Gabriel Laroche

EDUC-300 Thomas
Philosophy of Education
Educators take many things into account when generating an
academic ideology, however five main schools of thought:
essentialism, perennialism, progressivism, social reconstructionism,
and existentialism, offer a strong base. The essentialism and
perrennialism systems are separated from the rest because they are
teacher-centered directed more on the passing of the cultural baton*
than on meeting the individual needs of students. As they advance
through their career, instructors of all kinds implement strategies that
amalgamate into an individualized philosophy of education. Personally
I have adopted a more student-centered philosophy with a focus on the
contemporary relevance to a rapidly changing the students needs as
an individual learner not just as a demographic.
I found that that progressivism originated in America, whose
tenets were and still are rooted in pragmatism. John Dewey*, a primary
figure in this effort from the 1880s to 1904 attested that people learn
best through social interaction. Across the world the groundbreaking
work of Maria Montessori* helped me to appreciate the work of those
who learn through trial and error while simultaneously learning from
the students. My personal experience with a progressivist minded
Geography professor, Mr. Miller, is one of my favorite professors at JMU.
A semester with him was quite an amazing experience. The professor
would base his lesson plan on an entire region, then communicate with

Gabriel Laroche
EDUC-300 Thomas
Philosophy of Education
his large class of over 100 to see what they did and did not know about
the region or topic, then asked what they would like to explore. He
then would somehow tie the information back to the curriculum
without me even realizing. It made learning about what the student
wanted to learn, but his practiced hand was the true guiding force
behind the tying of information back into a logical and concise format
that the students could be tested on.
The Purpose of Education
For young children schools should focus on instilling the values of
kindness, respect, and diligence, which teach kids not how to behave
per se but how to carry themselves and treat others around them.
These values are vital components to problem solving and teamwork,
which is becoming an increasingly large part of their academics. This
way they can be well prepared for the increasingly difficulties that lie
ahead as schoolwork becomes more strenuous as they age.
Schools that are linked up to the modern progressivist philosophy
believe that students should be diverse in their academic experiences.
After all, no two students are the same, so why should they all be
taught the same? Schools that build the curriculum around the
students will find that students are more effective working in groups
which help facilitate learning as the kids experience different views of

Gabriel Laroche
EDUC-300 Thomas
Philosophy of Education
schooling but from a point of view similar to their own albeit somewhat
different.
What Should Be Taught and Why
Knowledge that is the most valuable stems from what the
student feels comfortable learning about as well as what the students
can use. I agree that it is very important to learn about the history of
the world, if not for exact practical reasons then to help break the cycle
of ignorance and perpetuate a more informed society; the world has
changed so much over the past years and our nations academics must
reflect that change else our students will be far behind global trends.
To the nation, and typically the world at large, a person who has
been well educated is someone who stayed in school for the duration
of elementary, middle, secondary school, and college and was an
active participant in those institutions. This contradicts my ideal
scenario of well educated where people, regardless of years in
school, are evaluated on how they handle tasks and problems and their
knowledge of past and current events. That is not to say that every
person will come out of their academic career fully educated to the
extent of their potential. I make that claim based on years of being in
classrooms and watching as certain students excelled and others
spiraled. I will select a curriculum in my future classrooms by basing a
loose framework on the required material proposed by the national

Gabriel Laroche
EDUC-300 Thomas
Philosophy of Education
government and facilitated by my academic institution, and
extrapolating on the history of the world. I believe that regardless of
cultural background my students should experience a well-rounded
setting without bias. Also I find material that the student can bring into
the real world and apply to be of great value; therefore most of my
curriculum will have a practical application component. This parallels
the pragmatic and practical approach of progressivism.
The Nature of the Learner
Although I have adopted a philosophy that adheres more closely
to progressivism, this is also due to the fact that I hope to teach highlevel Elementary Education. I personally believe that children in fourth
and fifth grade should not be under an existentialist ideology, which is
not to say that older students would not flourish directing their own
learning to a greater degree. I feel like the student should have a
heavy hand in their learning. Education is a gift and a privilege my
parents would say, earn it; show how badly you want to learn. I hope to
instill this same passion for bettering oneself to my students. And in
the present world there are few better ways to do that than through
education. Inter class communication is a vital component in modernday classrooms. While teachers are in a position to facilitate
exceptional learning and cooperation, it is the fellow students in the
class that can best identify with other students of similar age groups.

Gabriel Laroche
EDUC-300 Thomas
Philosophy of Education
Depending on the levels of maturity and educational preparedness
some students can offer greater insight that a teacher could not as
easily provide based on their point of view and standing as a student.
This ties back into the progressivism mindset where group work is a
must, especially when the class can be divided into numerous different
categories of learning with several small sub groups directing their own
learning with fellow students.
The Role of the Learner
Parents and students should both play an interactive role in the
students learning where both should feel comfortable approaching the
other to talk about anything. Any family should feel secure in
communicating thoughts, concerns, ideas, or simply to clarify
information. I believe that a school is made up of numerous cogs that
all link together to progress the institution to a higher level of
functioning that can achieve much more together rather than apart.
The administrators and teachers, students and parents; along with
custodial staff, IT support, food distribution and any other small role
that a person could fill at a school are responsible for making school a
successful place.
Some values that I will instill in my students as well as my
coworkers are accountability for ones own actions, hard work, and an
open mind. This links to progressivism in that personal direction is

Gabriel Laroche
EDUC-300 Thomas
Philosophy of Education
necessary, especially when attempting to test out others ideas and
formulate opinion and hypotheses. These three tenets have helped
shape me as a person and I hope that they will continue to shape me
as an educator.
Teaching Methods
As I am attuned to a student-centered philosophy I do not expect
to be lecturing to a class of rigid rows, I hope that my classroom will be
set up to facilitate group work which allows students with different
aptitudes for certain subjects to all get the instruction they need. This
technique was something I witnessed at Waterman Elementary where
a single lesson was taught to the class as a whole and then the
students would split into groups predetermined by the teacher
according to proficiency. After several minutes on an exercise the
groups would rotate to a teacher assistant or aide with a different
exercise. This way different levels of instruction can be covered
simultaneously. The board will contain objectives and information
pertinent to the upcoming week, as well as some teacher led material
and in various activities laid out through the day.

**WORKS-CITED**

Sadker, D. (2012). Teachers schools and society. (3rd ed.).

New york: McGraw-Hill.

Grover, Mrs. (Waterman Elementary)

Gabriel Laroche
EDUC-300 Thomas
Philosophy of Education

Progressivism. (2013, December 2). Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism