Running head: Educational Philosophy

Educational Philosophy Paper

Ryan Moore
EDU 202
Dr. Vartouhi Asherian
March 13, 2016

Educational Philosophy

EDU 202 Educational Philosophy Paper

I am choosing to pursue a career as an educator because I strongly believe that
knowledge is power. However knowledge is much more than just a tool to unlocking the many
complexities of this world, knowledge is the fruit of life. Over the course of my educational
career I have had a handful of teachers and professors whom have both inspired me as a student
and assured me that this is the career I wish to pursue in my lifetime. Aside from learning, my
favorite part of school was always getting the opportunity to not only share my own knowledge,
but also spread the things that I have learned to friends, family, and anyone else Ive met. I
believe that the desire to want to spread knowledge throughout the world through the youth of
tomorrows generation, and those to come after is the most valuable skill a teacher can have. If
the want to teach lies at the foundation of my knowledge or skill set, everything else will come
naturally due to the fact that I will truly be doing something I enjoy to do. Aside from my
mentality towards the importance of teaching, I am also very tech-savvy, and have an evergrowing love for reading. I am able to assert my authority without doing so in a crass manner. I
am currently still in the field observation but it did open a fresh set of eyes when looking at the
profession, because up until this point I had only every observed teachers as a student of the
teacher, rather than an actual observer.
The educational philosophy that dictates my current beliefs about education is the Social
Reconstructionist. This also answers the next question of how my knowledge of the historical
events sets the stage for how I will think about children and schools. As a Social
Reconstructionist, my main goal is to shed light on the injustices and inequalities of the world by
both intellectually inform and emotionally stir students (169). Now, the past tends to have a
history of repeating itself, and as an educator I will base lessons that really focus in on the dark

Educational Philosophy

corners of American history such as racism, slavery, gender inequalities, discrimination against
those of other sexual orientations, and other human rights violations. My main goal is to see a
child go on after my class and make a positive change in this world. If during my time as an
educator, I inspire at least one child to go on and do something that changes this world in a
positive way, then that is truly the best mark I can leave on this planet through my profession.
The strategy I will implement most is thought provoking discussions that not only
encourage students to dive deep into their brains, but deeply think about the world in which they
live in. I want students to understand the importance of unity, and feel a desire to make the world
a better place. I will use this because through my years in school I always valued discussions like
these because they really helped me and the other students in the class realize how smart we can
be if we actually sit and critically think about a subject. Students will often times work in groups
and present in front of class regularly. Through this I hope to get the students open and
comfortable with one another. I have to often been found myself in a classroom with people who
are very uncomfortable with working together or contributing to class discussions because the
teacher stress individuality. However, I believe that learning is a group effort. If a student does
not understand something, then the opportunity for another student to explain it arises. This is
truly one of the best-case scenarios because not only is one student learning but the other is
teaching, which is one of the best ways to retain information. As for assessment, I will use short
quizzes to make sure the students have read the desired text, however the quizzes will not
destroy the students grade if they forget to read on a few occasions. Final exams will cover
material that was talked about during the semester and will require that students have read, and
critically thought about the matter prior to the exam.

Educational Philosophy

To move forward with this career is need to possess such qualities as patience,
knowledgeable, and empathy. These are all important to remember but the thought that I will
take with me to work everyday is I at one point was in their shoes. By doing this I will
remember to be patient, knowledgeable and empathetic all at the same time. I understand for
some students, school is not their cup of tea, but by creating fun, thought provoking lesson plans
even those who do not see the importance in school will see the importance in being
knowledgeable, because as I stated at the beginning of this paper, it is the fruit of life. From this
point until my first day as an educator, I plan to read more books than I previously thought
possible, continue to volunteer at any place I can, and remind myself everyday that this
profession is the most important thing I can do.
There are five Educational Philosophies, however there are two that are teacher-centered,
and three that are student-centered. The teacher-centered philosophies aim to transfer knowledge,
information, and skills from older generations to those of the newer generations. These
philosophies are based around the premise that the older generation is wiser and are essentialism,
and its cousin perennialism. The three student-centered philosophies are not based around an
authoritarian instruction of the past; rather the individual and contemporary needs for the
changing world. The three philosophies are progressivism, social reconstructionism, and
existentialism.
The first of the teacher-centered Educational Philosophies, essentialism teaches the
accumulated knowledge of our civilization through core courses in the traditional academic
disciplines (162). Essentialist teachers use back-to-basics approach to ensure a common culture
by training the mind and promoting reasoning. Those who associate with this philosophy want to
arm students with what they feel are the essentials of academic knowledge, patriotism, and

Educational Philosophy

character development. Electives have no place in a essentialist school. In the 1930s William
Bagley popularized the term essentialism, and it since has been the driving influence on
American education. Essentialism has been driven by events such as the Russian launching of
Sputnik, A Nation at Risk, the No Child Left Behind Act, the economic competition at the global
stage, and increased immigration into the United States. E. D. Hirsch Jr. was a strong advocate
for common curriculum, as he explained in Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to
Know and The Knowledge Deficit. An activity that one might find is an essentialist classroom is a
teacher lead lecture and power point on a certain subject where the teacher serves as the
intellectual and moral role model of the classroom.
The other teacher-centered philosophy, perennialism is very closely related to
essentialism. Perennialism differs from essentialism in that it does not require students to absorb
a large amount of factual information; they even criticize essentialists for doing such.
Perennialists use Great Books, or those works of histories finest thinkers and writers. These
schools are based around books, ideas and concepts. Robert Hutchins introduced the Great
Books program as the president of the University of Chicago. Perennial education has found its
place, according to Richard D. Mosier as a secure resting place for those wro[sic] lacked faith in
the progressive recipe for educational problems (1951). The word perennial means
everlasting so it makes sense that this is the antithesis to progressivism. Just like essentialism,
perennialism does away with electives; rather it focuses the student on reading harder and harder
books to find the everlasting ideas found in the Great Books. Mortimer Adler took this idea to
another level by proposing in his 1982 Paideia Proposal. An activity that one could find in a
perennial classroom would be the reading of works from Charles Dickens.

Educational Philosophy

The first of the student-centered is progressivism. This philosophy is organized around

concerns, curiosity, and real-world experience of students. Teachers help students ask meaningful
questions that require critical thinking strategies to get an answer. The textbook Teachers
Schools, and Society states, Progressivism is the educational application of a philosophy called
pragmatism (2016). John Dewey is probably the most influential force behind progressivism in
education. He taught that people learn best when socially interacting with the real world. He
believed that students should master the scientific method in order to face the ever-changing
world. In a progressive classroom, an activity that one would see is students working in groups to
tackle different sections of a chapter, and then presenting the findings in front of the class.
Progressive schools are very fond of electives, because it tailors the educational pathway to the
students needs, interests and abilities.
Next, social resconsrtuctionism, is the encouragement of schools, teachers, and students
to focus studies on the social inequalities of the world. However, it is just as simple as pointing
out the wrongs of the world, social reconstructionists aim to reconstruct society for the better. J.
M. Giarelli says, At the core of all varieties of social reconstructionism is a belief in using
democratic methods to extend the democratic ideal to schools, culture, the economy, and
politics (1996). The social reconstructionist philosophy implies that school is the ideal place to
being fixing social problems. Some activities found in a social reconstructionist classroom could
be reading a book that deals with the harsh reality of war, which could give the students an
incentive to start a webpage that spreads peace in a articulate and meaningful manner. Students
could also be seen working in groups each dealing with a contemporary issue found in the news.
The fifth and final educational philosophy, existentialism is the most student-centered
philosophy of the bunch. Its highest priority is student-directed learning. W. R. Niblett best

Educational Philosophy

explains this philosophy as thinking like his which does not consider a situation from the
outside, as something to be analyzed, but rather as one in which the thinker is himself all the time
involved and for which he must take responsibility (1954). Existentialists call the inner voice
that guides the students to their path is our essence. This philosophy encourages students to think
of themselves as unique beings, full of potential. In an existential classroom students may be
reading things they deem important, or focusing on their arts, and practicing mathematics, all at
their own pace while evaluating the significance of what they are doing in regards to their overall
education.
As stated before, my educational philosophy that I not only scored highest on the
inventory results, but also firmly believe in is social reconstructionist.

Educational Philosophy

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References

Giarelli, J. M. (1996). Reconstructionism, Social. In J. Chambliss (Ed.), Philosophy of

education: An encyclopedia. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?
url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/routpe/reconstructionism_social/0
Niblett, W. R.. (1954). On Existentialism and Education. British Journal of Educational Studies,
2(2), 101111. http://doi.org/10.2307/3118307
Mosier, R. D.. (1951). Perennialism in Education. History of Education Journal, 2(3), 8085.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3659188
Sadker, D.M., & Zittleman, K.R. (2009). Teachers, Schools,
and Society--A Brief Introduction to Ed (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.