My Philosophy of Education

My content area or program emphasis is based on using the progressivism philosophy and a slight touch of existentialism. A progressive classroom focuses on the child, and it allows the students to direct their own thinking by working in small groups and being active learners. Then existentialism stresses the importance of individual choice. These content areas fulfill the purpose of education because you are creating emotionally healthy adults because you are putting

A large part of my educational philosophy is based on the fundamentals of Progressivism. This philosophy, founded by John Dewey, organizes schools around the concerns, curiosity, and real world experiences of students. I agree with these ideas because people must continually learn to keep up with today’s fast paced world. I believe that when learning is relevant and enjoyable students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. Progressivism has respect for individuality, a high regard for science, and a receptivity to change that I feel is critical to successful education. As a Progressive teacher I will facilitate learning by helping students formulate meaningful questions and devise strategies to answer those questions. In my opinion, answers are best discovered through real world experience, especially hands on learning or pragmatism. I believe that there is a time and place for book-learning; however, there is no substitute for actually doing things. I

Progressivism, by definition, is the advocacy for societal improvement by reform. During the early twentieth century, education went through John Dewey was an American psychologist, philosopher, educator, social critic, and political activist who had a profound influence on education. In 1897, he published a groundbreaking document entitled “My Pedagogic Creed” that shaped progressive education for the twentieth century. It is broken down into five main articles in which he explains his philosophies about how students should learn, how teachers should teach, and how schools should operate. He believed that the educational process has two sides; psychological and sociological. Furthermore, he believed that the educational process should reflect those two sides and that each individual is unique. His philosophy emphasizes the active role of the student to build understanding and process information. He believed that students thrived in an environment in which they were encouraged to interact with the material and take part in their education. In his eyes, a school was not only a place to develop knowledge but also to develop life skills. Dewey’s foundational document inspired many progressive-era educational activists and teachers and helped shape modern education.

One theory of progressivism I do not agree with is that the teacher should act as a guide rather than an authority figure. I do think the teacher should be a guide for students, but without some level of authority, the classroom will cease to function as such and could become a circus rather than the productive learning environment it is supposed to be. I believe in a student-centered classroom, but I believe it is the teacher’s job to make sure the students stay on task and are disciplined. The students should know the teacher is the one in charge.

My own personal journey through my education and reflection as a student studying, teaching, and learning has shaped by beliefs in the way I learn and the way I want to teach. My personal teaching philosophy consists of several teaching philosophies. It is a mix of progressivism and existentialism. I believe in progressivism, I believe the concept that students should be provided with learning experiences that are dynamic and teach using hands-on approach. I think when a student is learning about a subject that interests them and is relevant to them, learning is improved. Lessons should boost curiosity and be thought provoking. Although, funding in some school makes this difficult due to lack of materials, teachers should attempt to improvise

For many individuals, choosing a career is one of the hardest decisions to be faced with. The majority of students in college spend their first year stressing about what they are going to do with the rest of their life. I, fortunately, have known since I was in middle school that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. As a future teacher I feel that essentialism and progressivism are going to be my unique philosophies of education.

I remember when my sister and I would play school with our friends. It was one of the best experiences that I had. It was this experience that helped me make up my mind about being a teacher. Now as I move through the different stages in the educational program, I have determined that I have developed certain beliefs. By teaching and working with children, people can see my beliefs. My philosophy towards education is progressivism. Progressivism can be found in my views about public schools, my teaching methods, and my curriculum.

In progressive education, the age old teacher-student dynamic is cast aside as the person whom was once known as the sole authority takes more of an aiding and facilitative role. School is a part of life in

I do not believe that there is only one correct philosophy to base classroom learning around, but I do think there are quite a few that can be integrated together to create the most suitable learning environment and best coursework progression scheme. However, I would argue that student-centered philosophies are best for maximizing the amount of student needs met. Schools for increasing potential in students to be successful outside of the classroom in intellect, social behavior, and critical thinking. My personal teaching philosophy is creating a balance between student-centered philosophies of progressivism, social reconstruction, and existentialism, through a mixture of social learning, hands-on learning, and real world application, in order

Along with that there are also certain philosophies that I will use to guide me through teaching, and the ones that I will be the most successful. They are progressivism, and behaviorism-positive reinforcement. Progressivism deals with making education more relevant to the needs and interests of the student’s. The teacher centers the curriculum on the experiences, interests, and abilities of each student. By this, the teacher pushes for the student to be at a higher level of knowledge; because one important aspect I learned is that Progressivism in the classroom students are able to solve problems similar to those outside of the classroom. To me that is very important for the students to take what they learned and take it to another level, even outside the

Progressivism is a school of thought that focuses on the base idea of progress, which asserts that advancement in science, technology, economic development, and social organization are vital to improve the human condition.

There are two educational philosophies that influence the way I want to teach in my own classroom. Essentialism and progressivism correspond to my beliefs. They both represent the values that I hold important when coming to running my future class. These philosophies interconnect to form the view of the best educational philosophy for me.

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.

The learning experience should be that of a collective nature where students are able to indiscriminately relate to the information, re-teach the information and have a balanced incorporation of all the learning centers in society; including the home and the church. The goal of this incorporation is to create a balanced learning environment that facilitates holistic development in the young mind. As professionals entrusted with the shaping of young minds, teachers must facilitate learning and personal, spiritual, ethical and academic development. My philosophy for education is a multi-part philosophy that encapsulates the idea of holistic and inclusive learning. The philosophy caters for the overall shaping and development of the young mind and includes aspects of balanced training, incorporated teachings and it generally focuses on training students to become teachers.

When understanding education there are many different ways which the purpose of education may be applied and defined. My personal philosophy of education is, 'educators must nurture/guide students within the academic field, to that the aims, goals and results during this task of educating or being educated are achieved '. This philosophy is used to understand that both teachers and students play an integral role in education. Academic performance, classroom methods/practices and also meeting the requirements of both the senior secondary Australian Curriculum Framework and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Framework are examples of these roles. This essay will discuss in detail how my personal philosophy of education, reflects on the role of teachers and learners, the aim of education and the methods and practices used in the classroom. Jean Jacques Rousseau, Paulo Freire, Locke, and Plato/Socrates are the four theorists that shall be used within this essay, to support claims and justify statements regarding this philosophy. John Dewey and A.S Neil are two non-supporting theorists that shall be used in contrast to justify this philosophy.