RUNNING HEAD: EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY 1

Educational Philosophy

Kynja Woods

Western Nevada College

Educational Philosophy
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Writer William Arthur Ward once said, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher

explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” There are six modern

philosophical orientations to teaching: progressivism, perennialism, essentialism, existentialism,

behavioralism, and social reconstructionism. A teacher’s educational philosophy is “a set of

beliefs about how human beings learn and grow and what one should learn in order to live a

good life”(Parkay, 2016, pg. 114). It also acts as a set of principles that guides your professional

life. The way you act as a teacher is strongly connected to what you believe about information,

students and learning.

Existentialism focuses on the experience of the individual. It also “emphasizes creative

choice, the subjectivity of human experience, and concrete Acts of human existence over any

rational scheme for human nature or reality.” (Parkay, 2016, pg. 128) Existentialists assess a

curriculum according to the contribution to the individual and whether it results in a level of

personal awareness. Existentialist teachers place offices on students finding out who they are

while continuing to teach what is mandated by the curriculum. In the philosophic inventory we

took, I scored a 24 in the existentialism category, the highest of my scores. I agree with this

assessment because, especially as children get older and closer to adulthood, I firmly believe that

they should be able to form their futures and make their own choice.

Progressivism focuses on the students' interest in personal growth. It also believes that

education should focus on the student rather than specifically the curriculum. Children in a

progressivist classroom should be active and learn to solve problems by reflecting on their own

experiences. A lot of hands-on and interactive activities should be used. This type of teaching

should help students develop democratic personal and social values. In the philosophic

inventory, I scored a 22 in this category, the second-highest of my scores. I agree with this
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assessment because I believe that one of the most important things in education should be the

personal growth of students. I also believe that active, hands-on learning is the best and most

effective way to teach a curriculum.

As a teacher, I would implement many aspects of both existentialism and progressivism

in my classroom and teaching style. I feel like I lean more towards the existentialist side in my

views about a classroom and how it should be run. I believe that children should be able to

express creativity and free will in the classroom. I also believe that children should be able to

learn in a way that works for them and is the most effective way for material to be received. An

important progressive idea I would have in my classroom is that learning should be active, not

passive. I believe that being hands-on and interactive is the best way to teach children, especially

those of a younger age.

In conclusion, according to the philosophic inventory, I have more existentialist views.

This means that I value creativity, free will, and individuality. I agree with this assessment

because, especially as children get older and closer to adulthood, I firmly believe that they

should be able to form their futures and make their own choice. I scored the lowest on having

behaviorist views. Behaviorism values strict behavior and denies free will. I agree with this

assessment because behaviorism is the direct opposite of existentialism. Teacher and philosopher

Aristotle once said, “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.”

References

Parkay, F. W. (2016). Becoming a teacher. Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

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