Teaching Profession
Seven philosophies of education:
Essentialism
Why teach? This philosophy contends that
teachers teach for learners to acquire basic
knowledge, skills and values. Teachers teach
"not to radically reshape society "but rather "to
transmit the traditional moral values and
intellectual knowledge that students need to
become model citizens."
What to teach - Essentialist programs are
academically rigorous. The emphasis is on
academic content for students to learn the
basic skills or the fundamental r's reading,
'riting, 'rithmetic, right conduct as these are
essential to the acquisition of higher or
morecomplex skills needed in preparation for
adult life. The essentialist curriculum includes
the "traditional disciplines such as math, natural
science, history, foreign language, and
literature. Essentialists frown upon vocational
courses... or other courses with 'watered down
'academic content... The teachers and
administrators decide what is most important
for the students to learn and place little
emphasis on student interests, particularly
when they divert time and attention from the
academic curriculum."
How to teach Essentialist teachers emphasize
mastery of subject matter. They are expected to
be intellectual and moral models of their
students. They are seen as "fountain" of
information and as "paragon of virtue", if ever
there is such a person. To gain mastery of basic
skills, teachers have to observe "core
requirements, longer school day, a longer
academic year..."
With mastery of academic content as primary
focus, teachers rely heavily on the use of
prescribed textbooks, the drill method and
other methods that will enable them to cover as
much academic content as possible. like the
lecture method. There is a heavy stress on
memorization and discipline.
Progressivism
Why teach Progressivist teachers teach to
develop learners into becoming enlightened
and intelligent citizens of a democratic society.
This group of teachers teaches learners so they
may live life fully NOW not to prepare them for
adult life.
What to teach - The progressivists are identified
with need-based and relevant curriculum. This
is a curriculum that "responds to students'
needs and that relates to students' personal
lives and experiences."
Progressivists accept the impermanence of life
and the inevitability of change. For the
progressivists, everything else changes. Change
is the only thing that does not change. Hence,
progressivist teachers are more concerned with
teaching the learners the skills to cope with
change. Instead of occupying themselves with
teaching facts or bits of information that are
true today but become obsolete tomorrow,
they would rather focus their teaching on the
teaching of skills or processes in gathering and
evaluating information and in problem solving.
Progressivists accept the impermanence of life
and the inevitability of change. For the
progressivists, everything else changes. Change
is the only thing that does not change.
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The perennialist curriculum is a universal one
on the view that all human beings possess the
same essential nature. It is heavy on the
humanities, on general education. It is not a
specialist curriculum but rather a general one.
There is less emphasis on vocational and
technical education.
The subjects that are given emphasis in
progressiv schools are the "natural and social
sciences. Teachers expose students to many
new scientific, technological, and social
developments, reflecting the progressivist notic
that progress and change are fundamental. In
addition students solve problems in the
classroom similar to those they will encounter
outside of the schoolhouse."
How to teach Progressivist teachers employ
experiential methods. They believe that one
learns by doing. For John Dewey, the most
popular advocate of progressivism, book
learning is no substitute for actual experience.
One experiential teaching method that
progressivist teachers heavily rely on is the
problem-solving method. This problem-solving
method makes use of the scientific method.
(You will learn more of this in your Principles
and Strategies of Teaching.)
Other "hands-on-minds-on-hearts-on" teaching
methodology that progressivist teachers use are
field trips during which students interact with
nature or society. Teachers also stimulate
students through thought-provoking games,
and puzzles.
Perennialism
Why teach We are all rational animals. Schools
should, therefore, develop the students'
rational and moral powers. According to
Aristotle, if we neglect the students' reasoning
skills, we deprive them of the ability to use their
higher faculties to control their passions and
appetites.
What to teach - The perennialist curriculum is a
universal one on the view that all human beings
possess the same essential nature. It is heavy
on the humanities, on general education. It is
not a specialist curriculum but rather a general
one. There is less emphasis on vocational and
technical education. Philosopher Mortimer
Adler claims that the "Great Books of ancient
and medieval as well as modern times are a
repository of knowledge and wisdom, a
tradition of culture which must initiate each
generation". What the perennialist teachers
teach are lifted from the Great Books.
The perennialist curriculum is a universal one
on the view that all human beings possess the
same essential nature. It is heavy on the
humanities, on general education. It is not a
specialist curriculum but rather a general one.
There is less emphasis on vocational and
technical education.
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How to teach The perennialist classrooms are
"centered around teachers". The teachers do
not allow the students interests or experiences
to substantially dictate what they teach. They
apply whatever creative techniques and other
tried and true methods which are believed to
be most conducive to disciplining the students'
minds, Students engaged in Socratic dialogues,
or mutual inquiry sessions to develop an
understanding of history's most timeless
concepts".
Existentialism
Why teach The main concern of the
existentialists is "to help students understand
and appreciate themselves as unique
individuals who accept complete responsibility
for their thoughts, feelings and actions". Since
'existence precedes essence', the existentialist
teacher's role is to help students define their
own essence by exposing them to various paths
they take in life and by creating an environment
in which they freely choose their own preferred
way. Since feeling is not divorced from reason
in decision making, the existentialist demands
the education of the whole person, not just the
mind."
What to teach - "In an existentialist curriculum,
students are given a wide variety of options
from which to choose." Students are afforded
great latitude in their choice of subject matter.
The humanities, however, are given
tremendous emphasis to "provide students
with vicarious experiences that will help
unleash their own creativity and self-
expression. For example, rather than
emphasizing historical events, existentialists
focus upon the actions of historical individuals,
each of whom provides possible models for the
students' own behavior. ...Moreover, vocational
education is regarded more as a means of
teaching students about themselves and their
potential than of earning a livelihood. In
teaching art, existentialism encourages
individual creativity and imagination more than
copying and imitating established models."
The main concern of the existentialists is to help
students understand and appreciate themselves
as unique individuals who accept complete
responsibility for their thoughts. feelings and
actions". Since 'existence precedes essence' the
existentialist teacher's role is to help students
define their own essence by exposing them to
various paths they take in life and by creating
an environment in which they freely choose
their own preferred way.
individual Leaming is self-paced, self-directed. It
include a great deal of individual contact with
the teacher, who relates to each student openly
and honestly. To help students know
themselves and their place in society, teachers
employ values clarification strategy. In the use
of such strategy, teachers remain non-
judgmental and take care not to impose their
values on their students since values are
personal."
Behaviorism
Why teach - Behaviorist schools are concerned
with the modification and shaping of students'
behavior by providing for a favorable
environment, since they believe that they are a
product of their environment. They are after
students who exhibit desirable behavior in
society.
What to teach - Because behaviorists look at
"people and other animals... as complex
combinations of matter that act only in
response to internally or externally generated
physical stimuli", behaviorist teachers teach
students to respond favorably to various stimuli
in the environment.
How to teach - Behaviorist teachers "ought to
arrange environmental conditions so that
students can make. the responses to stimuli.
Physical variables like light, temperature,
arrangement of furniture, size and quantity of
visual aids have to be controlled to get the
desired responses from the learners. ...
Teachers ought to make the stimuli clear and
interesting to capture and hold the learners'
attention. They ought to provide appropriate
incentives to reinforce positive responses and
weaken or eliminate negative ones."
(Trespeces, 1995)
Linguistic philosophy
Why teach To develop the communication skills
of the learner because the ability to articulate,
to voice out the meaning and values of things
that one obtains from his/ her experience of life
and the world is the very essence of man. It is
through his/her ability to express himself/.
herself clearly, to get his/her ideas across, to
make known to others the values that he/she
has imbibed, the beauty that he/she has seen,
the ugliness that he rejects and the truth that
he/she has discovered. Teachers teach to
develop
What to teach- Learners should be taught to
communicate clearly how to send clear, concise
messages and how to receive and correctly
understand messages sent. Communication
takes place in three (3) ways nonverbal, and
paraverbal. Verbal component refers to verbal.
the content of our message, the choice and
arrangement of our words. This can be oral or
written. Nonverbal component refers to the
message we send through our body language
while paraverbal component refers to how we
say what we say the tone, pacing and volume of
our voices.
There is need to teach learners to use language
that is correct, precise, grammatical, coherent,
accurate so that they are able to communicate
clearly and precisely their thoughts and
feelings. There is need to help students expand
their vocabularies to enhance their
communication skills. There is need to teach the
learners how to communicate clearly through
non-verbal means and consistently though
para-verbal means.
There is need to caution the learners of the
verbal and non-verbal barriers to
communication.
Teach them to speak as many languages as you
can. The more languages one speaks, the better
he/she can communicate with the world. A
multilingual has an edge over the monolingual
or bilingual.
How to teach - The most effective way to teach
language and communication is the experiential
way. Make them experience sending and
receiving messages through verbal, non-verbal
and para-verbal manner. Teacher should make
the classroom a place for the interplay of minds
and hearts. The teacher facilitates dialogue
among learners and between him/her and
his/her students because in the exchange of
words there is also an exchange of ideas.
Constructivism
Why teach - To develop intrinsically motivated
and independent learners adequately equipped
with learning skills for them to be able to
construct knowledge and
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make meaning of them.
What to teach The learners are taught how to
learn They are taught learning processes and
skills such as searching, critiquing and
evaluating information, relating these pieces of
information, reflecting on the same. making
meaning out of them, drawing insights, posing
questions, researching and constructing new
knowledge out of these bits of information
learned.
How to teach. In the constructivist classroom,
the teacher provides students with data or
experiences that allow them to hypothesize,
predict, manipulate objects. pose questions,
research, investigate, imagine, and invent The
constructivist classroom is interactive. It
promotes dialogical exchange of ideas among
learners and between teacher and learners. The
teacher's role is to facilitate this process.
Knowledge isn't a thing that can be simply
deposited by the teacher into the empty minds
of the learners. Rather, knowledge is
constructed by learners through an active,
mental process of development; learners are
the builders and creators of meaning and
knowledge. Their minds are not empty. Instead,
their minds are full of ideas waiting to be
"midwifed" by the teacher with his/ her skillful
facilitating skills.
We have a very rich philosophical heritage. But
only seven philosophies were discussed here:
essentialism, progressivism, perennialism,
existentialism, behaviorism, linguistic
philosophy and constructivism. The rest are
assigned to you as research work. The seven
philosophies differ in their concepts of the
learner and values, in why do we teach
(objectives), what should be taught (curriculum)
and how should the curriculum be taught
(teaching strategies. However, there exist also
some similarities among the philosophies.
These you will see more as you proceed to the
activities.
The Foundational Principles of Morality and
You
When you carry out acts of kindness you get a
wonderful feeling inside. It is as though
something inside your body responds and says,
yes, this is how I ought to feel. - Unknown
for someone once wrote of teachers: "Even on
your worst day on expects much from you, the
teacher. Henry Brooks Adams said it succinctly:
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell
where his influence stops."
For you to be able to cope with these
expectations you should be anchored on a
bedrock foundation of moral and ethical
principles. Let us begin this lesson by defining
what morality is.
What is morality?
As defined by one textbook author, morality
refers to "the quality of human acts by which
we call them right or wrong, good or evil."
(Panizo, 1964) Your human action is right when
it conforms with the norm, rule, or law of
morality. Otherwise it is said to be wrong. For
instance, when Juan gets the pencil of Pedro
without the latter's permission, Juan's action is
wrong because it is contrary to the norm,
"stealing is wrong". A man's action, habit or
character is good when it is not lacking of what
is natural to man, i.e. when it is in accordance
with man's nature. For instance, it is not natural
for man to behave like a beast because he is not
a beast. He is man and, unlike the beast, he has
intellect and free will. That intellect makes him
capable of thinking, judging and reasoning. His
free will gives him the ability to choose. Unlike
the beasts, he is not bound by instincts. It is a
natural occurrence for beasts when a male dog
meets a female dog on the street and mate
right there and then as they are not free but
bound by their instinct, like sexual instinct. But
it is contrary to man's nature when a man and a
woman do as the dogs do. To do so is to go
down to the level of the beast.
Meaning of foundational moral principle:
What is meant by foundational moral principle?
The word principle comes from the Latin word
princeps which means a beginning, a source. A
principle is that on which something is based,
founded, originated, initiated. It is likened to
the foundation of a building upon which all
other parts stand. If we speak of light, the
principle is the sun because the sun is the body
from which the light. of this world originate. A
foundational moral principle is, therefore, the
universal norm upon which all other principles
on the rightness or wrongness of an action are
based. It is the source of morality.
Where is this foundational moral principle? It is
contained in the natural law. Many moralists,
authors, and philosophers may have referred to
this foundational moral principle in different
terms. But it may be acceptable to all believers
and non-believers alike to refer to it as natural
law.
What is the natural law? It is the law "written in
the hearts of men". (Romans 2:15) For theists, it
is "man's share in the Eternal Law of God..."
(Panizo, 1964) St. Thomas defines it as "the light
of natural reason, whereby we discern what is
good and what is evil... an imprint on us of the
divine light..." (Panizo, 1964) It is the law that
says: "Do good and avoid evil." THIS IS THE
FUNDAMENTAL OR FOUNDATIONAL MORAL
PRINCIPLE.
All men and women, regardless of race and
belief, have a sense of this foundational moral
principle. It is ingrained in man's nature. “ It is
built into the design of human nature and
woven into the fabric of the normal human
mind." We are inclined to do what we recognize
as good and avoid that which we recognize as
evil.
Panizo says: "Writings, customs, and
monuments of past and present generations
point out to this conclusion: that all peoples on
earth, no matter how savage and illiterate, have
recognized a supreme law of divine origin
commanding good and forbidding evil" (Panizo,
1964) The same thing was said by the Chinese
philosopher, Mencius, long ago:
All men have a mind which cannot bear [to see
the suffering of] others... If now men suddenly
see a child about to fall into a well, they will
without exception experience a feeling of alarm
and distress... From this case we may perceive
that he who lacks the feeling of commiseration
is not a man; that he who lacks a feeling of
shame and dislike is not a man; he who lacks a
of modesty and yielding is not a man; and that
he who lacks a sense of right and wrong is not a
man.... Man has these four beginnings... (Fung
Yulan, 1948, 69-70) The natural law that says
"do good and avoid evil" comes in differe
versions. Kung-fu-tsu said the same when he
taught: "Do not do others what you do not like
others to do to you." This is also th Golden rule
of Christianity only that it is written in the
positive form "Do to others what you like others
do to you." Immanuel Kant version is "Act in
such a way that your maxim can be the maxim f
all." For Christians, this Golden Rule is made
more explicit throug the Ten Commandments
and the Eight Beatitudes. These are summe up
in the two great commandments, "love God
with all your hear with all your mind, with all
your strength" and "love your neighb as you
love yourself." The Buddhists state this through Eight Beatitudes are summarized in the two
the eightfold path. For the Buddhists, they do great commandments of love for God and love
good when they "(1) strive to know the truth; for neighbor.
(2) resolve to resist evil; (3) say nothing to hurt
others; (4) respect life, morality, and property; Our act is moral when it is in accordance with
our human nature. Our act is immoral when it is
(5) engage in a job that does not injure others;
(6) strive to free their mind of evil; (7) control contrary to our human nature. Our intellect and
free will make us different from and above the
their feelings and thoughts, and (😎 practice
beast.
proper forms of concentration" (World Book
Encyclopedia, 1988) Buddha taught that "hatred
does not cease by hatred; hatred ceases only by
love." The Islamic Koran "forbids lying, stealing, As a teacher, you are expected to be a person
adultery, and murder" It also teaches "honor for of good moral character. You are a person of
parents, kindness to slaves, protection for the good moral character when you are 1) human,
orphaned and the widowed, and charity to the 2) loving, 3) virtuous, and 4) mature.
poor. It teaches the virtues of faith in God,
patience, kindness, honesty, industry, honor,
courage, and generosity. It condemns mistrust,
impatience and cruelty." (World Book
Encyclopedia, 1988). Furthermore, the Muslims
abide by The Five Pillars of Islam: 1) prayer, 2)
self-purification by fasting, 3) fasting, 4)
almsgiving and 5) pilgrimage to Mecca for those
who can afford.
(www.islam101.com/dawal/pillars.html) author
describe being fully hu as a human p an
unselfish God, 3) bein and attitudes and 4)
being development.

by different people. The famous Chinese

philosopher, Kung-fu-tzu taught the same
principle when he said: "Do not do to others
what you do not like others do to you."
Immanuel Kant taught the same: Act in such a
way that your rule can be the principle of all"
The Buddhists abide by the same moral
principle in their Eightfold Path. The Muslims
have this foundational moral principle laid
down in their Koran and the Five Pillars. For the
Christians, the Bible shows the way to the good
life the Ten Commandments and the Eight
Beatitudes. The Ten Commandments and the