EDUC 215 - The Teaching Profession

ABSTRACTION

The Philosophical Foundation of Education

Western Philosophies of Education

Idealism

Idealism is the school of educational thought promoted by Plato in 400 B.C.

Plato thought that humans could be improved from within, by correcting their
thoughts and discovering knowledge already there since birth. Idealism focuses
on reasoning and how a person can bring knowledge up from inside of himself.
In this view, the world exists solely in the minds of people and that ultimate truth
relies on a consistency of ideas. The more perfect our ideas become, therefore,
the better we can serve the world. In Emmanuel Kant's idealism, the world
exists, but our minds are separate from it.

Idealism seeks to ascertain an ultimate reality through logic and introspection.

Plato held that individuals are born with great knowledge that can be unlocked
through a study of ideas and through the Socratic Method, a series of questions
that lead the pupil to greater knowledge. For instance, in Plato's dialogue
"Meno," Socrates helps a slave boy discover an inner knowledge of
mathematics, despite no prior training. Thus, every student is equally capable of
tapping inner resources of knowledge and wisdom. Realism, on the other hand,
seeks to instruct students as though they were empty vessels for knowledge.
Any practical methods are appropriate, including technology. This philosophy
also accepts the scientific testing of students to place them in appropriate
classrooms.

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The attitude that places special value on ideas and ideals as products of the mind,
in comparison with the world as perceived through the senses. In art idealism is t
he tendency to represent things as aesthetic sensibility would have them rather th
an as they are. In ethics it implies a view of life in which the predominant forces a
re spiritual and the aim is perfection. In philosophy the term refers to efforts to ac
count for all objects in nature and experience as representations of the mind and
sometimes to assign to such representations a higher order of existence. It is opp
osed to materialism. Plato conceived a world in which eternal ideas constituted re
ality, of which the ordinary world of experience is a shadow. In modern times idea
lism has largely come to refer the source of ideas to man's consciousness, where
as in the earlier period ideas were assigned a reality outside and independent of
man's existence.
Nevertheless, modern idealism generally proposes suprahuman mental activity of
some sort and ascribes independent reality to certain principles, such as creativit
y, a force for good, or an absolute truth. The subjective idealism of George Berkel
ey in the 18th cent. held that the apparently objective world has its existence in th
e consciousness of individuals. Immanuel Kant developed a critical or transcende
ntal idealism in which the phenomenal world, constituted by the human understan
ding, stands opposed to a world of things-in-
themselves.ThepostKantian German idealism of J. G. Fichte and Friedrich von S
chelling, which culminated in the absolute or objective idealism of G. W. F. Hegel,
began with a denial of the unknowable thing - in
itself, thereby enabling these philosophers to treat all reality as the creation of
Mind or spirit. Forms of post-Kantian idealism were developed in Germany by
Arthur Schopenhauer and Hermann Lotze and in England by Samuel Coleridge;
Forms of post-Hegelian idealism were developed in England and France by
T. H. Green, Victor Cousin, and C. B. Renouvier. More recent idealists include
F. H. Bradley, Bernard Bosanquet, Josiah Royce, Benedetto Croce, and the neo-
Kantians such as Ernst Cassirer and Hermann Cohen.

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For Additional Readings:

M. A., Princeton University, and University of Pennsylvania B. A. “What Does

Idealism Mean Philosophically?” Learn Religions.
https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-idealism-history-250579.

Guyer, Paul, and Rolf-Peter Horstmann. “Idealism.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia

of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, Fall 2020. Metaphysics Research
Lab, Stanford University, 2020.
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/idealism/.

Realism

Realism is the school of educational thought promoted by Plato's student,

Aristotle. Realism holds that the only reality is the material world, that study of
the outer world is the only reliable way to find truth; the world is an objective
phenomenon that our minds must adhere to. We achieve greater and greater
knowledge through proper study of the world. In Realism, a person is an empty
vessel for knowledge, which can only come from outside of the self, through
observation. This philosophy was the progenitor of the scientific method, a
system of inquiry relying on objective facts.
Realism and Idealism are fundamentally opposing views, and a teacher's
philosophy will be evident in the classroom. An idealist, for instance, will seek
the role of facilitator, guiding students toward truth. Students will be able to seek
truth independently, thinking freely with the careful guidance of the teacher. As
a facilitator, the teacher will not act as an absolute authority but as a gentle
guide for the student. A realist, on the other hand, will seek to infuse students
with knowledge from without. A realist will seek to employ the scientific method
of hypotheses and careful study over a use of pure logic and reason, as found
in an idealistic education. Realism is consistent with behaviorism, which is a
system of learning through punishment and reward. Being reliant solely on
information from the external world, realism discounts the original thought of the
student. The teacher, then, will be seen as the highest authority, a figure to
which students must answer rather than a guide who can be questioned.

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The question of the nature and plausibility of realism arises with respect to a
large number of subject matters, including ethics, aesthetics, causation, modality,
science, mathematics, semantics, and the everyday world of macroscopic
material objects and their properties. Although it would be possible to accept (or
reject) realism across the board, it is more common for philosophers to be
selectively realist or non-realist about various topics: thus it would be perfectly
possible to be a realist about the everyday world of macroscopic objects and their
properties, but a non-realist about aesthetic and moral value. In addition, it is
misleading to think that there is a straightforward and clear-cut choice between
being a realist and a non-realist about a particular subject matter. Rather, one
can be more-or-less realist about a particular subject matter. Also, there are
many different forms that realism and non-realism can take.
The question of the nature and plausibility of realism is so controversial that no
brief account of it will satisfy all those with a stake in the debates between realists
and non-realists. This article offers a broad brush characterization of realism, and
then fills out some of the detail by looking at a few canonical examples of
opposition to realism. The discussion of forms of opposition to realism is far from
exhaustive and is designed only to illustrate a few paradigm examples of the form
such opposition can take. Note that the point of this discussion is not to attack
realism, but rather to give a sense of the options available for those who wish to
oppose realism in a given case, and of the problems faced by those main forms
of opposition to realism.
There are two general aspects to realism, illustrated by looking at realism about
the everyday world of macroscopic objects and their properties. First, there is a
claim about existence. Tables, rocks, the moon, and so on, all exist, as do the
following facts: the table’s being square, the rock’s being made of granite, and
the moon’s being spherical and yellow. The second aspect of realism about the
everyday world of macroscopic objects and their properties
concerns independence. The fact that the moon exists and is spherical is
independent of anything anyone happens to say or think about the matter.
Likewise, although there is a clear sense in which the table’s being square is
dependent on us (it was designed and constructed by human beings after all),
this is not the type of dependence that the realist wishes to deny.
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The realist wishes to claim that apart from the mundane sort of empirical
dependence of objects and their properties familiar to us from everyday life, there
is no further (philosophically interesting) sense in which everyday objects and
their properties can be said to be dependent on anyone’s linguistic practices,
conceptual schemes, or whatever.

For Additional Readings:

“REALISM -as a Philosophy of Education | Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Ph.D.”

http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=2144.

“Understanding the 4 Main Schools of Philosophy: Principle of Realism - The

Edvocate.” https://www.theedadvocate.org/understanding-4-main-schools-
philosophy-principle-realism/.

Pragmatism/Experimentalism

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that – very broadly – understands

knowing the world as inseparable from agency within it. This general idea has
attracted a remarkably rich and at times contrary range of interpretations,
including: that all philosophical concepts should be tested via scientific
experimentation, that a claim is true if and only if it is useful (relatedly: if a
philosophical theory does not contribute directly to social progress then it is not
worth much), that experience consists in transacting with rather than representing
nature, that articulate language rests on a deep bed of shared human practices
that can never be fully ‘made explicit’.
Pragmatism originated in the United States around 1870, and now presents a
growing third alternative to both analytic and ‘Continental’ philosophical traditions
worldwide. Its first generation was initiated by the so-called ‘classical pragmatists’
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), who first defined and defended the view,
and his close friend and colleague William James (1842–1910), who further
developed and ably popularized it.

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During this initial period, pragmatists focused significantly on theorising inquiry,

meaning and the nature of truth, although James put these themes to work
exploring truth in religion. A second (still termed ‘classical’) generation turned
pragmatist philosophy more explicitly towards politics, education and other
dimensions of social improvement, under the immense influence of John Dewey
(1859–1952) and his friend Jane Addams (1860–1935) – who invented the
profession of social work as an expression of pragmatist ideas (and was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931). Also of considerable importance at this time was
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931), who contributed significantly to the social
sciences, developing pragmatist perspectives upon the relations between the self
and the community (Mead 1934).
As the resulting progressive Deweyan ‘New Deal’ era passed away and the US
moved into the Cold War, pragmatism’s influence was challenged, as analytic
philosophy blossomed and became the dominant methodological orientation in
most Anglo-American philosophy departments. Transitional or ‘third generation’
figures included C.I. Lewis and W.V.O. Quine; although these philosophers
developed a number of pragmatist themes, their analytic allegiance may be seen
in their significant focus on theory of knowledge as first philosophy (which Dewey
deprecated as ‘the epistemological industry’).
Following this dip in popularity, since the 1970s the pragmatist tradition has
undergone a significant revival. Richard Rorty (1931–2007) turned consciously to
pragmatism to rectify what he saw as mainstream epistemology’s crucial mistake:
naively conceiving of language and thought as ‘mirroring’ the world. Rorty’s bold
and iconoclastic attacks on this ‘representationalism’ birthed a so-
called neopragmatism to which a number of influential recent philosophers have
contributed (e.g. Hilary Putnam, Robert Brandom and Huw Price). Other
pragmatists have objected to Rorty’s blithe dismissal of truth as a topic better left
undiscussed (Rorty 1982), and have sought to rehabilitate classical pragmatist
ideals of objectivity (e.g. Susan Haack, Christopher Hookway and Cheryl Misak).

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These philosophers are now sometimes referred to as New Pragmatists. Yet

others have worked to place pragmatist ideas in a broader Western philosophical
context, for instance tracing Peirce’s significant debt to Kant (Apel 1974, Gava
2014), and connections between pragmatism and 19th century idealism (Margolis
2010, Stern 2009). Meanwhile, classical pragmatism’s progressive social ideals
lived on in some quarters, with notable contributions to philosophy of race made
by Cornel West, who advanced a prophetic pragmatism drawing on both
Christian and Marxian thought (e.g. West 1989). A number of other liberatory
philosophical projects in areas such as feminism (Seigfried 1996), ecology
(Alexander 2013), Native American philosophy (Pratt 2002) and Latin American
philosophy (Pappas 1998) also currently look to the pragmatist tradition as their
philosophical home.
The core of pragmatism as Peirce originally conceived it was the Pragmatic
Maxim, a rule for clarifying the meaning of hypotheses by tracing their ‘practical
consequences’ – their implications for experience in specific situations. For
Peirce and James, a key application of the Maxim was clarifying the concept
of truth. This produced a distinctive epistemological outlook: a fallibilist, anti-
Cartesian explication of the norms that govern inquiry. Within that broad outlook,
though, early pragmatists split significantly over questions of realism broadly
conceived – essentially, whether pragmatism should conceive itself as a scientific
philosophy holding monism about truth (following Peirce), or a more broad-based
alethic pluralism (following James and Dewey). This dispute was poignantly
emblematized in arguments between Peirce and James which led Peirce to
rename his view pragmaticism, presenting this clarified viewpoint to the world as
his new ‘baby’ which was, he hoped, ‘ugly enough to be safe from kidnappers’ .

For Additional Readings:

Encyclopedia Britannica. “Pragmatism | Philosophy.”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/pragmatism-philosophy.

Legg, Catherine, and Christopher Hookway. “Pragmatism.” In The Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, Fall 2020.
Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2020.
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/pragmatism/.

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Oriental Philosophies of Education

Hinduism

In Hinduism, education is an important means to achieve the four aims of human

life, namely dharma (virtue), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha
(liberation). Also, it is vital to the preservation and propagation of Dharma, without
which, declares vedic dharma, we cannot regulate our society or families properly
or live in peace. Vidya or education is the means by which an individual can gain
right knowledge, control his desires and learn to perform his obligatory duties with
a sense of detachment and devotion to God, so that he can overcome the
impurities of egoism, attachment and delusion and achieve liberation. In Hindu
tradition, an illiterate person is considered to be equal to an animal (pasu),
because without education he will not be able to rise above his physical self.
Hence the belief that a person who is initiated into education is twice born, first
time physically and second time spiritually.

Knowledge is a double edged sword. In the hands of an immoral or evil person it

can become a destructive force. With knowledge comes power and if it falls into
the hands of an ill equipped person who is bereft of morality and sense of
responsibility, he may misuse the power and bring misery to himself and others.
The basic difference between a god and an asura (demon) is that the former
uses his knowledge for the welfare of the world and the latter for his own selfish
and egoistic aims. Hence as a part of their education, in ancient India, students
were advised to follow the path of gods and cultivate virtue under the careful and
personal guidance of their teachers, so that they would remain on the path of
righteousness for the rest of their lives and contribute to the welfare of society.
The believed that if students were grounded in dharma, they would become its
upholders and take care of its survival and continuity.

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Hindus focus on shiksha (education) as value based worthwhile

learning (Chinta Mani Yogi). They believe that through education, one can
attain the skills essential for living/survival but vidya is attained for life.
Through shiksha, one can become successful but having vidya, is having the
ability to attain wisdom. Thus not all educated individuals are
necessarily budhiman (wise).

Current usage of the term vidya includes the following;

1. To attain knowledge, as in vidya prapt karna (to learn about something in

as specific field/area).
2. To provide knowledge, as in vidya pradaan karna (to teach).
3. To concentrate in studies, as in vidya par dhiyaan diya karo (be devoted
towards studies).
4. The formal Education system, as in vidya pradaan karna bahoot zaruri
hai (it is very important to attain knowledge).

The person who provides vidya or gyaan to the novices or buddhihin is

normally referred to as “acharye” which means a knowledgeable person.
An archarye is a person who can be a teacher, a village elder, a guide or an
instructor. This term is normally referred to people who are gyaani in a
particular field. For Example, a person specialised in mathematics will be
called “Bhaskaracharya” meaning mathematician. Derived from the
term acharye is guru (teacher/educator).

The ability to master skills and carry them out practically is referred to
as prashiksha. Like that of the Pacific Island cultures, Hinduism also depends
on the informal ways of teaching to pass on skills and knowledge from
generations to generations. Here the guru’s or elders of the community train the
youth in skills such as crafting, farming, cooking etc. The shikshaks (students)
learn through dekhana aur jananna (watch and learn).

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Some common usage of the tearm prashiksha is as follows;

1. To be a trainee, as in chiskta mai prashiksu (a trainee in medicine).

2. To learn through copying, as in nakal ke madhyam se prashiksha karna.
3. To need for training, as in adesa mem nipuna banne ke lie prasikshana
avasyaka hai (training is important in order to become skilful).

Prashikshak are parichayed (exposed/introduced) to the skills which the

community feels is essential for their everyday living.

For Additional Readings:

Academy, Himalayan. “Hinduism Today Magazine.”

https://www.hinduismtoday.com/.

“Hinduism - Origins, Facts & Beliefs - HISTORY.”

https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism.

Buddhism

The Buddha's main concern was to eliminate suffering, to find a cure for the pain
of human existence. In this respect he has been compared to a physician, and
his teaching has been compared to a medical or psychological prescription. Like
a physician, he observed the symptoms -- the disease that human kind was
suffering from; next he gave a diagnosis - the cause of the disease; then he gave
the prognosis -- it could be cured; finally he gave the prescription -- the method
by which the condition could be cured.
His first teaching, the Four Noble Truths, follows this pattern. First, the insight that
"life is dukkha." Dukkha is variously translated as suffering, pain, impermanence;
it is the unsatisfactory quality of life which is targeted here -- life is often beset
with sorrow and trouble, and even at its best, is never completely fulfilling. We
always want more happiness, less pain. But this 'wanting more' is itself the
problem: the second noble truth teaches that the pain of life is caused by 'tanha' -
- our cravings, our attachments, our selfish grasping after pleasure and avoiding
pain. Is there something else possible?

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The third noble truth says yes; a complete release from attachment and dukkha is
possible, a liberation from pain and rebirth. The fourth noble truth tells how to
attain this liberation; it describes the Noble Eightfold Path leading to Nirvana, the
utter extinction of the pain of existence.
Another main teaching of Buddhist metaphysics is known as the Three Marks of
Existence. The first is Anicca, impermanence: all things are transitory, nothing
lasts. The second is Anatta, No-Self or No-Soul: human beings, and all of
existence, is without a soul or self. There is no eternal, unchanging part of us, like
the Hindu idea of Atman; there is no eternal, unchanging aspect of the universe,
like the Hindu idea of Brahman. The entire idea of self is seen as an illusion, one
which causes immeasurable suffering; this false idea gives rise to the consequent
tendency to try to protect the self or ego and to preserve its interests, which is
futile since nothing is permanent anyway. The third mark of existence is that of
Dukkha, suffering: all of existence, not just human existence but even the highest
states of meditation, are forms of suffering, ultimately inadequate and
unsatisfactory.
The three marks of existence can be seen as the basis for the four noble truths
above; in turn the three marks of existence may be seen to come out of an even
more fundamental Buddhist theory, that of Pratityasamutpada: Dependent
Origination, or Interdependent Co-arising. This theory says that all things are
cause and are caused by other things; all of existence is conditioned, nothing
exists independently, and there is no First Cause. There was no beginning to the
chain of causality; it is useless to speculate how phenomenal existence started.
However, it can be ended, and that is the ultimate goal of Buddhism - the ultimate
liberation of all creatures from the pain of existence.

Sometimes this causality is spoken of as a circular linking of twelve different

factors; if the chain of causality can be broken, existence is ended and liberation
attained. One of these factors is attachment or craving, tanha, and another is
ignorance; these two are emphasized as being the weak links in the chain, the
place to make a break. To overcome selfish craving, one cultivates the heart
through compassion; to eliminate ignorance one cultivates the mind through
wisdom.

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Compassion and wisdom are twin virtues in Buddhism, and are cultured by
ethical behavior and meditation, respectively. It is a process of self-discipline and
self-development which emphasizes the heart and mind equally, and insists that
both working together are necessary for enlightenment.
If Buddhism can be seen as a process of personal development, one may well
ask: what is a person, if not a soul or self? In keeping with the ideas of dependent
origination, Buddhism views a person as a changing configuration of five factors,
or 'skandhas.' First there is the world of physical form; the body and all material
objects, including the sense organs. Second there is the factor of sensation or
feeling; here are found the five senses as well as mind, which in Buddhism is
considered a sense organ. The mind senses thoughts and ideas much the same
as the eye senses light or the ear senses air pressure. Thirdly, there is the factor
of perception; here is the faculty which recognizes physical and mental objects.
Fourth there is the factor variously called impulses or mental formulations; here is
volition and attention, the faculty of will, the force of habits. Lastly, there is the
faculty of consciousness or awareness. In Buddhism consciousness is not
something apart from the other factors, but rather interacting with them and
dependent on them for its existence; there is no arising of consciousness without
conditions. Here we see no idea of personhood as constancy, but rather a
fleeting, changing assortment or process of various interacting factors. A major
aim of Buddhism is first to become aware of this process, and then to eliminate it
by eradicating its causes.
This process does not terminate with the dissolution of the physical body upon
death; Buddhism assumes reincarnation. Even though there is no soul to
continue after death, the five skandhas are seen as continuing on, powered by
past karma, and resulting in rebirth. Karma in Buddhism, as in Hinduism, stems
from volitional action and results in good or bad effects in this or a future life.
Buddhism explains the karmic mechanism a bit differently; it is not the results of
the action per se that result in karma, but rather the state of mind of the person
performing the action. Here again, Buddhism tends to focus on psychological
insights; the problem with bad or selfish action is that it molds our personality,
creates ruts or habitual patterns of thinking and feeling.

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Many other metaphysical questions were put to the Buddha during his life; he did
not answer them all. He eschewed the more abstract and speculative
metaphysical pondering, and discouraged such questions as hindrances on the
path. Such questions as what is Nirvana like, what preceded existence, etc., were
often met by silence or what may have seemed like mysterious obscurity. Asked
what happens to an Arhant, an enlightened one, upon his death, the Buddha was
said to have replied: "What happens to the footprints of the birds in the air."
Nirvana means 'extinction' and he likened the death of an arhant to the extinction
of a flame when the fuel (karma) runs out. He evidently felt that many such
questions were arising out of a false attachment to self, and that they distracted
one from the main business of eliminating suffering.

For Additional Readings:

https://onlinenotebank.wordpress.com/2019/12/21/educational-implication-of-
buddhist-philosophy/.

AskOpinion. “Is Buddhist Education Better for a Child’s Overall Personal

Development?” https://askopinion.com/what-is-buddhist-education-features-
importance-implication.

Confucianism

Confucianism comprises a rich tapestry of historical, political, philosophical and

socio-cultural traditions that originated from Confucius (Kong Fuzi) (551-479
BCE). A prominent theme in Confucianism is education. Confucius himself
devoted his whole life to teaching his disciples and persuading the political
leaders of his time to enact his educational ideals. The intellectual tradition in
education in Confucianism is exemplified in the Confucian canon known as Four
Books and Five Classics (sishu wujing). Within the canon, two texts stand out for
their exposition on teaching and learning: Analects (Lunyu) and Xueji (Record of
Learning). Analects which is one of the Four Books is a collection of the sayings
and conduct of Confucius and his disciples.

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The process of collating Confucius’ teachings started shortly after his death in the
form of little ‘books’, culminating in what we know today as the Analects (Ames &
Rosemont, 1998). Xueji is a chapter from Liji (Book of Rites) that is one of the
Five Classics. It was written either during the Warring States period (475-221
BCE) or the Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) (Di et al., 2016).
By the time of Xueji, an educational system comprising schools in the villages
and a national academy in the capital had already existed. Although Xueji was
written specifically for students preparing for official positions, the educational
principles discussed are applicable to all learners and reflect the essence of
Confucian education. Drawing on the Analects and Xueji, this essay introduces a
Confucian conception of education in terms of its aim of education, curriculum,
teaching and learning, and contemporary relevance.
The central place of education in Confucianism is stated in the opening passage
of Xueji: If a ruler desires to transform the people [and] perfect [their] customs,
[the ruler] can only do so through education! (Xueji I). The context of the passage
is about good political governance. Rather than merely relying on laws, abled
officials or virtuous advisors – all good measures in themselves – the ruler should
direct one’s attention to educating the people. The goal is to transform or radically
change the people by refining their conventional ways of thinking and doing. The
reference to transformation and perfection in the above verse signifies that the
scope is extensive, going beyond skills training and cognitive advancement to
paradigm shift and character development.
The actualisation of this aim of education requires a normative standard to guide
the ruler in knowing whether and when the people have been transformed and
their customs perfected. This standard is revealed in Xueji II to be dao (Way) that
is the object of learning: “People who do not learn will not realise dao”. Dao is the
the Way of Heaven (tian) or ‘guiding discourse’ (Hansen, 1989) that is passed
down from antiquity. To realise dao is to understand and experience the ‘vision of
human excellence’ (Cua, 1989) that forms the basis for human transformation
and cultural perfection. As the normative tradition inherited from one’s cultural
predecessors, dao contributes to the formation of Confucian ideals and symbolic
resources such as texts, cultural artifacts and ceremonies (Chan, 2000).

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Dao was modelled and propagated by sage-kings such as Yao, Shun and Yu of
the first three dynasties of China. Among the first three dynasties, the Zhou
dynasty (1100-221 BCE) is singled out by Confucius as embodying dao through
cultural elements such as the exemplary conduct of its rulers, institutions and
rituals. Dao, while not lost and remains accessible to all, can only be obtained
through learning. As stated in Xueji III, “Although the ultimate dao is present,
does not know goodness if does not learn it”. That is why Confucius declares that
“the junzi (noble or exemplary person) learns for the sake of dao”.
Confucius also exhorts all to “be firmly committed to love learning [and] hold fast
to the good dao till death. Not only are human beings called to realise dao, they
are also entrusted with the mission to extend it. In the words of Confucius, “It is
human beings who are able to broaden dao, not dao that broadens human
beings”. To broaden dao is to share in, contribute to and advance the best of the
spiritual, social, political, intellectual and moral capital and practices derived from
one’s cultural tradition. But how do we know when a person is realising and
broadening dao?
According to Confucius, such a person aspires to do all things in accordance with
li (normative behaviours). Confucius underscores the pervasiveness of li as
follows: Do not look unless it is in accordance with li; do not listen unless it is in
accordance with li; do not speak unless it is in accordance with li; do not move
unless it is in accordance with li (Analects 12.1). Li covers all normative human
behaviours that stem from and are accompanied by desirable values, attitudes
and dispositions (Tan, 2013). To realise and broaden dao is to think, feel and act
in accordance with li. Put another way, the pattern of li is the internal structure of
dao (Hall & Ames, 1987). Given that li concerns all aspects of human life,
individuals need to constantly turn to the guiding discourse in dao to act
normatively in specific problem-situations. Instances of li recorded in Analects
include offering appropriate greeting, sitting, eating and even sleeping. In the
context of education, li is manifested in all learning activities such as establishing
one’s aspiration in learning, analysing texts, asking questions and making friends.

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Confucius advises rulers not to govern the people through harsh laws and
punishment. Instead, rulers should “keep [the masses] in line through li and [they]
will have a sense of shame and order themselves”. Rule by law and punitive
measures can, at best, change the people’s outward behaviour but not their
mindsets and moral character. In contrast, directing the people to adhere to li is
more effective as it transforms not just their conduct but also their value systems.
The transformative power of li follows logically from its integration of praiseworthy
values, attitudes, dispositions and actions that originate from dao. When people
know and desire to act in accordance with li, they will naturally discipline
themselves and be ashamed once their behaviour deviates from li. It is necessary,
to further understand li, to introduce another cardinal Confucian concept: ren
(humanity or benevolence). Ren defines the normativity of li in the sense that to
observe li is to possess and demonstrate ren in all our thoughts, feelings and
actions (Tan, 2013). Confucius links li to ren by asking rhetorically: “What has a
person who is not ren got to do with li”?.
Confucius also asserts that “restraining the self and returning to li is ren”. To
restrain oneself is to control one’s thoughts, feelings and actions so that one does
not stray from the right path of dao. Ren is the overarching and general quality
that encompasses all virtues such as reverence, sincerity, empathy, tolerance,
trustworthiness, diligence and generosity. Xueji is replete with references to
facets of ren such as respect, love, humility and diligence. Everyone has the
potential to attain ren, as pointed out by Confucius: “Being ren lies with the
individual; how could it come from others?”. So quintessential is ren that
Confucius contends that “the common people need ren more than water and fire”
and that a ren person is prepared to “give up one’s life to achieve ren”. Putting
together what we have learnt, the purpose of education is for learners to realise
and broaden dao by internalising and demonstrating ren-centred li at all times.
Only then can the ruler succeed in tranforming the learners and perfecting their
customs.

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For Additional Readings:

Tan, Charlene. “Confucianism and Education.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of

Education, November 20, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.226.

“The Confucian Education System - Can It Positively Influence U.S. Education?,”

August 27, 2015. https://www.brighthubeducation.com/education-
industry/129048-confucianism-can-change-modern-education/.

Taoism

Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply

rooted in Chinese customs and worldview.Taoism is also referred to as Daoism,
which is a more accurate way of representing in English the sound of the Chinese
word. Taoism is about the Tao. This is usually translated as the Way. But it's hard
to say exactly what this means. The Tao is the ultimate creative principle of the
universe. All things are unified and connected in the Tao.Taoism originated in
China 2000 years ago. It is a religion of unity and opposites; Yin and Yang. The
principle of Yin action, light and dark, hot and cold, and so on. The Tao is
not God and is not worshipped. Taoism includes many deities, that
are worshipped in Taoist temples, they are part of the universe and depend, like
everything, on the Tao.

Taoism promotes:

- achieving harmony or union with nature

- the pursuit of spiritual immortality

- being 'virtuous' (but not ostentatiously so)

- self-development

Taoist practices include:

- meditation

- feng shui

- fortune telling

- reading and chanting of scriptures

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Before the Communist revolution fifty years ago, Taoism was one of the strongest
religions in China. After a campaign to destroy non-Communist religion, however,
the numbers significantly reduced, and it has become difficult to assess the
statistical popularity of Taoism in the world.

For Additional Readings:

Ancient History Encyclopedia. “Taoism.” https://www.ancient.eu/Taoism/.

“Taoism Origins, Taoism History, Taoism Beliefs.”

https://www.patheos.com/library/taoism.

Zen Buddhism

Zen is the Japanese name for a Buddhist tradition practiced by millions of people
across the world. Historically, Zen practice originated in China, Korea, Japan, and
Vietnam, and later came to in the West. Zen takes many forms, as each culture
that embraced it did so with their own emphases and tastes. Traditionally
speaking, “Zen” is not an adjective (as in, They were totally zen). Zen is a
Japanese transliteration of the Chinese word Chan, which is itself a transliteration
of dhyana, the word for concentration or meditation in the ancient Indian
language Sanskrit. (Zen is Seon or Son in Korean and Thien in Vietnamese.)
When Buddhism came to China from India some 2,000 years ago, it encountered
Daoism and Confucianism, absorbing some elements of both while rejecting
others. Chan is the tradition that emerged. In this context, Chan refers to the
quality of mind cultivated through sitting meditation, known as zazen in
Japanese, which many Zen Buddhists consider to be the tradition’s most
important practice.
Zen is as diverse as its practitioners, but common features include an emphasis
on simplicity and the teachings of nonduality and nonconceptual understanding.
Nonduality is sometimes described as “not one not two,” meaning that things are
neither entirely unified nor are they entirely distinct from one another.

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Zen recognizes, for example, that the body and mind are interconnected: they
are neither the same nor completely separate. Nonconceptual understanding
refers to insight into “things as they are” that cannot be expressed in words. To
help students discover nonduality without relying on thought, Zen teachers
use koans—stories that appear nonsensical at first but as objects of
contemplation in zazen lead to a shift of perspective from separation to
interconnectedness. Because teachers play such an important role in Zen, the
tradition emphasizes reverence for its “dharma ancestors,” or lineage, influenced
by Confucianism’s teaching of filial piety. At the same time, throughout Chinese
history, Zen challenged other Confucian ideas by stressing the absolute equality
of all beings and women’s capacity for enlightenment.
Ultimately, Zen Buddhism offers practitioners ways to heal their hearts and minds
and connect with the world. These ways have differed over time and from culture
to culture. In medieval Japan, for example, Zen monks served as doctors to the
poor, doling out medicine and magic talismans, and as ministers, offering
funerals and memorial services. Today in the West, many practitioners come to
Zen looking to gain peace of mind and mental clarity through meditation. Like all
schools of Buddhism, Zen begins with an understanding that human beings suffer,
and it offers a solution to this suffering through recognizing the
interconnectedness of all beings and learning to live in a way that aligns with this
truth.

For Additional Readings:

May 7, Jordan Bates, and 2014 1 Comment. “The 14 Mindfulness Teachings of a

Zen Buddhist Order.” Refine The Mind, May 8, 2014.
https://www.refinethemind.com/14-mindfulness-teachings-zen-buddhism/.

B. J., Journalism, and Journalism B. J. “What Is Zen Buddhism Really About?”

Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/introduction-to-zen-
buddhism-449933.

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Christianism

From a Christian philosophy of education, thoughts and actions can be derived,

implemented, and defended. The elements to be considered in developing a
Christian philosophy of education range from theological and doctrinal to social
and educational. The first step is the development of a Biblical base. The Bible
becomes the skeleton on which the practical application of our philosophy can be
arranged.

The importance of having a sound Biblical philosophy of education cannot be

overemphasized. In referring to the importance of developing a distinctively
Christian philosophy, more Christian educators are beginning to realize that to be
truly Christian, the curriculum must be Bible integrated in theory and practice. By
this the Bible is to provide more than theoretical guidance and generalization. It is
to be a vital part of the content of the curriculum and integrated with all subject
matter.

The Bible should be the integrating factor around which all other subject matter is
correlated and arranged, and provides the criterion by which all other subject
matter is judged. A God-centered pattern of education demands that the Christian
educator spell out clearly the processes involved in the total structure of the
curriculum. This means all procedures and processes must be based on a
definite theory of knowledge.

Since education deals primarily with the communication of knowledge, the

defining of knowledge of truth becomes important. Knowledge may be defined as
an understanding or a clear perception of truth. The Biblical view of knowledge
presupposes a source of all knowledge, for knowledge is dependent on truth; and
truth, in turn, is dependent on God. All avenues of knowledge stem from God.
God, Himself, is truth, and has chosen to reveal Himself through natural
revelation and special revelation. The implications of having a God-centered
theory of knowledge as a base for the philosophy of education are clear. Since
god is the source of all truth, then all truth is God's truth.

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For the Christian, then, the seat of truth is God's revelation, contained primarily in
the inspired Word, but manifest also in creation, and this truth, though on its
highest level received by faith, can also be known through our reason,
enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Any adequate basis for Christian education must,
therefore, include God's revelation in creation as well as in His written Word. Our
human understanding of the book of nature must not be made the norm for
acceptance of the other book, the Bible. All the time, however, the ultimate
criterion of truth is found in the revealed Word, the Bible.

Since God is central in the universe and is the source of all truth, it follows that all
subject matter is related to God. Thus, the revelation of God must become the
heart of the subject matter curriculum. The Bible itself becomes the central
subject in the school' curriculum. It, as God's primary revelation to man, must
become the integrating and correlating factor in all that is thought and taught at
the school. It is the basis by which all other channels of knowledge are evaluated
and used. Through the bible the inter-relatedness of all other subjects and truths
is made possible.

We may conclude therefore that the function of the bible in the subject matter
curriculum is two-fold. First, it provides content of its own. Second, it provides a
service function to the other subjects. The principles of Biblical truth should be
applied to and in all other subjects. Claim to truth from other areas should be
tested and evaluated by the philosophical and theological truths of the Word of
God.

God's Christian Schools are built on the premise that all truth is God's truth and
that the Word of God is to be the key factor in the communication of knowledge. It
is important to note that any and all education that is received should have the
word of God as its foundation. This is not to imply that the Bible is a textbook on
anything and everything; but rather, that the Bible is to be the point of reference
from which we can evaluate all other areas and sources of knowledge. What one
learns from God's natural revelation must be in harmony with what He has
revealed in His Word. Since God is the author of both revelations it is reasonable
that they would not contradict each other.

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Some of the advantages of having a Biblical philosophy of education are as

follows:

1. It co-ordinates the various spheres of life as a whole.

2. It relates knowledge systematically.
3. It examines the presuppositions, methods, and basic concepts of each
discipline and group of disciplines.
4. It strives for coherence, the formulation of a worldview.
5. Its method is to consult data from the total experience.

For Additional Readings:

Mississippi College Online. “What Is the Christian Philosophy of Education?”

https://online.mc.edu/articles/education/christian-philosophy-of-
education.aspx.

“The Christian Philosophy of Education | Articles | Resources | BJU Press.”

https://www.bjupress.com/resources/articles/philosophy-education.php.

Saracen Philosophy

If history is the study of the movements of men in relation to the forces which
generate motion, and the results that flow from it, then must Saracen history offer
to the student a large and varied problem. Judged by the amount of energy
displayed, the career of the Arabians was one of the most brilliant the world has
seen. When we consider the time through which it endured, and the extent of
territory which it covered, we cannot escape the conviction that powerful forces
engendered it, and that correspondingly great results ought to be traced to it.
None but a superficial observer could watch those currents of life which, from the
seventh to the fifteenth century, swept to and fro over eastern Asia and around
the Mediterranean through northern Africa and Spain, baptizing the islands of the
great inland sea, and sprinkling the shores of Italy, without raising inquiries
concerning the sources and mission of such activity.

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The relatively few thousands who came from the desert sufficed to inspire
millions belonging to different nationalities, and carry them along in currents,
religious, social, intellectual, which are properly called Arabic. For, although
Arabian blood ran in the veins of relatively few of those who accepted Islam, or
ran diluted, the civilization adopted and furthered by them was transfused with
the Arabian genius. When, therefore, we speak of the intellectual mission of the
Saracens, we use some degree of accuracy. They furnished the impulse to
intellectual as well as spiritual and political life. To them must be accredited, in
large measure, the mission which that life fulfilled. The nature and value of the
mission have been much discussed.

The determination of the one and the fair estimation of the other are attended
with difficulties, chief among which may be ranked that illusive haze which
everywhere spreads itself over Arabian history. There is such a distance between
the depths of ignorance from which the nation rose and the heights of culture to
which it attained, the advance is so unlooked for and impulsive, it culminates so
quickly after the upward direction has been taken, and it forms such a contrast to
the intellectual quietude of surrounding nations, that the reader of history in the
dark ages turns to this field with something of that admiration with which, in the
later ages of Saracen supremacy, the students of the north turned from the colder
climates and the coarser civilizations, in which they had been reared, to the softer
airs of Moorish Spain.

The profuseness of the Arabian learning, the multiplicity of the departments into
which it entered, its zeal, the enormous proportions of the resulting literature, the
vast libraries, the schools, the lecture rooms with their thousands of students, the
universities, the institutions devoted to special sciences, the observatories and
laboratories so royally equipped, the schools of logic and grammar, the whole
attractive republic of letters, in which princes mingled with the sons of tradesmen
or mechanics, while court favorites vied with impoverished authors for the honors
of literature, all the ardor of a great intellectual movement passing before our
eyes under Oriental guise, dispose the mind to enthusiastic judgements.

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More particularly, in natural science, philosophy, and mathematics, in which

studies the mental powers of any people are most severely tested, and those of
the Saracens were especially engaged, an independent judgment can be
reached only as the result of an impartial canvass of all that was known in these
departments before the period of Islam, and a comparison of that which was so
known with the state of knowledge as the decline of Mohammedan power in
Spain. The details of such a canvass cannot be introduced here. We must be
content with general statements, endeavoring to glean out of these fields, as well
as from those of poetry, the material for a just estimate of the mission of Saracen
culture to the world.

For Additional Readings:

Encyclopedia Britannica. “Saracen | People.”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saracen.

“Arab Americans | Encyclopedia.Com.”

https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-
history/arab-americans.

Contemporary Philosophies of Education

Perennialism

“The purpose of the university is nothing less than to procure a moral, intellectual,
and spiritual revolution throughout the world” – Robert Hutchins

Perennialism is a teacher-centered educational philosophy that focuses on

everlasting ideas and universal truths. To clarify, Perennialism suggests that the
focus of education should be the ideas that have lasted for centuries believing the
ideas are as relevant and meaningful today as when they were written. This
educational philosophy aims to prepare students for life by developing their
intellectual and moral qualities through emphasizing knowledge and the meaning
of knowledge, servings to enhance student’s critical thinking skills in their search
for individual freedoms, human rights and responsibilities through nature.

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Educational Leaders on Perennialism

- Mortimer Adler

- Jacques Maritain

- Robert Hutchins

Perennialism in Education

The aim of Perennialism in Education is to develop power of thought, internalize

truths that are universal and constant and to ensure that students acquire
understanding about the great ideas of Western civilization. This is the most
conservative, traditional, and flexible philosophy. Perennailism stimulate students
in how to think critically and thoughtfully; cultivating the rational mind.

Role of Teacher – perennailism is a teacher- centered philosophy, in which the

teacher is less concerned with student interest and more concerned with
transferring knowledge from older generations to younger generations. The
teacher will focus on the importance of reading and will often use the underlying
reading lessons to make a moral point. Teachers use history, religion, literature,
and the laws of science to reinforce universal ideas that have the potential to
solve any problem in any era.

Curriculum and Methods – Perennialism is the classroom is focused on the

curriculum and nature need. Curriculum will focus on attaining cultural literacy,
stressing students’ growth in enduring disciplines. They stress learning through
reading and analyzing the works by history’s finest thinkers and writers.
Perennialists believe that reading is to be supplemented with mutual
investigations with teacher and minimally directed discussions through the
Socratic method in order to develop historically oriented understanding of
concepts. Less emphasis on vocational and technical education and more on the
humanities.

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Perennialism Is the educational philosophy that the importance of certain works

transcends time. Perennial works are those considered as important and
applicable today as they were when they were written, and are often referred to
as great books. Common examples include Melville’s Moby Dick, Shakespeare’s
Macbeth, Dickens’s Great Expectations, and Dante’s Inferno. Perennialism is
sometimes referred to as “culturally conservative,” because it does not challenge
gender stereotypes, incorporate multiculturalism, or expose and advocate
technology, as would be expected of contemporary literature.

The goal of a perennialist education is to teach students to think rationally and

develop minds that can think critically. A perennialist classroom aims to be a
closely organized and well-disciplined environment, which develops in students a
lifelong quest for the truth. Perennialists believe that education should epitomize
a prepared effort to make these ideas available to students and to guide their
thought processes toward the understanding and appreciation of the great works,
works of literature written by history’s finest thinkers that transcend time and
never become outdated.

Perennialists are primarily concerned with the importance of mastery of the

content and development of reasoning skills. The old adage “the more things
change, the more they stay the same” summarizes the perennialists’ perspective
on education. Skills are still developed in a sequential manner. For example,
reading, writing, speaking, and listening are emphasized in the early grades to
prepare students in later grades to study literature, history, and philosophy.

The Paideia Proposal, a book published in 1982 by Mortimer Adler, described a

system of education based on the classics. This book inspired the school model
referred to as the Paideia program, which has been, and still is, implemented by
hundreds of schools in the United States. Teachers using the Paideia program
give lectures 10% to15% of the time, conduct Socratic seminars for 15% to 20%
of the time, and coach the students on academic topics the remaining 60% to
70% of the time.

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Socratic seminars are lectures in which the teacher asks a specific series of
questions to encourage the students to think about, rationalize, and discuss the
topic. Perennialist curricula tend to limit expression of individuality and flexibility
regarding student interests in favor of providing an overarching, uniformly
applicable knowledge base to students. Vocational training is expected to be the
responsibility of the employer.

Understanding essentialism will enable you to know and improve basic teaching
skills and perennialism will allow you as a teacher to continue operating in the
success of methods, concepts, and best practices that were used in education
over time.

For Additional Readings:

Study.com. “Perennialism: Overview & Practical Teaching Examples - Video &

Lesson Transcript.” https://study.com/academy/lesson/perennialism-
overview-practical-teaching-examples.html.

Admin. “Perennialism in Education | Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Ph.D.”

http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=166.

Essentialism

Essentialism rests upon the philosophical ideas of realism and idealism. it

demands that schools should not attempt to reshape the educational foundation
of the society. hence is refers to 'traditional' approach to education. it is a
conservative philosophy that accepts political social and economic structure of
the american society. it teaches students the 'essentials' of academic
understanding and character building. in this chain of thought, it is also believed
that traditional american virtues such as respect for authority, fidelity to duty,
perseverance, and practicality should be instilled in all students.

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Curriculum in essentialism philosophy of education. The focus of coursework in

essentialism is to teach the essentials of life. it teaches how to survive, how to be
productive, and how to live as proper members of the society. it includes subjects
such as the study of the natural and surrounding environment, basic natural laws,
and disciplines that encourage students to live a happy life. it also instills
patriotism within students and uses traditional approaches to develop character
of students. essentialism firmly believes that basic subjects should be taught and
impractical subjects should not be part of the curriculum. the purpose of schools
in essentialism is to teach the culture's traditions and past to students. it also
provides knowledge and skills needed to be successful in a technological and
democratic society.

The subjects usually include the following:

 natural sciences

 history

 foreign language

 literature

The classroom environment

 most basic academic skills and knowledge should be imparted to all students

 skills such as reading, writing, computers, and measurement should be

taught to elementary students

 subjects usually focus on creativity, apart from art and music

 in the classroom, the students are provided a bundle of information and

techniques to enable them to transition from less to more complex knowledge
and skills.

 classrooms are usually centered on the teacher, who acts as an intellectual

and ethical role model for the students.

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The assessments conducted under essentialism serve a number of purposes.

these enable teachers to determine whether goals of education are being met or
not. they also help teachers to evaluate whether students pay proper attention in
class and whether they understand the required course material or not. finally,
the assessments are carried out as many aspects of a student's education are
affected by them.

Essentialism in the classroom translates into the teacher being highly

knowledgeable in all areas of academic content. The arts and social sciences or
"soft sciences" are not considered as important in an essentialism definition
except as a means for transmitting American cultural values. Student interests
are not considered in an essentialist classroom either. Bagley believed young
people often develop interests in subjects they did not like at first. Exposing
students to important subjects became a teacher's duty.

Essentialist View of Culture

Teachers following Bagley's path were proponents of essentialism examples of

role models for moral behavior. Further, the classroom teaching method guides to
a goal of producing academically-educated students well-versed in American
culture and morality. This plan includes such traditional values as perseverance,
respect for authority, pragmatism and consideration for others. Teachers of
essentialism are expected to embody these traditional virtues inside and out of
the classroom.

Choosing The Essentialist Discipline

Adults are also responsible for imposing discipline in an essentialist classroom.

Teachers must guide students by using strict, external discipline with fair and
consistent consequences. Self-discipline, according to essentialist philosophy,
will eventually develop from this outwardly imposed discipline. Essentialism in the
classroom means that teachers and administrators have the duty to promote
student self-discipline through strict daily guidance.

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Determining Student Outcomes

Essentialism is based firmly on a pass/fail system of education. Students must

master grade or course content before being promoted to the next level.
Essentialist educators place emphasis on standardized test scores as a means of
determining mastery. Bagley himself was a proponent of failing students when
they could not meet the accepted grade or test score standards. He felt that
democracy required all students to meet the same level of achievement. Through
essentialism in the classroom, students of various ages and abilities are taught
the exact same curriculum. Students who have disabilities or limited English
proficiency are taught with the same techniques and materials. Giving students a
different or less rigorous education based on their special circumstances goes
against an essentialism definition.

For Additional Readings:

Excite Education. “Essentialism in Education, Online Essentialism in Education.”

http://www.excite.com/education/education/essentialism-in-education.

“The Case for Essentialism in Education.”

https://spu.edu/online/essentialism_in_ed.htm.

Existentialism

Existentialism is the most individualistic of all modern philosophies. Its overriding

concern is with the individual and its primary value is the absolute freedom of the
person, who is only what he, makes himself to be, and who is the final and
exclusive arbiter of the values he freely determines for himself. Great emphasis is
placed on art, on literature, and the humanistic studies, for it is in these areas that
man finds himself and discovers what values he will seek to attain.

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The term “existentialism” seems to have been coined by the French

philosopher Gabriel Marcel and adopted by Jean-Paul Sartre, Etymological
meaning of ‘existence’ from two German words -: ‘ex-sistent’ meaning that which
stands out, that which ‘emerges’ suggests that existentialism is a philosophy that
emerges out of problems of life.

Initially Existentialism may appear to be a morbid philosophy because it deals

with depressing themes such as alienation, anxiety, death and crises. To
conclude this however, would be to misunderstand it. An expressed purpose of
so many of the philosophers, who have contributed to this school of thought, is to
allow people to experience a greater richness and happiness in their lives and to
feel at ‘home’ in their world. In order to achieve a richer and more valuable
existence however, the philosophy often refers to some ‘uncomfortable’
suggestions

Just as the whole of Indian philosophy is an extension, interpretation, criticism

and corroboration of the Vedas and in it the Upanishads or an outright revolt
against them, similarly it may be remarked of western philosophy as either a
clarification of Socrates or his rejection. One would be still right in saying that the
whole of western philosophy is an appendix on Socrates. So it is even true with
existentialism that Socrates has been considered to be the first existentialist.
Socrates statement: “I am and always have been a man to obey nothing in my
nature except the reasoning which upon reflection, appears to be the best.” Right
from Plato down to Descartes, the majority of western thinkers have believed in
the immutability of ideas and the rest of the thinkers have been suggesting
correctives to it. Anyhow their frame of reference has always been ‘Essence
Precedes Existence’, essence being referred to ideas, values, ideals, thoughts,
etc. and existence being referred to our lives.

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Rather than attempt to define existentialism (which existentialists themselves

maintain is futile it might to be better to determine what the task of philosophy is
according to the proponents of this school of thought. First of all, the existentialist
does not concern himself with problems concerning the nature, origin, and
destiny of the physical universe. The philosopher should not even concern
himself with the basic assumptions of the physical or biological sciences.

The teacher in existentialist education is there to provide pathways for students to

explore their own values, meanings, and choices. In order to do this, learners
need to be aware of as many options and choices as possible; they need to feel
empowered and free to determine their own values and identities; and they need
a multiplicity of experiences to enhance their self-awareness. The teacher’s
primary responsibility is to provide all these things, and to maintain a learning
environment where students feel encouraged to express themselves through
discussion, creative projects, and choice of study areas.

The role of the student is to determine their own values and identity. Existentialist
education recognizes the role of both culture and individual nature in identity
formation. The existentialist student maintains a dialogue between the self and
cultural values: considering the self in cultural context, and considering cultural
values in relation to the self.

Freedom, choice, and responsibility form a complex interrelation in existentialist

philosophy. The student is free to form and pursue their own values, but that
freedom comes includes taking full responsibility for those values. The
existentialist student accepts responsibility for their own values, feelings, and
actions, because these have been self-generated rather than dictated by an
authority.

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For Additional Readings:

Encyclopedia Britannica. “Existentialism | Definition, Nature, History, & Issues.”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/existentialism.

“Existentialism - By Branch / Doctrine - The Basics of Philosophy.”

https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_existentialism.html.

Progressivism

John Dewey (1859–1952), who would later be remembered as the "father of

Progressive education," was the most eloquent and arguably most influential
figure in educational Progressivism. A noted philosopher, psychologist, and
educational reformer, Dewey graduated from the University of Vermont in 1879,
taught high school briefly, and then earned his doctorate in philosophy at the
newly formed Johns Hopkins University in 1884. Dewey taught at the University
of Michigan from 1884 to 1888, the University of Minnesota from 1888 to 1889,
again at Michigan from 1889 to 1894, then at the University of Chicago from 1894
to 1904, and, finally, at Columbia University from 1904 until his retirement in 1931.

During his long and distinguished career, Dewey generated over 1,000 books
and articles on topics ranging from politics to art. For all his scholarly eclecticism,
however, none of his work ever strayed too far from his primary intellectual
interest: education. Through such works as The School and Society (1899), The
Child and the Curriculum (1902), and Democracy and Education (1916), Dewey
articulated a unique, indeed revolutionary, reformulation of educational theory
and practice based upon the core relationship he believed existed between
democratic life and education. Namely, Dewey's vision for the school was
inextricably tied to his larger vision of the good society, wherein education–as a
deliberately conducted practice of investigation, of problem solving, and of both
personal and community growth–was the wellspring of democracy itself. Because
each classroom represented a microcosm of the human relationships that
constituted the larger community, Dewey believed that the school, as a "little
democracy," could create a "more lovely society."

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Dewey's emphasis on the importance of democratic relationships in the

classroom setting necessarily shifted the focus of educational theory from the
institution of the school to the needs of the school's students. This dramatic
change in American pedagogy, however, was not alone the work of John Dewey.
To be sure, Dewey's attraction to child-centered educational practices was
shared by other Progressive educators and researchers–such as Ella Flagg
Young (1845–1918), Dewey's colleague and kindred spirit at the University of
Chicago, and Granville Stanley Hall (1844–1924), the iconoclastic Clark
University psychologist and avowed leader of the child study movement–who
collectively derived their understanding of child-centeredness from reading and
studying a diverse array of nineteenth and twentieth-century European and
American philosophical schools. In general, the received philosophical traditions
employed by Dewey and his fellow Progressives at once deified childhood and
advanced ideas of social and intellectual interdependence. First, in their writings
about childhood, Frenchman Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) emphasized
its organic and natural dimensions; while English literary romantics such as
William Wordsworth (1770–1850) and William Blake (1757–1827) celebrated its
innate purity and piety, a characterization later shared by American
transcendentalist philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) and Henry
David Thoreau (1817–1862). For these thinkers, childhood was a period of
innocence, goodness, and piety that was in every way morally superior to the
polluted lives led by most adults. It was the very sanctity of childhood that
convinced the romantics and transcendentalists that the idea of childhood should
be preserved and cultivated through educational instruction.

Second, and more important, Dewey and his fellow educational Progressives
drew from the work of the German philosopher Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852)
and Swiss educator Johann Pestalozzi (1746–1827). Froebel and Pestalozzi
were among the first to articulate the process of educating the "whole child,"
wherein learning moved beyond the subject matter and ultimately rested upon the
needs and interests of the child.

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Tending to both the pupil's head and heart, they believed, was the real business
of schooling, and they searched for an empirical and rational science of
education that would incorporate these foundational principles. Froebel drew
upon the garden metaphor of cultivating young children toward maturity, and he
provided the European foundations for the late-nineteenth-century kindergarten
movement in the United States. Similarly, Pestalozzi popularized the pedagogical
method of object teaching, wherein a teacher began with an object related to the
child's world in order to initiate the child into the world of the educator.

Finally, Dewey drew inspiration from the ideas of philosopher and psychologist
William James (1842–1910). Dewey's interpretation of James's philosophical
pragmatism, which was similar to the ideas underpinning Pestalozzi's object
teaching, joined thinking and doing as two seamlessly connected halves of the
learning process. By focusing on the relationship between thinking and doing,
Dewey believed his educational philosophy could equip each child with the
problem-solving skills required to overcome obstacles between a given and
desired set of circumstances. According to Dewey, education was not simply a
means to a future life, but instead represented a full life unto itself.

Taken together, then, these European and American philosophical traditions

helped Progressives connect childhood and democracy with education: Children,
if taught to understand the relationship between thinking and doing, would be fully
equipped for active participation in a democratic society. It was for these reasons
that the Progressive education movement broke from pedagogical traditionalists
organized around the seemingly outmoded and antidemocratic ideas of drill,
discipline, and didactic exercises.

The pedagogical Progressives who embraced this child-centered pedagogy

favored education built upon an experience-based curriculum developed by both
students and teachers. Teachers played a special role in the Progressive
formulation for education as they merged their deep knowledge of, and affection
for, children with the intellectual demands of the subject matter.
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Contrary to his detractors, then and now, Dewey, while admittedly

antiauthoritarian, did not take child-centered curriculum and pedagogy to mean
the complete abandonment of traditional subject matter or instructional guidance
and control. In fact, Dewey criticized derivations of those theories that treated
education as a mere source of amusement or as a justification for
rotevocationalism. Rather, stirred by his desire to reaffirm American democracy,
Dewey's time- and resource-exhaustive educational program depended on close
student–teacher interactions that, Dewey argued, required nothing less than the
utter reorganization of traditional subject matter.

Although the practice of pure Deweyism was rare, his educational ideas were
implemented in private and public school systems alike. During his time as head
of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago (which also included
the fields of psychology and pedagogy), Dewey and his wife Alice established a
University Laboratory School. An institutional center for educational
experimentation, the Lab School sought to make experience and hands-on
learning the heart of the educational enterprise, and Dewey carved out a special
place for teachers. Dewey was interested in obtaining psychological insight into
the child's individual capacities and interests. Education was ultimately about
growth, Dewey argued, and the school played a crucial role in creating an
environment that was responsive to the child's interests and needs, and would
allow the child to flourish.

Similarly, Colonel Francis W. Parker, a contemporary of Dewey and devout

Emersonian, embraced an abiding respect for the beauty and wonder of nature,
privileged the happiness of the individual over all else, and linked education and
experience in pedagogical practice. During his time as superintendent of schools
in Quincy, Massachusetts, and later as the head of the Cook Country Normal
School in Chicago, Parker rejected discipline, authority, regimentation, and
traditional pedagogical techniques and emphasized warmth, spontaneity, and the
joy of learning. Both Dewey and Parker believed in learning by doing, arguing
that genuine delight, rather than drudgery, should be the by-product of manual

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work. By linking the home and school, and viewing both as integral parts of a
larger community, Progressive educators sought to create an educational
environment wherein children could see that the hands-on work they did had
some bearing on society.

While Progressive education has most often been associated with private
independent schools such as Dewey's Laboratory School, Margaret Naumberg's
Walden School, and Lincoln School of Teacher's College, Progressive ideas
were also implemented in large school systems, the most well known being those
in Winnetka, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana. Located some twenty miles north of
Chicago on its affluent North Shore, the Winnetka schools, under the leadership
of superintendent Carleton Washburne, rejected traditional classroom practice in
favor of individualized instruction that let children learn at their own pace.
Washburne and his staff in the Winnetka schools believed that all children had a
right to be happy and live natural and full lives, and they yoked the needs of the
individual to those of the community. They used the child's natural curiosity as
the point of departure in the classroom and developed a teacher education
program at the Graduate Teachers College of Winnetka to train teachers in this
philosophy; in short, the Winnetka schools balanced Progressive ideals with
basic skills and academic rigor.

Like the Winnetka schools, the Gary school system was another Progressive
school system, led by superintendent William A. Wirt, who studied with Dewey at
the University of Chicago. The Gary school system attracted national attention for
its platoon and work-study-play systems, which increased the capacity of the
schools at the same time that they allowed children to spend considerable time
doing hands-on work in laboratories, shops, and on the playground. The schools
also stayed open well into the evening hours and offered community-based adult
education courses. In short, by focusing on learning-by-doing and adopting an
educational program that focused on larger social and community needs, the
Winnetka and Gary schools closely mirrored Dewey's own Progressive
educational theories.

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For Additional Readings:

“Progressivism Philosophy Of Education : Progressivism | Bartleby.”
https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Progressivism-Philosophy-Of-Education-
Progressivism-PK4A4E9JFLL5.

B. A., Classics. “Progressive Education: How Children Learn.” ThoughtCo.

https://www.thoughtco.com/progressive-education-how-children-learn-today-
2774713.

Social Reconstructionism

Social Reconstructionism is an educational philosophy that views schools as

tools to solve social problems. Social reconstructionists reason that, because all
leaders are the product of schools, schools should provide a curriculum that
fosters their development. Reconstructionists not only aim to educate a
generation of problem solvers, but also try to identify and correct many
noteworthy social problems that face our nation, with diverse targets including
racism, pollution, homelessness, poverty, and violence. Rather than a philosophy
of education, reconstructionism may be referred to as more of a remedy for a
society that seeks to build a more objective social order.

Outraged at the inequity in educational opportunities between the rich and the
poor, George Counts wrote Dare the School Build a New Social Order? in 1932.
He called on teachers to educate students to prepare them for the social changes
that would accompany heightened participation in science, technology, and other
fields of learning, without compromising their cultural education. This text was
important in the development of social reconstructionist schools in the United
States. For social reconstructionists, the class becomes an area where societal
improvement is an active and measurable goal.

The reconstructionist classroom contains a teacher who involves the students in

discussions of moral dilemmas to understand the implications of one’s actions.
Students individually select their objectives and social priorities and then, with
guidance from the teacher, create a plan of action to make the change happen.

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For example, a class may read an article on texting while driving and watch a
documentary on the need for awareness in school systems. Also, a police officer
or a loved one of someone who has been affected by texting while driving may
speak to the class and describe dangerous and fatal events that have resulted
from choosing to text while driving. If the article, the movie, and the speaker
inspire them, the students may take on a long-term awareness project.

One group may choose to analyze the regional news coverage on texting while
driving, while another may choose to conduct a survey, analyzing student
viewpoints on the subject. Either or both groups may schedule meetings with
political leaders and create programs or legislation. Alternatively, they might
create a web page and present it to the media. All the while, the teacher advises
on research techniques, writing skills, and public communication methods,
building core skills that will be applicable across a broad range of topics.

An excellent example of social reconstructionism is the 2007 movie Freedom

Writers. In the movie the teacher was determined to get the students interested
by requiring them to write. Students were allowed to write about anything they
wanted and were free to express themselves in their journals however they
pleased. The journal writing not only taught basic writing skills; in some individual
instances, it helped to bring students out of a life of crime.

For Additional Readings:

Owlgen. “What Is Reconstructionism in Education?,” March 28, 2019.

https://www.owlgen.in/what-is-reconstructionism-in-education/.

“Education - Social-Reconstructionist Education | Britannica.”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/Social-reconstructionist-education.

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Post-modern Philosophy of Education

Postmodern life is not predictable. We must live in the moment in order to be in

tune with the ever-changing conditions. We need meta-strategies or ways of
thinking about which strategy to employ. Better yet, we need ways of knowing
how to create and tailor new strategies to respond to the learning needs in our
various contexts. It is critical that we know how to live and learn in an open
system, open to ambiguity, open to serendipitous development.

Postmodern society is inundated with information. Information has become

abundant and free during the 21st Century. Information is now fully accessible.
We live in a democratized society of digital interactivity. Postmodern learners are
required to know the difference between data, information and knowledge.
Students must develop information literacy skills and the awareness of their own
selection bias. The postmodern instructor must be able to walk with their students
through the data and information to the knowledge that is both involved with the
purposes of the course of studies and with the meaning relative to the life of each
individual student.

Modern thinking uses the executive brain. The executive brain is logical and
serves control functions. Life is structured, ordered and hierarchical. There is a
proper place and a proper function for everything. If it is not ordered or logical,
let’s figure it out. Deductive, scientific thought prevails in this world-that-can-be-
known. The executive brain controls communication and actions. Modern
students rely on this kind of logic and on dogma. They rely on learning what they
are told because it is in the best interest of the role they are to play. Modern
educational theory attempts to classify and segment learning. The world is taken
apart, split into disciplines, objectified, quantified and then repackaged as
courses with learner objectives. This model relies on “the sage on stage” to
parcel out the information to learners. Learners can utilize strategies to improve
learning. A grade is assigned based on the degree to which the learner has
achieved these teacher-determined objectives.

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Postmodern life is not just about rapid and turbulent change. It is also about
fragmentation of old systems and expectations. There are constant disruptions. It
is hard to count on any one set of values or any one paradigm. To deal with the
fragmentation of the old paradigm, postmodern students apply their own story
and experience to the learning environment. They learn to trust not only their own
rational processes (housed primarily in their prefrontal cortex), but also their
exceptionally gifted intuition (housed primarily in their much older, larger and
more mature limbic brain). (Lehrer, 2009) The postmodern instructor engaged
with a learner from an appreciative perspective encourages this person to relate
the directions of the course or program to their personal experiences, instead of
viewing this as past baggage that should be left outside the educational
experience. Instructor/tutor and student co-create new learning and
understandings in the moment.

Postmodern learning is a creative act. It involves ever-changing environments

and learning arrangements. Individual plans can be created wherein the learner
is an active participant. The postmodern teacher and mature student are partners
in learning a body of knowledge within a contemporary context. Other methods
are not discarded, but they are used, modified and recreated to suit the situation
at hand. The postmodern instructor is a “guide on the side” whose role is more to
facilitate learning experiences toward the meaningful aims. Alternate views and
content integration are encouraged. Ideas are brought together through a holistic
approach to form new ways of knowing the world. New learning relationships and
knowledge creation potential are heightened and become an exciting aspect of
the postmodern class.

Implications of the Postmodern Condition for Adult Education

What are the attitudes, processes and structures that instructors need to provide
a post-modern education to adults? Teaching and learning in the postmodern
world addresses these points:

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 Meta-strategies or ways of thinking about which strategy to employ; ways

of knowing how to create and tailor new strategies to respond to the
learning needs in our various contexts;
 Knowledge about ways in which to live and learn in an open system in
which there is considerable ambiguity and serendipitous development;
 Information literacy skills for students and awareness by students of their
own selection bias; the postmodern instructor leads their students through
the data and information to the knowledge that is involved with the
purposes of the course of studies and with the meaning relative to the life
of each individual student;
 Relationships between the course’s and program’s directions, and the
individual’s personal experience; new learning and understandings is co-
created in the moment;
 Creation of individual plans wherein the learner is an active participant;
creation of partnerships between teachers and students in learning a body
of knowledge within a contemporary context;
 Creation of instructor role as a “guide on the side” — tutor, learning coach
and facilitator — of learning experiences toward meaningful aims;
 Ideas are brought together through a holistic approach to form new ways
of knowing the world; new learning relationships and knowledge creation
potential are heightened and are an exciting aspect of the postmodern
class;
 Meta-strategies (or meta-cognitive strategies) are required; students learn
how to learn;
 Learners are encouraged to find personal meaning from the learning, as
the teacher is allowed to discard the mask of authority and be more
themselves, modeling the lifelong learning value of postmodernism; and
 Learners (living in a postmodern world) are encouraged to formulate and
engage a clear, stable, sustaining image of self.

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For Additional Readings:

Thompson, Author Karl. “Postmodernism and Education.” ReviseSociology,

September 25, 2019.
https://revisesociology.com/2019/09/25/postmodernism-and-education/.

The Professional School of Psychology. “Postmodernism and the Challenges

Facing 21st Century Educators,” March 28, 2014.
https://psychology.edu/about/four-models-of-adult-education/postmodernism-
and-the-challenges-facing-21st-century-educators/.

Principles and Philosophy of Philippine Education

The Philosophy of Education in Philippine Setting are based on the following

educational concepts: First, the students are the primary and the center of the
educative process; Second, the teachers focus on the total human formation of
students instead of focusing on the lessons taught; Third, the curriculum is based
on activities and projects; Fourth, the teachers should give emphasis on thinking
and reasoning instead of pure memorization; Fifth, there should be evaluation like
teacher made tests and among others to check the knowledge; Sixth, the school,
is also the center of educative process; Seventh, guidance should be part in the
curriculum. It also talks about the important of the community in shaping the
school to become more effective in achieving its goals and objectives. It also
discusses the different strategies in achieving the new society of the Philippines
that focuses more on the total human formation.

The DepED shall adhere to the following standards and principles in developing
the enhanced basic education curriculum:

(a) The curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and developmentally

appropriate;

(b) The curriculum shall be relevant, responsive and research-based;

(c) The curriculum shall be culture-sensitive;

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(d) The curriculum shall be contextualized and global;

(e) The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist,
inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative;

(f) The curriculum shall adhere to the principles and framework of Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which starts from where the
learners are and from what they already knew proceeding from the known to the
unknown; instructional materials and capable teachers to implement the MTB-
MLE curriculum shall be available;

(g) The curriculum shall use the spiral progression approach to ensure mastery of
knowledge and skills after each level; and

(h) The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to
localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective educational
and social contexts. The production and development of locally produced
teaching materials shall be encouraged and approval of these materials shall
devolve to the regional and division education units.

There shall be created a curriculum consultative committee chaired by the

DepED Secretary or his/her duly authorized representative and with members
composed of, but not limited to, a representative each from the CHED, the
TESDA, the DOLE, the PRC, the Department of Science and Technology
(DOST), and a representative from the business chambers such as the
Information Technology – Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry
association. The consultative committee shall oversee the review and evaluation
on the implementation of the basic education curriculum and may recommend to
the DepED the formulation of necessary refinements in the curriculum.

To ensure that the enhanced basic education program meets the demand for
quality teachers and school leaders, the DepED and the CHED, in collaboration
with relevant partners in government, academe, industry, and nongovernmental
organizations, shall conduct teacher education and training programs, as
specified:

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In-service Training on Content and Pedagogy — Current DepED teachers shall

be retrained to meet the content and performance standards of the new K to 12
curriculum.

The DepED shall ensure that private education institutions shall be given the
opportunity to avail of such training.

Training of New Teachers. — New graduates of the current Teacher Education

curriculum shall undergo additional training, upon hiring, to upgrade their skills to
the content standards of the new curriculum. Furthermore, the CHED, in
coordination with the DepED and relevant stakeholders, shall ensure that the
Teacher Education curriculum offered in these Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs)
will meet necessary quality standards for new teachers. Duly recognized
organizations acting as TEIs, in coordination with the DepED, the CHED, and
other relevant stakeholders, shall ensure that the curriculum of these
organizations meet the necessary quality standards for trained teachers.

Training of School Leadership. — Superintendents, principals, subject area

coordinators and other instructional school leaders shall likewise undergo
workshops and training to enhance their skills on their role as academic,
administrative and community leaders.

Henceforth, such professional development programs as those stated above

shall be initiated and conducted regularly throughout the school year to ensure
constant upgrading of teacher skills.

For Additional Readings:

SpainExchange Country Guide. “The Education System in Philippines.”

https://www.studycountry.com/guide/PH-education.htm.

Smartboy. “Life Is a Daring Adventure.: Philosophy of Education in Philippine

Setting - A Book Review.” Life Is a Daring Adventure. (blog), April 23, 2015.
https://secretblogger1981.blogspot.com/2015/04/philosophy-of-education-in-
philippine.html.

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Personal Philosophy of Teaching (Brandy Durham)

My educational philosophy is that I believe all students are capable of learning.

They all do not learn at the same rate, but with different methods and strategies it
is possible. Students should not be thought of as mindless individuals just waiting
to be filled with knowledge by their teachers. Quite the opposite; students should
be viewed as individuals who can contribute to the classroom, sharing and
gaining knowledge from each other. Students need guidance and not just lecture
only. An education is not solely academic; the teacher must also educate her
students mentally by teaching them the skills needed to solve problems and
socially by teaching them the skills needed to communicate and work
productively with others. Students must be able to function in the real world which
not only requires academic knowledge but social skills as well. I believe teachers
should not be alone in educating students but that parents, families and
communities need to work together to support and enrich the lives of their
children, who are the future. Teachers need to use various methods/approaches
in order to reach every student. I believe teachers who only use one method to
teach should not be in the classroom. They obviously are not reaching all of their
students because we know that not all students learn in the same way. Teachers
must reach visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic learners. Varying
methods of teaching will create an interesting and fun environment and will help
all students succeed. I plan on using several different methods of teaching,
including hands on, technology based, cooperative learning groups and group
discussion.

For Additional Reading:

Education. “My Personal Philosophy of Education.”

https://vocal.media/education/my-personal-philosophy-of-education.

“My Personal Philosophy of Education Essay Examples | Bartleby.”

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/My-Personal-Philosophy-of-Education-
FKVBJXZVC.

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