Philosophy of Education 1

Historical and Personal Philosophy of Education

Adriana A. Reyes

College of Southern Nevada

Education Class 202

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Abstract

This papers goal is to provide information on the five different types of educational

philosophies. I will summarize each philosophy, provide the events and persons associated with

them, and include activities that supports the different philosophies. Another goal of this paper is

to provide my personal philosophy on education.

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Historical and Personal Philosophy of Education

The Five Different Philosophies of Education

Essentialism1

Educational essentialism is a theory that states that children should learn the traditional basic

subjects and that these should be learned thoroughly and rigorously (K12academics.com). This

philosophy aims to teach the accumulative core course such as reading, writing, calculations, and

science. Many people consider this a focus on the basic information that children should all be

required to learn and with an end goal of training the mind, promoting reasoning, and ensure

common culture among all Americans (Sadker et al:163). This is a teacher as educator

philosophy; teachers are considered to be the mentor handing over the information that they

know. Teachers are to be the center focus of the classroom. This approach was in reaction to

progressivist approaches prevalent in the 1920s and 30s. William Bagley, took progressivist

approaches to task in the journal he formed in 1934 (oregonstate.edu). Bagley was not alone in

his thinking. Other supporters of Essentialism are: James D. Koerner, H. G. Rickover, Paul

Copperman, and Theodore Sizer. Essentialism has been a key philosophy of education since

World War II (Sadker et al:163), and has been an influence on historical events such as the race

to space. One of the more notable outcomes of this philosophy is the mandate of the No Child

Left Behind Law that started in 2001. This is standardized testing on a national level. The goal

was intended to improve the academics of the disadvantaged (U.S. Dept. of Edu).

Perennialism. The Perennialism philosophys aim of education is to ensure that students

acquire understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization. This is a teacher centered

philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transferring knowledge, information, and skill

from the teacher to the students (Sadker et al:162). Teachers that identify with this philosophy
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will organize their curriculum around the Great Books and the ideas and concepts that can be

learned from them. These are the ideas that have lasted for over centuries and have relevance and

meaning in the present. The perennialist curriculum is universal and is based on their view that

all human beings possess the same essential nature. Perennialists think it is important that

individuals think deeply, analytically, flexibly, and imaginatively (siue.edu). Supporters of this

philosophy are Robert Maynard Hutchins who developed a Great Books program in 1963 and

Mortimer Adler, who further developed this curriculum based on 100 great books of western

civilization (K12academics.com). Schools still teach the ideas that come from stories like The

Adventure of Tom Sawyer, Homers - Illiad and Odyssey, the works of William Shakespeare, and

many more.

Progressivism. Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are

fundamental to a students education. Progressivists center their curricula on the needs,

experiences, interests, and abilities of students with the goal of helping the students formulate

meaningful questions and devise strategies to answer those questions (Sadker et al:167). One

notable progressivist is John Dewey. He believed that people could learn better through

application to real world experiences and using those experiences in a new application. Shared

decision making, planning of teachers with students, student-selected topics are all aspects.

Books are tools, rather than authority (K12academics.com). Many times these students would

be working on group projects or presentations, while the teacher assists the students in individual

groups. He had the idea that students should use the scientific method to help adapt to the future

issues that may arise.

Social Reconstruction. This philosophy encourages teachers to ask students to focus on

alleviating social inequalities. The founder of this philosophy is Theodore Brameld. He was a
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student of Dewey, but started to have a new radical approach to education. His book, Dare The

Schools Build a New Social Order?, was influenced by the events and hardships of The Great

Depression. The goal of this philosophy is to teach students how to combat social challenges

such as race, climate change, sexism, violence and homophobia by way of information. Schools

teach acceptance and the consequences of hatred in history.

Existentialism. This philosophy is a student centered philosophy that places a

significance on education helping a student find meaning and direction in their life.

Existentialism is a way of existing wherein we inquire into our existence- our Being is at issue

and so we inquire into the things that have a deep and personal meaning for (Magrin:

Existentialism, Phenomenology, and Education). This style prompts students to think about

questions such as, Why am I here?, What is my purpose in life?, and What affect will my

life have on the world?. These ideal are taught through literature such as Tao Te Ching and the

works of Henry David Thoreau.

My Philosophy

Profession.
I decided at the very young age of five that I wanted to become either a pediatrician or a teacher. I initially
wanted to become a doctor for several reasons; money, my own practice, and helping the community. As
time went on, the goal of being a doctor slowly dissipated into an urge to become a teacher. My mind was
finally set during my high school years. My greatest influence was my favorite Math teacher Mrs. Muller. I
had her two out of my four years of high school. She taught my Algebra 2 and Calculus class. She was a
dedicated teacher that spent her time and effort in teaching her students not only the information that was
necessary to pass the class, but to encourage students to strive for more information and a better life.
After being taught by her, I wanted to affect the lives of our future in the same way, and be a catalyst for
enlightenment and encouragement. I found that I enjoyed math. I was elated at learning new concepts
and then applying those concepts to calculate a solution.

What I enjoyed more was helping others comprehend math concepts; teaching and tutoring. While in high
school, to earn extra money, I would tutor other students and my step mother. I found a profound
happiness in translating information to others, and having them understand with the ability to apply that
understanding. That moment where the person learning finally understands the concept makes me
elated. I want to be that person that helps to illuminate the minds of the future and help influence them to
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strive to be more. There are endless possibilities for students and they need information and guidance. I
want to be that person that helps, even in the smallest amount, for students to achieve their goals.

I thought about what teaching would bring to my life and what obstacles that I would need to overcome to
achieve my goal. I am no stranger to the classroom, but I have not taught more than two people at a time.
After working with a cooperating teacher, I found that there is much work in preparing, conveying, and
progressing the information to students. In conversation with the participating teacher, he revealed to me
interesting facts about new teachers. He said that many of the new teachers come straight out of school
to start teaching. These teachers have a fatal flaw of not having any real world experiences. This most
likely will result in a sabbatical or leaving the profession within five years. The participating teacher
expressed that it takes more than determination to become a teacher; it takes compassion, heart,
personal strength, and an abundant amount of patience.

Teaching.
I believe that all students should acquire basic knowledge. By knowing this basic information, it will help
them live and lead productive lives that progress the community. Education has come a long way since
the days of Plato and Socrates. Education for most of history belonged to those that had the funds and
means to hire a tutor. Thankfully, Thomas Jefferson mandated that education, in the United States, was
to be widely available to children. As time went on, the availability became free government provided
education. I think that it can only help if students learned the basics. We have had initiatives put in place
to make sure that students reach the basic understanding with programs like No Child Left Behind.
Fortunately for some schools, this program helped to educate many children that were being passed on
and left aside. Unfortunately, the program also changed the way that teachers taught to their classrooms
for fear of students failing the standardized testing. Teaching became less about enlightening students in
a particular subject and more on test taking skills. I think that teachers need to get back to teaching what
is necessary while maintaining the basic education goal.

I believe that the school district should create the common core list of objectives to accomplish in a
subject, but I think that teachers in their departments should be the ones who decide on the specifics of
the curriculum and timeline in which to convey the information. However, due to the wide range of
learning styles, diversity, and other influences teaching is not an exact science. I think that teaching
strategies should be based on the students ability to understand the information. I dont think that they
should be able to dictate the whole timeline and curriculum, but I do think that there should be room to
help nurture the minds of students and allow them to envelop and retain concepts.

The country is changing. There has been an increasing rate of immigrants, social issues, and political
foreign issues. I believe that people can progress if they are taught to understand that we are all the
same, and that we all have the right to an essential education. I think that empathy, tolerance, and
expectance should be part of basic education. If students learn that people have the right to their own
predilections and accept that, then there will be more acceptance and less hatred (and violence from that
hatred).
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Instruction.

Ultimately, I would like to run my classroom with efficiency. I am a very linier person and I like for things to
be planned out and executed thusly. I always liked the sayings, there is a time and place for everything,
and there are places for everything, and everything should be in place. I know that the world is not
perfect and that there will be times that even the best plan made will not be enough. The job of a high
school teacher is to prepare students for what comes after senior year. I would hope that many of my
students would strive to attend college. I would like to plan the quarters out and be able to construct a
flexible syllabus so that there is time for deeper understanding of the concepts that will be learned. I like
most the idea of students teaching students. I think that peers learn better from each other with guidance.
In this situation, I would have the students work in groups that consisted of different levels of
understanding. I would also make myself free for correspondence outside the classroom over e-mail, and
if in dire cases hold school approved study groups before school, after school, and or on weekends. I
think that testing is not enough to assess a student of what they understand about a certain subject. I
would also try to include presentations, class participation, questions asked, and colleague assistance in
assessing the students comprehension.

Future.

I think to become a remarkable teacher that it takes more than sheer determination; it takes compassion,
heart, personal strength, and an abundant amount of patience. I know that I can accomplish any task that
is placed before me if I have enough time and when I put my mind in it. I enjoy being the person that
could make what is perceived impossible happen. I have endured heart ache and disappointment, and
have only ascended from the issues stronger. The one aspect that I know that I need work on, and will
continue to work on, is patience. Life gets frustrating, and I want the learning environment for my future
students to be a caring, vibrant, and illuminating environment with structure. I also have real world
experience. I have worked with difficult time constraints, challenging employees, and complex conceptual
programs.

I have a very clear plan to attain my goal of being a teacher. I am currently attending college classes to
obtain my Associated degree in Secondary Education. I am also working as I attend college. As soon as I
complete my Associates degree, I will apply for a job with the school district as a substitute teacher. This
is mainly to garner experience working with students, but also to gain connections in the district. I would
hopefully be accepted into a program that helps me gain my license while teaching. I know that once I do
start teaching, I would most likely start with freshman and sophomores. I would have to work my way up
to juniors and seniors. My end goal is to have my own class and teach higher levels of math to high
school students.
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References

Educational Essentialism, (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.k12academics.com/educational-philosophy/educational-essentialism#.VuekjtDk--c

Margrini, James, Existentialism, Phenomenology, and Education (2012). Philosophy Scholarship.

Paper 30. http://dc.cod.edu/philosophypub/30

Section III- Philosophical Perspectives in Education (1999), LeoNora M. Cohen, OSU - School of

Education. Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html

Theodore, Peter A., The Foundations of Education Web. Retrieved from

http://www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/index.html

US Department of Education, No Child Left Behind (2001). Retrieved from

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html