Armine Babayan

EDUC 5010 unit 2 Portfolio Assignment

My philosophical stance leans towards progressivism. Having gone through school with
essentialism as the philosophical view that defined the education system here in Uganda, I can
say that I truly did not have an enjoyable experience doing school. I vividly remember my first
term in secondary school, going to class I was overwhelmed after a week of class
at how many exercise books I had because of the many subjects we were
doing.

Having come out of primary school working on four subjects, here I was with eighteen. I
remember wondering how I was going to strike a balance and be able to produce good grades.
Throughout my first phase of secondary school, I did not excel in most of them. School required
us to cram concepts and not understand them. All I needed was a good mark to please my
teachers and mum. School was for them not for me.

Critical Thinking Skills;

I have encountered situations in my classroom where a student walks up

to me and asks a question about something. Instead of giving him an
answer right away, I ask the student what his view is concerning the question encouraging him
to think a bit more about how such a problem would be solved. All this is so I can trigger his
critical thinking abilities. If a situation arises where he cannot seem to figure it out, then I use
cues. I have seen students have what I call a “light bulb” moment where the mind suddenly
opens up with a brilliant idea and usually, they have said to me, “oh I now get it”. In an article on
the website, the writer says that “Rather than automatically giving answers to the questions your
child raises, help them think critically by asking questions in return” (“Developing critical,” n.d.).

Learning by doing;

Hands-on learning experiences are very life-changing and given the opportunity to get practical,
children will learn skills that will propel them forward in life and will not in situations where they
cannot try something out on their own. My son brought me a pair of pants that needed fixing.
Just when I was about to get them fixed for him, I realized if I did, then I would keep doing this
for most of his growing-up years. So instead of fixing them myself, I gave him a needle and
thread and showed him how to do it. Today, he does not ask me to fix anything torn; he does it
himself. As the saying goes, “You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach
him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.” This is very true and
progressivism approaches education this way and that is the same principle I want to continue
using in my class.
Discussions with classmates;

Students learn well when they interact with fellow students and through this engagement,
exchange of ideas takes place. As stated by Douma (2020), kids can support and learn from
each other with student partnerships. Whereas it will not be possible for students to have
access to their teachers, as classmates, they have each other. According to Gwanfogbe, (2011,
p. 197-198), “In the human species, motivation is primarily directed towards the survival of the
individual and often towards getting ahead of others, rather than towards maximizing the
general good of society. Yet moral values and norms favor prosocial behavior over selfishness”.
When students master the importance of cooperation, then society becomes a better place
starting from the classroom. As a teacher, I desire to see this attitude in my classroom;
togetherness for the good of all and not individualism that divides.

Interestingly, I have had many moments where through a class discussion session, I have
learned something new from my students which solidifies the fact that education is not about a
teacher who is a master of all knowledge and students as novices. Allowing this dialogue has
enabled me to see my students in a different light, understand how they think, and view life
giving me opportunities to get to know them better.

Lessons from global perspectives on the purpose of education;

From the global perspective, I do realize that nations are all at different levels in terms of
education and what they desire to achieve for their citizens. Looking at the Philippines, the
purpose of education was to eliminate illiteracy and through their national policies, they have
managed to do so. According to Abazov (2002, para. 4), the Philippines was able to achieve an
adult literacy rate of 94.8 percent. This is the same for Uganda however, unlike The Philippines,
our literacy levels are at 76.53%. It is possible that the Philippines are now tackling different
aspects while in Uganda, we are still working on reducing the margins of illiteracy to a
small percentage.

In conclusion, an education philosophy that promotes an individual’s uniqueness and gives them
the freedom to learn through expression and participating in practical activities learning with and
from other students is one I advocate for in my classroom. When students learn to work
together, engage in discussions and exercise critical thinking then the world becomes a
beautiful place filled with people who are not afraid to express themselves and yet also be able
to respect other people’s point of view. This can be learned in the classroom and that is my
responsibility as a teacher to ensure it happens.

References:

Abazov, R. (2002). Philippines—Education System. In K. Christensen & D. Levinson (Eds.),

Encyclopedia of Modern Asia (Vol. 4), Charles Scribner's Sons.
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3403702348/GVRL?u=lirn17237&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=9
518f2f6 Developing critical thinking skills in kids. (n.d.). Bright Horizons. Retrieved September
11, 2021.
https://www.brighthorizons.com/familyresources/developing-critical-thinking-skills-in-children
Douma, K. (2020, December 16). How to Help Students Develop the Skills
They Need to Complete Homework. Edutopia.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-helpstudents-develop-skills-they-need-complete-homework
Gwanfogbe, M. B. (2011). Africa's triple education heritage: A historical comparison. In
Nsamenang, A. B., & Tchombe, T. M. S. (Ed.). Handbook of
African educational theories and practices: a generative teacher education curriculum.
http://www.thehdrc.org/Handbook%20of%20African%20Educational%20Theories%20and%20Pr
actices.pdf