Idan Bismanovsky

Educational Philosophy
As I entered the Elementary Education program through the
University of Arizona, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I had
plenty of experience working with children in educational settings, but
that was about it. Today, I am proud to say that I have began to form
my educational philosophy, and it will only continue to grow. My
philosophy consists of ideas and concepts from three different
educational philosophies, and those are: essentialism, progressivism,
and existentialism.
I have chosen these three philosophies to assist me on my
educational journey for many reasons. Essentialism is the only teachercentered philosophy that I took advice from, because a big part of me
believes that the students should be the center of their own learning
process. The parts of essentialism that I do agree with though, include
the back-to-basics approach, and some of the ideas of core curriculum.
As I stated earlier, I do believe students should be the center of their
own learning, but, that does not mean the students will not need
proper instruction and directions during that process. The back-tobasics approach is a very traditional classroom approach that is meant
to train the mind, promote reasoning, and ensure a common culture
among all Americans (79). I agree with training the mind and
promoting reasoning because these skills can take someone very far in

life; as for common culture, I believe every one should be free to their
own beliefs, but a common culture in the classroom is a key to a
successful classroom. Core curriculum focuses on the main school
subjects, which include science, history, math, foreign language, and
literature (80). I agree that these subjects should be at the foundation
of proper educations. The part that I do not agree with about core
curriculum is the frowning upon elective classes; I believe electives are
extremely beneficial and provide opportunities to learn skills that you
can transfer into a job/career.
The next philosophy that I have been influenced by is
progressivism. I love how this is a student-centered philosophy that
gives the perfect amount of freedom to students to learn in the most
welcoming environment. One of the ideas that really caught my
attention was how progressivists build their curriculum around the
students interests, abilities, and experiences (84). I also really like the
concept of pragmatism; I feel like this really allows students to expand
their minds and gain important experience. When I was an elementary
aged student, I hated sitting in classroom that had the traditional desk
set up with rows and columns. Groups/partners were always more
enjoyable and allowed us, as students, to hear others opinions and
ideas. When the time comes for me to have my own classroom, I will
definitely do my best to have a progressive classroom for my students

so they can enjoy their experience and still receive an effective

education.
The third philosophy that has inspired me to this day is
existentialism. Existentialism is also a student-centered philosophy,
but it focuses on helping children find meaning and direction in their
lives. One thing that I like about existentialism is how the curriculum
provides experiences to the children that help broaden their creativity
and self-expression (88). For many children school is their safe place,
so having a curriculum that will allow them to expand self-expression
and creativity, has the ability to impact lives forever.
As a teacher, it is your job to provide the best possible education
to your students in a way that will allow the students to have fun, but
acquire knowledge at the same time. When the day comes for me to
begin teaching students of my own, I will always remember my
educational philosophy and the ideas that I have gained from learning
about essentialism, progressivism, and existentialism.
I believe if I follow my philosophy, it will allow me to be an
effective teacher who provides leadership, an environment inclusive for
all students, and the opportunity for students to expand their
knowledge in countless amounts of way. As time goes on, my
philosophy will only continue to grow and change for the better.

Works Cited:

Sadker, David M., and Karen Zittleman. Teachers, Schools, and Society.
N.p.: McGraw-Hill, 2014. Print. The University of Arizona.