REFLECTION

“Education is not preparation for life: Education is life itself” –John Dewey. John Dewey
was one of the most famous educators of the 2th century and he was able to see the
extraordinary value of the unremarkable everyday experience for young children. With his
observation in the education of the young children, he was able to come up with the new
philosophy theories of education which is called Pragmatism. On this philosophy, he believes
that problems experienced by the students must be emphasized rather than theoretical
problems from the textbooks. He advocated varying instructional methods, including
experiments.

This concept comes alive in my experience of teaching and learning through what I
believed with “Education is a continuous process.” Being a teacher to these young generations,
I need to be updated of what the world can offer to our future leaders. It can be with the use of
the new technologies, personal experiences and practical exercises. Whatever I had learned in
the past does not stop me there because the continuity of my experiences is essential to my
growth and at the same time to my students. Through my experiences, I was able to see and
correct the mistakes that I have done. This give me an idea that being a teacher of the 21 st
century, we are not supposed to adapt anymore the traditional way of teaching or following the
fixed method of teaching since the “zellenial” generations right now are more on experimental
and they learn more through action or anything they can do with their life experiences.
Moreover, this philosophy in terms of work gives satisfaction and pleasure both to the students
and teachers because the learning is more on real- life situation.

Students nowadays easily learns the lesson if we inculcate the learning in a real- life
situation. Children must be interested in a topic in order to have a meaningful connection to be
made and optimal learning to occur. Learners
are more active and they learn more in the class when there is collaboration, creativity,
critical thinking and communication. Gone are the days that the students are just learning within
the four corners of the classroom. With these 21st skills strategies, the students will be able to
learn how to socialize with their classmates and be able to learn how to develop self-control.
With all of the new strategies right now, I am not just helping the students to learn on their own
but at the same time I will be able to motivate the students that learning is fun and there is no
reason for them to be afraid of.

With all of these insights, pragmatism is not a set of doctrines but a way of approaching
philosophy. It emphasized replacing rote, habitual responses with thoughtful. Let our future
generations learn with an open environment. Do not let our future generation to be stocked
inside the four corners of our classroom using the traditional method. Let them led, explore and
succeed. And always remember that “Education and life are interrelated, not separate.”

By: Evita V. Erive

Teacher III