PED 701 Contemporary Philosophy of Education

ESCLETO, MARK KEVIN C.

MASE Bio 5-1

What philosophy/ies of education should I use to be a better educator in my field? Why?

In life it is important to understand who you are as a person, what you believe in and

what you hold to be real. These values are important because they dictate what you do in your

life as well as how you act and react to situations that you may face. This concept holds no less

importance or value in the profession of teaching. Who you are as a person and what you

believe in controls what you will be like as a teacher. Your philosophy as a teacher is important

because it leads to, among other aspects, exactly how you present yourself, your material and

how you develop you students. Figuring out what precisely your personal philosophy is helps

you to understand what kind of teacher you want to be (Reed, 2005).

Progressivism and existentialism are the two major ideologies that I believe I belong to.

Progressivism is a theory that believes that theories should be put to the test in order to

discover their truths. This theory also asserts that students' questions are extremely valuable

because they contribute to understanding. In its teaching, progressivism incorporates both

cross-disciplinary research and problem solving. In this regard, existentialism emphasizes the

importance of self-actualization, or understanding who you are before learning. Existentialism

emphasizes the importance of free will, choice, and the expression of one's own feelings. For a
variety of reasons, I believe I fall into one of these two groups. I've always considered myself a

free thinker who enjoys mixing and matching ideas.

What philosophy/ies of education must Filipino education adapt to aptly address its
challenges? Explain.

Across the years our educational system has been rocked by controversies which have

remained persistent up to this day. Amidst the welter of issues, two of them have managed to

stand out in importance: quality and relevance. The major difficulty in education in the

Philippines is the short-sighted policy of sacrificing the quality and quantity of education for

reasons of economy.

The key issues and problems in Philippine education which need further debate and

depth analysis as well as immediate resolution include the following: [1] Deteriorating quality of

education, [2] Colonial, feudal, imperial, commercial, and elitist orientation in Philippine

education, [3] Shortage of school buildings, textbooks and equipment, [4] Overworked and

underpaid teaching staff, [5] Bilingual policy and the problem of a national language, [6]

Mismatches, and [7] Globalization issue in education (https://www.imbalife.com).

Based on the above issues, I believe that it is not our educational philosophies that is

need to be change but on how we view education as a whole. The quality of education is
deteriorating not because our teachers are not good but because of the other factors that

contribute to the continuously failing educational system.