The Teaching Profession

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Content:

B. Philosophical Foundations of Education

1. Western Philosophies
- Idealism
- Realism
- Pragmatism/Experimentalism

What is philosophy of Education?

1. All teachers have their own philosophies of Education and that is why
no two teachers do things the same way even if they're teaching the same
subject to the same classes. So, all teachers have a personal philosophy
that colors the way they teach. It's my beliefs, it's my understanding, it's
my experiences, that shape my philosophy and therefore I do things in a
particular way.

Some philosophies may be odd, some may be more in line with what other
teachers are doing but, just because a teacher's philosophy is different or a teacher
does something in a different way does not mean that it is incorrect because it's the
teachers own beliefs and experiences that will frame that particular teachers’
philosophy to education.

2. So, the question really is…. who they are or intend to be? who are you?
And what do you want to be as a teacher?
looking at who you are today and what or where you want to be 10, 15, or 20 years
will shape one's philosophy.
Because only when you have a philosophy,… you have a direction.
if you know where you are going to go you will make the path to get there.

3. why they do or propose to do what they do

it is important to understand; why you do, what you do, and what you don't want to
do. You don't do something because: it's in the textbook, you don't do something
because the head, or the principal told you to do it. You do something in the
classroom because the students’ behaviors must change and they must change for
the better. if teachers
focus more on the student and less on the textbook, the syllabus, the head, and the
principal, I think we will do a better job with education.

Eric Berne’s 3 important question to teachers:

 Who Am I?

Who you are? how do you stand out among the community of teachers? that is
what will make you a different teacher.

 why am I here?

Why am I here? why am I in the classroom today? I could be doing something else.
what am I doing? You need to do it, get excited about what you're going to do in the
classroom that particular day.

 who are all these people and what do they want of me?
Other people for us future teachers means our students. what do they want from
me? What should I be giving them? so that their lives years down the line will be
different. their lives will be different because they met me, their teacher.

we will now begin to look at different:

Philosophies of Education

In general, these philosophies have been created, have been supported by lot of
proponents of each of those philosophies and each has a lot to offer us teachers
today.

the first of these philosophies is….

IDEALISM

let's look at what idealism is….

Idealism simply is based on ideas are the only true reality the only thing worth
knowing.

Focus: Mind

Originators:

 Plato
 Socrates
Idealism is the oldest philosophy in the Western culture. It is a philosophical approach
stating that ideas and knowledge are the only true reality. The main focus of idealism is
on conscious reasoning in the mind.

The father of idealism, Plato, believed that people should concern themselves in
searching for the truth. As a Greek philosopher, he believed that man did not create
knowledge but discovered it. Plato was a disciple.

Socrates who opened his own school, the Academy in Athens, where he developed and
implemented his doctrines as a teacher. Two of his most famous works were “The
Republic” and “The Dialogue.”

Ideas are generated in the head. Ideas have to be translated. These are thoughts
they are in our heads they have to be translated into language and then put forward

So… as people developed ideas, and old ideas led to newer ideas and newer ideas
led to yet newer ideas lots of ideas and lots of information and then… knowledge
was created.

So…. the focus of idealism is on, The mind… The brain…. The thinking… because
that is the fountain from where all ideas emerge.

So, with the mind in question…. the key proponents of this philosophy were Plato
and Socrates

if you've ever worked on Socratic questioning or read about Socratic questioning it's
all about ideas in the mind.

when people came to Socrates with questions, he did not give any answer, the only
thing he did was he listened to the people's questions and then returned another
question to them.
Now when another question came to the people they were forced to think when they
thought they asked Socrates
another question
Socrates again replied with another question of his own…
so, through this process of questions going back and forth people found the answer.
That is how mind develops and that is the basis of Socratic questioning...

As teachers in the classroom, we are not answer dispensing machines, we don't

have all answers to the student’s questions,

But, what a wonderful way to return the question to the student and make the
student or students in the classroom think. When students are thinking in the
classroom education is happening learning is happening.

What then is the goal of Education?

Under idealism….

Educators are interested in the search for truth through ideas rather than through
the examination of the false shadowy world of matter.

textbook as an example, a textbook is matter... somebody wrote it, put it together. and it
got printed, it got to school and now it is in the hands of the teacher for the students.

Is that the only thing the student needs to know what is in the textbook?

in addition, what the teacher says in class?

if those two are the only things that a student needs to know then that's not enough.
Then the student is not getting an education. he's simply getting a training. a student
should be permitted to explore his or her own ideas in the classroom.
They encourage students to search for truth as individuals

Opportunities to students to think on their own to contribute, to share, to recommend, to

suggest to make changes.

I think students will learn better, develop better, receive a better education and be more
productive, constructive, and useful in society in the future education.

Education is transformation

Idealism is a transformation and a transformation is a change, a change for the better, a

change that brings improvement in an individual's life.

condition setting, environment situation and ideas can change lives.

we must permit our students to think, to share their ideas, to contribute their ideas, to
work with their ideas, …

if we want young people to be productive…

if we want young people to learn…

if we want young people to get education…

their ideas should be permitted

Role of Teacher

 Dealing with abstract notions through dialectic method and connecting analysis
with action.
 Active, posing questions, selecting materials and establishing an environment to
ensure the desired outcomes.
 A role model to be imitated by students.
Methods of Instruction

 Teachers active in students’ learning.

 Through questioning, students encouraged to discuss, analyze, synthesize and
apply what they have read.
 Lecturing but particularly using dialectic approach.
 Students encouraged to work in groups/ individually on research projects both
oral and written.

Curriculum

Examining the roots of contemporary problems in the past (great literature/classics etc)

 Education at any level should teach students to think.

 Subject- matter curriculum
 Back-to-basics approach in education


Related Educational Philosophy to Idealism

“Perennialism”

Perennialism

Focus: Teach ideas that are everlasting. Seek enduring realities which are constant,
through great literature, art, philosophy, religion.

Key Proponents

 Robert Hutchins
 Jacque Maritain
 Mortimer Adler
 Allan Bloom
 REALISM

 Reality exists independent of the human mind. World of physical object is

ultimate reality. They say that reality is something that exists. The ultimate reality
is the physical objects so everything that you can see, touch and feel is real.
 Focus: Body
 Originator: Aristotle

It is what it is, so says the realist. It is the job of the school, within the realism school of
thought, to teach its students the way of the world for what it is. It’s often through
observations of the real world that realism contracts its thoughts from, and it is
unadulterated truth that realism expands on. Realism relies on factual evidence,
something that can be understood and proven with hard evidence, such as math and
science. Much like other philosophies with a more rigid and essential curriculum,
Realism focuses on the matters of discipline, hard work, and respect. It is usually the
educator’s job to lead by example and not only become the educator, but the role model
for which students are to learn from, not only from their knowledge, but from their
actions, in order to become more virtuous.

Aristotle argued that people form concepts and make generalizations in the manner of a
young child, who is just on the verge of grasping a generic concept such as human
being.

Goal of Education

 Develop intellectual abilities

 To equip students with information to understand current events (Tabula Rasa)
Tabula Rasa means a blank slate….

When born, the mind of the child is like a blank slate — “tabula rasa”, to be filled later
with the data derived from sensory experience. It logically ensues that education plays a
crucial role in the moral development and social integration of any human being.

Realism is a study of the here and now, and to maintain a mastery of realism, there
must be an awareness as to what is in fact going on around you. Realism is a product
that hold true to its root word, real, and deals almost solely with reality, and the idea that
reality exists independent of the human mind. The teacher often uses exercises using
rational thought, as it is looked at as the ultimate purpose for humankind, and this
thought process is often applied to subject matter within the physical world, and the
student’s ability to think critically and scientifically are often tested in these
circumstances. The curriculum is often approached scientifically and standardized, and
ultimately good character and understanding are the goals of Realism.

Realism

Role of Teacher

 Having a social grounding in science, math and the humanities

 Relying on test scores to place students (competency testing of students with
various methods)
 Readily adopting new technology
 Enabling students to learn objective methods of evaluating the works above
 Teacher’s responsibility is to teach skills and disciplined knowledge
 Teacher should be competent in a specific subject matter
 Teacher presenting ideas in a clear and consistent manner and demonstrating
that there are definite ways to judge works of art, music, poetry and literature.

Methods of instruction
  Lecture, question and answer (formal ways of teaching)
 Inductive and scientific reasoning
 Competency-based assessments as a way of ensuring that students learnt what
they are being taught
 Emphasis on critical reason aided by observation (our experiences) and
experimentation
 Stressing, precision and accuracy in math, science, social studies and writing
 Emphasizing realistic novels such as Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, For
Whom the Bell Tolls etc. to give life’s laws and principles and such novels are the
keys for students to reach the ideal world through material world

Curriculum

 Curriculum consists of the basics- math, science, reading etc.

 Attention is given to didactic and object studies in education (use of pictures, TV,
videos in educational process)
 Use of objects in education (Montessori)
 Emphasis is on subject matter (highly organized and systematic in approach)

Criticism

Empirical facts always subject to change

Essentialism

Related Educational Philosophy to Realism

Focus: Teach the common core, “the basics” of information and skills (cultural heritage)
need for citizenship. (Curriculum can change slowly)

Key Proponents

 William Bagley
 Arthur Bestor
 E.D. Hirsch
  Chester Finn
 Diane Ravitch
 Theodore Sizer

PRAGMATISM
Universe is dynamic and evolving. Purpose of thought is action. Truth is relative. The
key term here is evolving which means that when you evolve you change. So, when you
change, nothing can be permanent. Things change, nothing is permanent is the
pragmatism approach.

Focus: Experience

Originators

 Pierce
 Dewey

John Dewey is the most notable philosopher in the world of pragmatism and
progressivism. He stressed the importance of learning by doing, rather than the
traditional schooling method of learning by absorption. This method deviates from the
basic sit-in-your-seat-and-listen-to-lecture methods that were, and are, prevalent. His
model shaped the modern classroom that emphasizes activities in which students build
skills by using them.

Charles Sanders Peirce’s pragmatism is that for any statement to be meaningful, it must
have practical bearings. Peirce saw the pragmatic account of meaning as a method for
clearing up metaphysics and aiding scientific inquiry.

Goals of Education

 Primary goal of education is growth

  Education should not be looked upon merely as schooling and the acquisition of
academic subject matter but as a part of life itself
 School should balance the needs of the society and community on the one hand
and the needs of the students on the other
 Helping people direct, control and guide personal and social experience (self
actualization)
 Schools should foster habits of thought, invention and initiative
 Education should promote our true individualism (self-directed learning)
 Education has a moral influence and should play a vital part in helping us
become the kind of moral persons who are interested not only in promoting our
own growth but also in promoting the growth of others

Pragmatism

“Mental activity directed toward purposive adaptation to, selection and shaping of, real-
world environments relevant to one’s life.” – Robert Sternburg

Experimental intelligence focuses on a student’s adaptability in figuring out ways to

solve new problems. Defining experimental intelligence transcends the limitations of IQ
tests and similar intelligence tests, instead narrowing in on practical application. Intellect
cannot be measured by standardized testing, Sternburg argues, relying upon real world
use that isn’t measurable.

Role of Teacher

 Applies democratic methods

 Classroom is a community of learners
 Teacher encourages, offer suggestions, questions and helps plan and implement
the courses of study
 Teacher is facilitator no authoritarian
  Teacher writes curriculum and must have a command of several disciplines to
create and implement curriculum

Methods of Instruction

 Problem solving. experiential learning, inquiry methods, field trips, projects (not
all students can learn in the same way-vary strategies)
 Formal instruction is abandoned (flexible methods are used) moveable chairs,
freedom in class etc.
 Lockstep, rote memorization of traditional schools are replaced with
individualized studies
 Action-oriented education (activity oriented approach to curriculum)
 Learning in groups and individually

Curriculum

 Learner centered curriculum

 Pragmatist curriculum is composed of both process (experience) and content
(knowledge)
 All academic and vocational disciplines in an integrated and connected way
 Problem centered learning/project method: such approaches to curriculum start
with a central question, core/problem. Students attack the problem in diverse
ways according to interest and need. They work independently or in groups.
They evaluate their growth and development.
 Child interest to be considered in the curriculum. Varied needs, interests leading
to different curricula.

Progressivism

Related Educational Philosophy to Pragmatism

Focus: ideas should be tested by active experimentation. Learning rooted in questions

of learners in interaction with others. Experience3 and student centered.

Key Proponents
 John Dewey
 William Kilpatrick