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My Philosophy of Education: Combining Progressivism, Essentialism and Behaviorism

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My Philosophy of Education: Combining Progressivism, Essentialism and Behaviorism

Upon being faced with the task of writing my philosophy of teaching, I made many attempts to narrow the basis for my philosophy down to one or two simple ideas. However, I quickly came to the realization that my personal teaching philosophy stems from many other ideas, philosophies, and personal experiences. I then concentrated my efforts on finding the strongest points of my personal beliefs about teaching and what I have learned this semester, and came up with the following.

The first and most important of the three formal educational philosophies that have been major influences on the formation of my own philosophy is …show more content…

Progressivism teaches not only the importance of individuality, but the importance of respect for the individuality of others? as well.

The next philosophy from which I have gathered ideas for my philosophy is essentialism. Essentialism is the back-to-basics approach to education that endeavors to instill students with the essentials for academic knowledge. It is the philosophy that prompts educators to teach students traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge. Essentialism is important because it introduce and implants in children the knowledge needed to become model citizens. Through the essential method of teaching, students learn the social, political, and economic structures of our nation?s society. This allows them to grow into educated adults with their own opinions, and who have the ability to make knowledgeable decisions.

The last of the formal educational philosophies that is reflected in my own is behaviorism. This philosophy is derived from the belief that free will is an allusion. Behaviorists believe that human beings are shaped entirely by their environment. This belief proves to be especially true in a classroom setting. When one is given an incentive to work, they strive much harder to reach their goal. This is why teachers must take responsibility in giving students some sort of reinforcement--a reward of some kind to work for. A piece of candy, a token, or even

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