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Brynna Huen

Lori Cory

Foundations of Education

9 November 2020

Philosophy of Education

The philosophy of education varies from teacher to teacher. Some say it’s important for students

to learn in their own way, others think students know what the content is, or they don’t and there’s

nothing they can do. I researched a few philosophers and asked some teachers what their philosophy of

education is, and I was surprised to see the similarities and differences between each philosophy.

The first philosopher that I researched was Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) He synthesized early

modern rationalism and empiricism, set the terms for much of the philosophy of the nineteenth and

twentieth centuries, and continues to have a huge impact on metaphysics , epistemology , ethics, political

philosophy, esthetics, and other fields today. The site says, “He argues that the human understanding is

the source of the general laws of nature that structure all our experience; and that human reason gives

itself the moral law, which is our basis for belief in God, freedom, and immortality.” Another source says,

“Kant see human being as a unique existence who needs education and think that human being can be a

person only with education, thanks to education it's not according to person's natural tendency and

material requests, set forth raising in appropriate way to moral laws.” As shown in the texts, Kant was

huge on morality. I feel that this is a key part of philosophy because it emphasizes the importance of

education. He harps on the idea that all human beings need education, which is something that I strongly

agree with. I don’t disagree with this philosophy.

The next philosopher that I researched was John Locke (1632-1704). Locke was known as the

Father of Classical Liberalism and was regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. He
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was one of the great philosophers of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as well as an economist,

political operative, physician, Oxford scholar, and medical researcher. The source states, “Locke believed

the purpose of education was to produce an individual with a sound mind in a sound body as to better

serve his country. Locke thought that the content of education ought to depend upon one's station in life.

The common man only required moral, social, and vocational knowledge. He could do quite well with the

Bible and a highly developed vocational skill that would serve to support him in life and offer social

service to others. However, the education of gentlemen ought to be of the very highest quality. The

gentleman must serve his country in a position of leadership.” I like how Locke wanted education to

better people and the future of the country, not just to learn without purpose. His philosophy is to learn

things that are more relevant to people and what they do in their daily lives. I feel like this philosophy is

important because people need information/life skills that they can take with them after they are done

with school, information that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. I strongly agree with this

philosophy and there is nothing I disagree with.

The last philosopher I researched was Noam Chomsky (1928-present day). The founder of

modern linguistics is generally considered to be Chomsky. Generations of linguistic and cognitive

investigators have been convinced by his theory of generative grammar. A source says, “Traditionally,

schools have been used as an instrument to transmit knowledge; however, Chomsky opines that the skills

and knowledge taught are often not worthwhile. "The goal of education", according to Noam Chomsky,

"is to produce human beings whose values are not accumulation and domination, but instead are free

association on equal terms. "According to Chomsky there is an instrumental approach to education. It is

characterized as mindless, meaningless drills and exercise given "in preparation for multiple choice

exams". This is evident through the state mandated curriculum where standardized tests are necessary to

measure student growth and educational success. Chomsky argues that "the value of education should be

placed on students' critical thinking skills and the process of gaining useful and applicable knowledge".

However, Chomsky's view of the factory model of education is that students are mandated to adhere to
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state written curricula where standardized tests are necessary. Students are inadvertently pushed to learn

through memorization of facts, rather than through critical thinking.” This philosophy is by far my

favorite. As a student currently in high school, I can safely say that memorization has become my main

source when passing a class. Standardized tests such as the ACT/SAT and Iowa Assessments are not true

or fair representations on how “smart” a student is, especially when the questions are completely random

and have nothing to do with ones’ knowledge. I 100% agree with this philosophy and have no arguments

against it.

The teachers that I chose for this were Mrs. Baumgardner and Mrs. Deason. Mrs. Baumgardner is

a Government teacher at Ballard High School and has taught for 18 years. She told me, “The relationship

component cannot be overlooked between teachers and students. By getting to know your students, you

get to know things, such as their family background, that can impact their learning. All students are

capable learners. Teachers need to get to know what their student’s strengths and needs are to help them

be successful in the classroom. When using their strengths and needs, assign instructions to help

EVERYONE learn. You can help everyone learn by scaffolding assignments and differentiating the types

of assignments along with assessments to show varied learning.” As someone who is currently in Mrs.

Baumgardner’s class, I can agree with these statements and that she applies them in her class. I would say

that being understanding and giving students an equal opportunity to learn are Mrs. Baumgardner’s

strengths. For every assignment and assessment, she gives more than one option for her students to show

what they have learned. For instance, for one of our assessments, we were given the option to take a

regular test on the computer or record a video of ourselves summarizing the main ideas of the unit. This

was beneficial for the students who do not perform well on tests but still understand the content. It should

be a priority to make sure every student is learning to the best of their abilities and given the right

opportunities to show that.

Mrs. Deason is a 7th grade social studies at Ballard High School and has been teaching for 15

years. Her philosophy is, “I believe all students need to feel safe and cared for in order to research their
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full learning ability. I also believe all students can learn, they may just have different learning styles and it

is my job as a teacher to meet them where they are and help get them where they need to be. I also believe

that relationship building is key to effective teaching.” Mrs. Deason and Mrs. Baumgardner have very

similar philosophies. I also was in Mrs. Deason’s class when I was in 7 th grade, and she does a very nice

job of applying this philosophy to her classroom. I would say that working with students to make sure

they understand the content and giving people the resources that they need are Mrs. Deason’s strengths.

In 7th grade, we used to always do group projects where we got the opportunity to be as creative as we

wanted when presenting it to the class. One time, my partner and I changed the lyrics of Adele’s song

“Hello” to the topic we were on and recorded ourselves singing it for the class. The song helped a lot of

students in that class because they were able to sing it in their heads for the test.

My philosophy of education would be students need to know that they are capable of learning and

that it is my priority to help them succeed. Building a relationship is key when understanding how

students function in the classroom. If they cannot see that I am trying to get to know them, then I am

doing something wrong. I want to make things relevant to students and their lives so they can take it with

them when they leave my classroom.

I feel that all of these philosophies should be applied to every classroom. If a teacher does not

care about their student’s successes, then they should not be teaching. It is hard enough for students to try

and learn something in a way that they cannot understand it. They need the tools and resources to help

them comprehend what is being taught to them. I’m glad these philosophers and teachers had similar

ideas when it comes to education. Teaching is never easy, but neither is learning.