A Reflection from and of EXperience: My Personal Philosophy of Education

Rex B. Penuela

A Reflection from and of EXperience: My Personal Education

By: Rex B. Penuela
Educating the mind without educating
the heart is no education at all.
Aristotle1
I. INTRODUCTION:
Guided by the quotation below:
"In modern times there are opposing views about the practice of education. There is no general
agreement about what the young should learn either in relation to virtue or in relation to the best life;
nor is it clear whether their education ought to be directed more towards the intellect than towards the
character of the soul.... And it is not certain whether training should be directed at things useful in life,
or at those conducive to virtue, or at non-essentials.... And there is no agreement as to what in fact does
tend towards virtue. Men do not all prize most highly the same virtue, so naturally they differ also about
the proper training for it."2

This paper will showcase the authors Personal Philosophy of Education illuminated and
drawn from established philosophy of education by notable Philosophers. Philosophers whose works
and philosophical treatises have help in the shaping and in the formulation of what we now know
and accepted as Philosophy of Education.
The author of this paper hopes that this endeavor may help him in providing quality holistic
learning to his students.
II. A BRIEF RECALL: REVISITING THE ESTABLISHED PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
1. Essentialism
The term essentialism as an educational philosophy was originally popularized in the
1930s by the American educator William Bagley. It refers to an approach to education that is
considered "traditional" or "Back to the Basics". It is coined as such because it intends to instill
students with the "essentials" of academic formation and character development.
Essentialists believe that the most essential or basic academic skills and knowledge
should be taught to all students. Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history,
and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum. Essentialists frown upon
vocational, lift-adjustment, or other courses with "watered down" academic content.
2. Existentialism
Just as its name suggest, Existentialism advent is from a strong rejection of traditional
philosophy, educational existentialism comes from a strong rejection of the traditional,
essentialist approach to education. Existentialism rejects the existence of any source of objective,
authoritative truth about metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Instead, individuals are
responsible for determining for themselves what is "true" or "false," "right" or "wrong,"
1

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2192.Aristotle
Cohen, L. (1999) Philosophical perspectives in education. Retrieved June 14, 2005, from
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html
2

A Reflection from and of EXperience: My Personal Philosophy of Education

Rex B. Penuela

"beautiful" or "ugly." For the existentialist, there exists no universal form of human nature; each
of us has the free will to develop as we see fit.
From existentialist perspective, subject matter holds second place to helping the
students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept complete
responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. The teacher's role is to help students
define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they may take in life and creating an
environment in which they may freely choose their own preferred way. Since feeling is not
divorced from reason in decision making, the existentialist demands the education of the whole
person, not just the mind.3
3. Perennialism
For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire
understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for
solving problems in any era. The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring
truths which are constant, not changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most essential
level, do not change. Teaching these unchanging principles is critical. Humans are rational
beings, and their minds need to be developed. Thus, cultivation of the intellect is the highest
priority in a Worthwhile education. The demanding curriculum focuses on attaining cultural
literacy, stressing students' growth in enduring disciplines. The loftiest accomplishments of
humankind are emphasized the great works of literature and art, the laws or principles of
science. 4
4. Progressivism
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. Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through
experiencing the world. It is active, not passive. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who
makes meaning through his or her individual experience in the physical and cultural context.
Effective teachers provide experiences so that students can learn by doing. Curriculum content is
derived from student interests and questions. The scientific method is used by progressivist
educators so that students can study matter and events systematically and first hand. The
emphasis is on process-how one comes to know.5
5. Pragmatism (Experientialism)
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that began in the United States around 1870.
Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or
mirror reality. Instead, pragmatists develop their philosophy around the idea that the function of
thought is as an instrument or tool for prediction, action, and problem solving.6
Pragmatists place their focus on the idea of change. Pragmatists believe that knowing
represents an exchange between the leaner and the environment. They also believe that truth and
values are always changing because the people who have those values change with the
3

Educational Philosophies Definitions and Comparison Chart,

http://www.hccs.edu/hcc/System%20Home/Departments/Teaching_and_Learning_Resources/CTLE/Faculty_Professio
nal_Development/learner_centered_workshop/comparison_edu_philo.pdf
4
5
6

Ibid
Ibid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatism

A Reflection from and of EXperience: My Personal Philosophy of Education

Rex B. Penuela

surrounding environment. For pragmatists, the most important thing for schools to teach is how
to question what we know and how to reconstruct what we know to match the changing world.
They put more focus on carefully solving problems and less on large amounts of information.
III. A Reflection from EXperience
After the presentation of the major treatises about the philosophy of education, the author of
this paper will now begin presenting his personal philosophy of education. This personal Philosophy
of Education is coined as A Reflection from and of EXperience. This personal philosophy is to be
understood and to be viewed into two dimensions, such as:
1. A Reflection from EXperience action is the result of ones personal and reflective
understanding of the situation and persons response to every scenario that calls for his action.
2. A Reflection of EXperience actions that show what the person learned from previous
experiences.
The author would like to note that in this personal philosophy of education, experience and
reflection play an important role. Notice that at first glance of the two dimensions, the difference is
not clear. However, the author would like to contend that there is a difference between the two
dimensions.
A Reflection from EXperience: The First Dimension
In this dimension, action proceeds from reflection. Here the person performs action as a
response to an experience facilitated by reflection. Reflection in this context is the medium that
allows the doer of the action to act after a decision has been made.
A Reflection of EXperience: The Second Dimension
The second dimension presents that action reflects what the person learned from his
experiences. Here, reflection is not the medium anymore but rather the result.
Synthesizing two Dimensions:
In the context of learning process, the first dimension becomes the teachers orientation on
what should be his/her role. Here the teachers role is to provide learning experiences; where
students meditatively reflect what should be his/her action.
Action that reflects and manifests what the students learned after reflecting from experiences,
is the emphasis of the second dimension. Though action in the perspective of both dimensions is the
result; an act perform by the learner, let us bear in mind that in the second dimension action becomes
the reflection of what the learners learned. Here, the action perform by the learners become the basis
of how the teacher will evaluate the learner.
The teacher provides experience for students to reflect upon is the essence of the first
dimension. The teacher uses the actions performed by the students as evidence that reflects what they
learned is the essence of the second dimension.
This personal philosophy of education will keep on reminding the author of this paper and the
bearer of this philosophy this equation: Learning experiences presented by teacher is the subject
matter that will result to learning; action performed by the student measures his/her learnings.
Consider that the author is not proposing another philosophy of education but rather,
provides a design for himself that will serve as his personal outlook on what should be his role in the
learning process of his students.