My Philosophy of

Teaching: Its
Significance in
Achieving Aims of
Education
By
Merlyn P. Sainz
 Introduction:
Behind every school and
every teacher is a set of
related beliefs--a
philosophy of education--
that influences what and
how students are taught. A
philosophy of education
represents answers to
questions about the
purpose of schooling, a
teacher's role, and what
should be taught and by
what methods.
 Progressivism
•Believes that education should
focus on the whole child rather
than on the content or the
teacher
•This educational philosophy
stresses that students should
test ideas by active
experimentation.
 •The scientific method. Students are
expected to pursue answers to their
questions
through problem solving and critical thinking,
and are rarely expected to find their
answers in a book.
•Intrinsic motivation. Rote memorization is
discouraged because students don’t see
what they’re doing as intrinsically valuable—
they simply have to take the teacher’s
word for it and work toward extrinsic results.
 The progressivism philosophy of
education stresses the following:
•Experiential learning. Progressive
schools give children the chance to
learn by doing. Art rooms, wood-
working shops, kitchens, and
science laboratories are
features of progressive schools.
 Reconstructionism

•The idea of reconstructionism

focus on the crisis in our society.

The social reconstructionism

philosophy of education stresses
the following:
 •Improving and reforming
society. Social reconstructionists
emphasize that
education can change the world for
the better. School is seen as the
logical place
to inform citizens at a young age
and avoid societal problems.
 •Social purpose. Social
reconstructionists see experiential
learning as having a
broad scope. School projects, for
example, aren’t devised to satisfy
individual
needs—they’re designed to instill habits
and values that are useful to the
greater
community. Students are encouraged to
think about local, national, and
international issues.
 •Democracy in the classroom. Social
reconstructionism in education
encourages
teachers to guide a meaningful dialogue
among students, but not to tell children
how to think or what to believe.
international issues.

Teachers are facilitators of discussion;

their role is
to get students invested in society’s
issues while encouraging analysis and
suggesting new perspectives.
PROGRESSIVISM RECONSTRUCTIONISM

Productive member of a society