Educational Philosophy
“To me education is instruction, guidance, and community that fosters growth and development in every individual.”
There are many layers to the definition of education and multiple educational practices that can help create a healthy educational environment. As a future educator I am continually learning, applying, and adapting to an ever changing classroom. I constructed my philosophy of education by merging progressivism, humanism, and perennialism into the choice of curriculum content, the teacher’s role, and the moral development of students. My philosophy of education conjoins theory and method to embody ideology and practicality within the classroom.
Purpose of Education
My philosophy of education devotes the purpose of education to be driven by continuity, self-discovery, and self-expression. Combining both elements of progressivism and humanism, my philosophy of education seeks to allow for student choice in cooperation with continuing knowledge. As John Dewey writes in Experience and Education, “where the traditional school relied upon subjects or the cultural heritage for its content, the ‘new’ school has exalted the learner’s impulse and the current problems of a changing society.[…]Both are essential. Sound educational experience involves, above all, continuity and interaction between the learner and what is learned” (p. 10). Dewey stresses the key concept that both subject material and learner’s impulse are needed to guide learning. Even so, one must not consume the other. Education teaches students about the past and present and gives hope for their futures.
Curriculum Content
The foundation of science relies on the skills of observation and experimentation. My favorite insight of educational philosophy by Dewey encompasses the core configuration of science:
“The tendency of scientific inquiry is toward a body of knowledge which needs to be understood as the means whereby further inquiry may be directed. Hence the scientist, instead of confining his investigation to problems as they are discovered, proceeds to study the nature of problems, their age, conditions, significance. To this end he may need to review related stores of knowledge. Consequently, education must employ progressive organization of subject-matter in order that the understanding of this subject-matter may illumine the meaning and suffice of the problems. Scientific study leads to and enlarges experience, but this experience is educative only to the degree that it rests upon a continuity of significant knowledge and to-the degree that this knowledge modifies or "modulates" the learner's outlook, attitude, and skill” (p. 4).
The investment in student experiences develops their own critical thinking skills to question and apply their knowledge from the subject material. Alfie Kohn (2004), proposes in his article, The (Progressive) Schools Our Children Deserve, that learning shouldn’t isolate facts, but give them context and purpose (p. 5). Providing students with the opportunity to learn through experimentation and observation allows them to find relevance in the content knowledge. Rogers, in Freedom to Learn, states that, “learning is facilitated when the student participates responsibly in the learning process” (p. 6). This relationship between content knowledge and hands-on learning allows for a better retention of the material and aids in the development of critical thinking skills in the students.
Teacher’s Role
A teacher, who is also a life-long learner, enables deeper discussions by allowing students to explore their interests and draw upon their own experiences as a learning resource. The teacher becomes a facilitator to student learning. Rogers (1989) recounts that “[a teacher] endeavors to organize and make easily available the widest possible range of resources for learning” (p. 5). Yet, for this to be a space of facilitated learning there must be trust and respect between the teacher and students. The last humanist concept dwells on the relationship between student and teacher. Moving from teacher, taught content-knowledge to student directed learning shifts the power of teaching from the teacher to the student. The teacher now facilitates the discussion or work of the students as they pursue and debate an applicable activity based off the content-knowledge. However, this transition of power wouldn’t be possible without a student-teacher relationship built on trust and respect. Being a life-long learner comes with the profession.
Moral Development
From my experiences, education and moral development go hand in hand. Students spend most of their childhood and young adult years in school. There they develop their values, morals, and goals. They are influenced by their peers, teachers, and friends every day in school. Education should create environments that allow for moral development. Students should have a safe place where they can develop their own morals through discussions, examples, and debates. Even if schools aren’t directly teaching “morals,” students are developing their moral standards. That is why it is vital for students to have a diverse environment where they can discuss and explore their moral development, which in turn fosters understanding between people and ideas. Learning to cooperate and work together with someone of different morals and values is key for understanding the world. As a future educator and current student teacher, I cannot be stagnant in my growth. Even my current views on education will change with more experience.
