Philosophies and Ism's in Education

In taking a closer look at the continuum of education theories, I found that I truly fit into the nonauthoritarian category of existentialism. Out of the different theories, this one demonstrates the most focus on the individual and encourages the concept of each individual creating their own meaning in life. Choice has always been something I had been passionate about in the educational field. I think it’s essential for students to have choice in the curriculum under the majority of circumstances. As a teacher, I want to guide my students to make positive choices and decisions and giving them those opportunities is essential for that form of learning. Existentialism also implies the importance of self-discovery for students, which is generally reached by student-centered curriculum and personalized learning. These few concepts are also very central to my beliefs. Each student is different and individual and I would like to teach to each of them with the help of their own feedback, evaluations, and advice. The more you know the students through allowing them to plan around their interests and make their own learning experiences meaningful, the more information you have about the students for planning future lessons. Student-teacher relationships that are strong, professional, and caring all at the same time are something I will be striving for each day. Existentialism highlights the importance in these types of relationships and promotes personal connections and interactive communications within the relationship. I want to help students work towards making informed and morally sound decisions in their lives. This support requires a trust between the student and myself that will come alive through a positive student-teacher relationship and an ongoing, encouraging learning environment for everyone.
I also connected with a few of the ideas within the theory of pragmatism. The concept of the students learning from experience is essential to my form of teaching. I am excited about student advisory programs and extracurricular activities in a lot of ways and will work to encourage my students to get involved in school outside of the academic realm. The experience of working with groups, teams, hands-on activities, and just learning by doing, is one that cannot be replaced by textbooks. Programs outside of the classroom focus on different social interactions as well as ways to develop thinking about choices, consequences, and decisions. These programs coincide with the theory of pragmatism in their support of experiential learning and developing because pragmatists learn through the use of their sense, which is encouraged in this type of activity. As a partial pragmatist, I truly believe that learning in constant and never ending, regardless of the method.
Through exploring the different philosophers that have encouraged and influenced education over the years, I found many connections to own beliefs. Confucius was a believer that his students should be “motivated and active learners who would take the initiative in their learning” which is a belief that I also hold. I want my students to develop a passion for learning and bring that to each class period. Confucius also believed that education improved both the intellect and moral character of a person, which is a statement that I also support. The educational system is a place for students to develop in numerous ways, not only in the form of academic achievement. Sappho had a similar belief in the idea of educating the whole student, giving all areas of education an important role, physical development included. I think this is essential in education, because physical health supports mental health, and they will work together to promote proper thinking and clear efforts towards learning. It’s my personal belief that you cannot have one without the other, and learning the importance of each and how they contribute to overall learning and health is essential. Pestalozzi was another philosopher that supported that idea of education the “whole child” in his efforts to especially reach out and provide disadvantaged and poor children more opportunities for bettering their lives and their education. Emotional and social needs were important to Pestalozzi, which he believed were supported by a loving and caring student-teacher relationship. If the teacher can connect with the student and understand their struggles and hardships, it will be easier for them to teach that student by working with and around the issues. Booker T. Washington was another advocate for holistic teaching. His education motto being “hand, head, and heart” speaks worlds to the efforts made with social and personal connections to ensure proper educational strides. An overall development of the student as a person is the kind of development that I would like to setup a support system for within my classroom. Mann and Seton also support this holistic point of view in the classroom.
Other philosophers support my personal belief of being a caring teacher. Jesus is one of these philosophers. He believed that the role of a teacher is basically “a kind and caring teacher of all – men and women, young and old, poor and wealthy.” This is important to me because I believe in the theory of equal opportunity and fair treatment, as well as accepting every person just as they are. Jesus also believed in using a large variety of teaching techniques to reach each kind of learner and each individual. Augustine had similar beliefs in the fact that he thought “the teacher should love the students, assess their prior knowledge, and teach with enthusiasm, motivating the students to want to learn.” This is one of the most important theories for me because I want to use my positive and outgoing energy to encourage the students in my classes to engage themselves in learning and knowledge for now and for the future. I want to motivate them by expressing care and concern. In the theory of care and concern I want to be sure that I consider all students fairly and equally. Many of the philosophers touch on the importance of this idea in education. Comenius is one that believes that students should be educated regardless of social background, religion, sex, or intellectual ability. He believes “teachers should encourage, be kind, give individual attention to students, and be open to all learners, creating a non-coercive atmosphere in which the subject matter is presented with variety and practicality.” Gallaudet believes in the opportunity for general education for any and all students, much like Comenius. Emma Willard also has a similar philosophy that includes all students and puts a special emphasis on the inclusion of women and their specific learning needs.
Each of these philosophers’ theories and ideas highlight many aspects of my own personal teaching philosophy. I find it so important to keep my own ideals and theories in check while examining other people’s points of view and theories. My own philosophies are a branch of previous ideas and experiences mixed with my own ideas and experiences thus far. These will continue to build and grow with knowledge I gain from teaching, researching, reading, thinking, and experiencing new things.

The History of American Education - The Ism's

Idealism:
This way of thinking is considered the oldest philosophy where the primary concerns are reason and ideas, consistently using the idea of mind over matter. The idealist connects the ideas of mind, soul, and spirit into one self. This kind of thinker believes that knowledge includes grasps of ideas and concepts and that it is especially important to master the science of logic. Idealists also believe that order is an important element of reality and is also the basic to understanding the nature of values, which also can and should be ordered. As far as educational implications are concerned, for the idealist the purpose of schooling is basically to encourage spiritual and intellectual development. The type of curriculum that this type of thinker responds best to is one that explores ideas from the past and gives many chances to discuss and think through those ideas and concepts. The idealist as a teacher would be incredibly full of knowledge that pertains to any classic concepts or books and encourages the idea that the teacher is the source of authority for students.

Realism:
Another older philosophies, realism contrasts idealism in many ways. Realism supports the idea that the world of things is superior to the world of ideas, which is opposite of idealism. Although realists believe reality is made up of both mind and body, it is explained that the physical aspects are not believed to be possible without them being created or recognized by the mind. The belief is that reality is external. Realists believe that knowledge comes through the senses and use rational thinking, sensing, and perception to know and understand the things around them. Other concepts like deductive logic and the scientific method are practiced by realists. Realists also take on the belief that values come from nature and are a reflection of orderliness and rationality. With that said, realists believe schooling is basically for teaching moral and intellectual virtue and helping students build their power of reasoning. This theory is represented best in a curriculum full of focus on natural laws and basics (mathematics, science, language, literature, and history) taught through a variety of instructional methods. Realists consider the teacher and students both as learners, with learning being an unending process. Their belief is that the teacher's purpose is to be a model of the concepts of belief and to teach students how to think clearly and understand the material world.

Pragmatism:
This way of thinking is based on experience. Reality is something that is subject to change at anytime. For a pragmatist, knowledge is from scientific inquiry, testing, questioning, and retesting and never has a true conclusion. Values are constructed by experience and are tentative. The pragmatist deals with concerns for social consequences, what can a larger body of people benefit from. Pragmatists determine beauty by what is felt, seen, and touched. This set of ideals believes that the purpose of education is a combination of modeling a progressive democratic society and promoting experience through problem solving and the use of the scientific method. A curriculum that works best for a pragmatist is one that works with subject integration and student experience in the form of problem solving, experimentation, collaborative learning, hands-on learning, as well well as social interaction and group learning. Pragmatism supports the belief that the teacher's main purpose is to model experimental knowledge while working to be a form of project director in the classroom. The teacher should model reflective thinking and the application of the scientific method.

Existentialism:
This philosophy is the latest set of ideas that basically started as a revolt against the previous philosophies. The focus of this concept is on personal and subjective existence, encouraging people that we are not put on the planet for a specific purpose or meaning, and we must create our own meaning. This entire system of beliefs is focused on the individual. Each person must decide their fate, values, truth, and boundaries, and each person is his or her own authority. Choice is a standing theme for all concepts, without norms or standards - also referred to as free will. As far as the concept of school is concerned, existentialists believe that school is basically to prepare students for decision making and to take responsibility for and deal with the results of those choices and their actions. Education is meant to foster self-discovery, which is best done through a curriculum that emphasizes individual and personal learning with student-centered planning. The students should be trusted with the ability to make authentic and responsible decisions, leaving the teacher to basically help and guide students to their potential. These student-teacher relationships are more personal and interactive than others and are even better with teachers that display qualities like imagination and insight.


Reflection:
The philosophy that I fall under is existentialism. The first thing I noticed about this particular philosophy on the chart was that it was under the term "nonauthoritarian" which I found relatively truth to my personality. I do not believe in standing in front of the class and being the sole authority figure, demanding quizzes and tests, and forcing a fake version of respect between themselves and myself. My beliefs lie in existentialism mostly because of the idea of student-centered learning. Who knows themselves better than the students themselves? The best way to reach them, is to guide them to reaching themselves, teaching themselves. They know better than I do in the beginning which ways they like learning, learn best, feel connected to the subjects, and why they get thrown off or disconnected from the classroom. I can learn the most about how to teach the students from the students themselves, which is a concept completely supported by existentialism. In viewing the definitions of constructivism and reconstructionism I found that constructivism is "a theory of knowledge which argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning from their experiences" and reconstructionism is " a philosophy that emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy" - each of these theories have a highlight of my personal beliefs. For constructivism, I definitely believe that students will always learn best from experience, that is something I intend to promote thoroughly in my classroom. For reconstructionism, I believe that students should be working towards bettering our society, beginning at a young age and time. This element is incredibly important for them to be adapting to ways that they can move forward and connect with and make changes in society. Giving them those connections early on will give them the confidence that they need to make changes.