My Philosophy of Education Essay

When one walks into a classroom, they normally see a line of desks all facing the same direction so that the students may view the board in the front of the room where they will review the lecture that is planned. There is a desk for a teacher to sit at in the corner and normally a clock and a poster or two that has some sort of inspirational quote. Every elementary class that I have been in has been the same. Year after year we usher our children into an unchanging room so that they can sit, be quiet, and try to absorb maybe three percent of what you show them on the projector, but that is not how I believe that our students should learn. According to what I believe, I would be considered a progressivist. I want my students to be able to take a lesson and apply it to their lives. Progressivism is an educational philosophy emphasizing real-world problem solving and individual development (Eggen & Kauchak, 2008). There should never be a student asking why they have to learn something because you should have already explained to them in detail as to why it pertains to their lives. I also believe that students should be free to move around and communicate with one another about projects and homework and questions that they would better answer themselves. Three INTASC standards that I believe go well with progressivism and are a few of my personal favorites are as follows: numbers two, three, and five. I will use what I know about progressivism and these INTASC standards to

Malcolm X once said “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”. From adolescence to adulthood almost every person is put through schooling. As one gets older in age, the education they obtain becomes more rigorous in order to stretch their minds far beyond two plus two or what color the sky is. The strategies of critically thinking and being able to analyze/decipher information in front is them is reinforced routinely in the educational system. With this being said, the purpose of education is to aid in enhancing one’s qualification, socialisation, and subjectification skills within the society regardless of how or where one’s education was obtained.

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.

John Dewey, who is known as the father of Progressive education, has been most influential in Educational Progressivism. His vision for schools tied to a larger vision, leading towards a good society. His

We have bad institutional habits and the educational system will continue to be the way it is because our system is outdated and that’s how it’s always been. The U.S. education system does what it was designed to do. The problem that were facing is that it was formed over 100 years ago in a different time period, for a

Progressivism started in the late 19th and early 20th century. Progressivist believed that to fix modern problems, the old ways and ideas needed to be tossed out the window and that minds should become more open. This mostly had to do with topics of the government. Progressivist were found on both sides of the political rim with Woodrow Wilson being a Democrat and Teddy Roosevelt being a Republican. “The Progressives were united in their contempt for what they called the “individualism” of the Founding. Instead of a government that protects natural rights through limited, decentralized powers, they envisioned an expansive government, a “living” and evolving Constitution, and the rule of “experts” in nationally centralized administrative agencies.”

First and foremost, there are several issues that are the leading cause of the ineffectiveness of today’s schooling. Sir Ken Robinson made a point of explaining that the current education system was “... conceived in the intellectual culture of the enlightenment and in the economic circumstances of the industrial revolution” (para 2). We are obviously passed the enlightenment and industrial revolution. In fact, we might be in a new enlightenment completely as well as a technological revolution as compared to an industrial one. It is common sense to realize that methods used then may not and probably will not work now. Children have been brought up differently and knowledge has been expanded from

The concept of progressivism was introduced as early as 1875, but it was not until the 1920’s that this movement became more widely known. Credit for the success of progressivism is given to John Dewey, founder of the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago. Dewey began this educational movement of encouraging schools to abandon the essentialist curriculum of the traditional disciplines, and, instead navigate toward a curriculum centered on the experiences, interests, and abilities of the student.

Education began around 3000 to 500 B.C.E. in the early ages of Egypt and has been advancing and changing ever since. Technology has played a huge role in the progression of where education stands today but education has also seen a tough set back in critical aspects of serving its purpose of providing children with a proper education s that they are prepared and can succeed. Although some may find that the current education system in America, even in the depressed urban school settings, are functioning just fine, many people will advocate that drastic changes need to be done to fix the problems.

Education does not means just getting the degree. It also means assimilating erudition through different modes of communication, being able to read, indite, heedfully aurally perceive and verbalize! Sometimes a person carrying a white collar job may be less educated or in another word may not have much intellectuality than a blue collar job. Most of the time people woking in restaurants, or in some factory are considered to be less educated. But it is not so. Education is not inhibited to schools, colleges, universities but it can be acquired anywhere and everywhere, on the roads, in the market, in the society, wherever we learn something ! It is incomplete without being cultured !

If being taught in a progressive education classroom each student can be expected to be the main focus of the room. Progressivism is a child-centered curriculum, which is peer-centered and growth-centered. The students were thought to have learned best by engaging in the discussion instead of just sitting and listening. Dewey believed that education should be, “based on what

Why do I want to be a teacher? I have thought long and hard over that question, and my answer is “I don’t know.” My initial thought about going into teaching stemmed from my own experiences. When my son was in school, a teacher gave up on him and said, “he’ll be a dropout.” They will weed him out when he gets to high school. My son is now a junior at West Virginia University. I never want to see another kid be dropped through the cracks or weeded out, when he gets to high school. Children are our greatest assets. Teachers have an obligation to try every avenue with each student until they find one that works. I know that every time I walk into a classroom of students, I get a chill up my

The educational philosophy I most identify with is progressivism because I have always been the type to believe that schools should not just prepare us with knowledge, but also with life experience and give the students a mindset that would help them make the right choice. Students spend about half of their day at school, so I believe teachers should help prepare them for the real world. The world and education systems are two things that never stop evolving or changing. Today’s schools are different from the past because back then everyone was segregated. No matter where you went, there was always one of two things;

In the United States, education is thought of in a very black and white manner. To be educated is to go to a traditional school to learn math, science, history, & English for approximately 14 years; add another 4 years of higher education, and only then is someone truly educated. Although this is considered to be the most effective path, the average person will graduate from a traditional high-school having forgotten most of what they were taught. Even when considering this, it remains more acceptable for someone to graduate school having forgotten most of what they learned, than for someone to thoroughly educate themselves about a topic in a non-traditional setting. Although I do agree that it is beneficial for everyone

Out of the four primary philosophical outlooks, I identify best with the existentialism philosophy; because this philosophy best fits my teaching style. I want my classroom to be a place where students discover their abilities, self-worth, and uniqueness as an individual by experiences within the classroom. This is my goal as an educator.