence education philosophies. Of course, students and teachers have a different perspective in which what they believe a school philosophy should be about. Some teachers would go with Essentialism and Perennialism based philosophies. This gives the teacher the power to pick the curriculum and organize how their lesson plans based on the curriculum how ever they want. This way of teaching “reinforces a predominantly Western heritage while viewing the students as vessels to be filled and disciplined in the proven strategies of the past.”. ( McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings, LLC.) Then there is Progressivism, social reconstructionism, and existentialism. This type of philosophy focuses on classroom activities. The teachers learn the students interest and use them as guide to help the students reach their goal. The definition for progressivism educations is “Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher. This educational philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation.” ( LeoNora M. Cohen, OSU)