Philosophic Inventory for

Kaitlyn Vittorino
Edu 201-1003
Introduction to Elementary Education
College of Southern Nevada
09-20-2020
 MY SCORES
SCORE PHILOSOPHY SCORE

ESSENTIALISM 21

BEHAVIORISM 10

PROGRESSIVISM 18

EXISTENTIALISM 17

PERRENIALISM 16

RECONSTRUCTIONISM 11
ESSENTIALISM BEHAVIORISM PROGRESSIVISM
EXISTENTIALISM PERENNIALISM RECONSTRUCTIONISM
ESSENTIALISM
Essentialism is a traditional educational concept which focuses on what it considers to be “the basics”. It holds
that every student finishing school should have the basic intellectual and moral skills required to function in
society. It focuses solely on traditional disciplines such as math, science, history, literature, etc., as well as social
skills such as respect for authority, consideration for others, and perseverance. Aiming to train students to be
the most productive citizens that they can be, it often neglects to include important education in the arts and
other vocational areas of study. It follows a passive learning model in which the teacher lectures while the
students take notes and memorize information which they will later be tested on. Essentialism relies almost
solely on test scores for evaluation of student knowledge. The role of an essentialist education is to prepare its
students for more complex knowledge and skills. To those who firmly hold an essentialist belief, this style of
teaching encourages practical and logical minds. It does not rely on critical thinking so much as mastery of
coursework. Some positives to this style are that students learn discipline in their education, they master the
basic knowledge of society in turn laying the foundation for almost any area or field, and it provides a stability
in the classroom that students can rely on. The negative qualities are that it leaves little room for students who
learn in different ways, it hinders critical thinking and creativity, and it prevents students from being active in
social change which in turn can prevent a standstill for social issues and justice.
(Introduction to Elementary Education, Forrest W. Parkway, Pg. 116,
https://www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/essentialism.html)
Throughout this exercise, I have learned that I have a relatively well-rounded approach to
education. While I lean more toward traditionalist views and absolute truths, I see the positive and
negative points for each education philosophy which I believe will allow me to easily educate each
student, no matter how they learn best. I lean most toward essentialism because I believe that
there are some basic skills that every student should possess when they finish school. I stray,
however, from essentialism in that I believe in the need for the arts in our lives and the
irreplaceable education that is achieved by doing and experimenting with knowledge rather than
simply believing something because you are told to. My weakest philosophy is reconstructionism.
While I believe that students should be given the critical thinking skills that will allow them to make
changes in social atmosphere as young adults, I don’t believe that the school system should be
responsible for creating such views. I aim to create confident critical thinkers, but I don’t wish to
create or mold views or fix social issues directly from the classroom. I find that my personal views
align very well to the educational philosophy of the Clark County School District. CCSD believes in a
loving environment for its students while also understanding the importance of discipline.