EDEC 260 Final Assignment: Option B

Professor Boyd White

Alexandra Cadillo - 260871564

November 15, 2018

Determining one’s educational philosophy is not an easy task, however, it is the first step

in the professional field of becoming an effective educator (Conti, 2007, p. 20). Educational
philosophies are important because they structure a teacher’s beliefs, values and attitudes that

reflect their teaching styles (Conti, 2007, p. 21). For the purpose of this essay, Tan’s (2006)

connections between educational philosophies and theories will be used when discussing the

philosophies present in Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip and the development of my own.

Jones’ (2006) Mister Pip highlights two important educational philosophies; idealism and

progressivism. The idealism that is present in Mr.Watts’ classroom is not a direct reflection of

him as an educator, but rather as a result of the social, cultural and political context of

Bougainville. Bougainville is an underdeveloped island in the middle of a civil war and thus a

formal education system is lacking. Once Mr. Watts takes position as the town’s teacher, he is at

perceived as a mystery to the islanders. Eventually he becomes highly respected due to his

natural ability to teach.

The community of Bougainville had little access to books, making Mr. Watts the first to

read to his class in English (Jones, 2006, p. 20). Due to their low academic level, Mr. Watts took

the steps to help the students develop cognitively. He focused on philosophy, history and

literature, all of which are components of an idealist approach in education (Tan, 2006, p. 20).

Although not a religious man, it was important for Mr. Watts to touch upon this topic since most

of the villagers were religious. Particularly religious was Matilda’s mother, Dolores, who spoke

about faith when invited to the classroom Jones, 2006, p. 42). In an idealist educational setting,

religion is crucial in developing “individual’s abilities and full moral excellence (Cohen, 1999).

Mr. Watts never imposed his views on the students, and through an idealist lens, “set a good

example by being knowledgeable, modelling the spirit of inquiry and living out the desirable

moral qualities” (Tan, 2006, p. 24). This is proven when Mr. Watts eventually gains the trust of

the people of Bougainville, including his biggest skeptic, Dolores.

 It is important to understand that while Mr. Watts does not regard himself as superior to

the population of Bougainville, he is still perceived as an idealist teacher “who is respected for

his […] knowledge of the absolute and universal ideas” (Tan, 2006, p. 23). While Mr. Watts’

choice of only using Great Expectations to teach the students is likely due to the limited access to

educational tools, it follows an idealist way of thought that, “favour[s] an education through a

study of great men - the “heroes”” (Holmes, 1967, p. 104). Mr. Watts’ uses his experience

beyond the island as a way to “encourage the students to understand […] ideas and think for

themselves” (Tan, 2006 p. 23). He is not preoccupied with examination. The Socratic Method of

teaching falls under the idealist educational philosophy and can be defined as having the teacher

stimulate the learner’s awareness through asking a series of leading questions (Tan, 2006, p. 23).

Mr. Watts mimics this type of learning method by questioning the students in his classroom but

also by asking them to “rewrite” the Great Expectations after it is destroyed in the fire. Idealism

emphasizes on the notion that, “ideas are the only true reality” (Cohen, 1999), therefore

considering that the students have never left the island, their ideas of the external world that Mr.

Watts has helped them develop, remains all they know.

Although not formally trained as an educator, it can be argued that Mr. Watts’ has an

established educational philosophy that can be defined as progressivist. Mr. Watts’ set of values

are selfless and embedded with trust, with his primary focus on the wellbeing of his students.

Having a student-focused curriculum is the bedrock of progressivism (Cohen, 1999). As a

progressivist, Mr. Watts understands that a learner makes meaning through their own

individualized cultural and physical experience (Cohen, 1999). To elaborate, at the end of the

book, it is discovered by Matilda that Mr. Watts had altered Great Expectations, which can be

seen as a means for Mr. Watts to accommodate to the environment of his students (Jones, 2006,
p. 226). Mr Watts cares about his students and in the end gains their trust. He does this by

inviting the students’ family members to help teach the class, acknowledging that as a white

man, he has very different life experiences than his students. In addition, despite the fact that Mr.

Watts does not portray himself as a person of power in his classroom, he is respected by his

pupils. Similarly, progressivists also dismiss the teacher as a form of an authoritarian figure

because the model is child-focussed (Tan, 2006, p. 33). He gains this respect by being vulnerable

since the first day of class, admitting that he is not a teacher, but also promising his students that

he will do his best (Jones, 2006, p. 18). The notion of vulnerability is important because in order

for educators to reduce their vulnerability in the classroom, they often take advantage of their

authoritative capacity which leads to a disconnect from their students (Palmer, 1998, p. 17). Mr.

Watts does the opposite, and by truly being himself, respectfully gains authority in the

classroom.

After carefully examining the many different educational philosophies, what seemed

most relatable was a reconstructionist approach. Getting to this conclusion required a lot of

reflection, particularly on the values that I have developed throughout my educational journey.

Although only in my first semester in education, I have already completed my bachelor’s degree

in political science, which has given me insight on many global issues. Also, I have been

fortunate enough to travel quite extensively in recent years and experience different cultures. In

terms of academia, the most affecting classes I took throughout my undergrad were comparative

politics, which involved examining the different political parts the world, but inevitably also

considering various cultures. As a result, the personal value I developed, and find to be most

important, is empathy. As cliché as it may sound, educating students to be accepting and tolerant

of other cultures will create a peaceful world by the virtue of empathic individuals.
 Along the same lines, a reconstructionist educational philosophy focuses on providing

students with the proper knowledge to create a new social order (Tan, 2006, p. 35). Providing

global awareness to students about “social, economic and political problems such as poverty,

warfare, famine and terrorism” (Tan, 2006, p. 35), will allow them to be informed citizens who

can take affirmative action in solving these issues. It is important to recognize that a percentage

of students will not take action to explicitly solve global problems, however making them aware

of the issues will make them more compassionate and understanding of others. Dewey (1897)

further discusses the school as being the best place for moral education (p. 66). His reasoning is

that if done correctly, it fosters a communal environment that unifies work and thought (Dewey,

1897, p. 66). At an early age, students will become accustom to being part of their school

community, that is composed of diversified ideas and opinions.

My personal stance on teacher neutrality in the classroom also fits the ideas of a

reconstructionist educator. Counts (1978), emphasizes on the importance of teacher participation

with their students in the creation of a new social order. It is imperative that teachers guide their

students to help them shape their thoughts, actions and decision making (Collins, 2013, p. 299-

300). This would inevitably disable the teacher from remaining neutral in the classroom. I would

agree with Bode’s statement that it is impossible for teachers to be neutral (Collins, 2013, p.

300), but would go even further and say that a teacher who aims to be neutral could be

dangerous. Dangerous in the sense, that not doing anything is not being neutral. Omitting the

discussion of an issue in itself is taking a stance.

I think that using a reconstructionist philosophy is ideal because it embraces a

multicultural education and encourages students to discover beyond their comfort zone (Tan,

2006, p. 35). I also acknowledge that unjust issues are introduced to students and that it is
important that we do not leave students in a state of despair. To avoid this problem, teachers

must be good listeners, embracing a dialectic type of classroom environment, where students feel

comfortable expressing their feelings. This ties in with Noddings statement that, “caring teachers

listen and [should] respond differentially to their students (Noddings, 1992, p. 19). Noddings’

(1992) approach can be linked to that of a reconstructionist because she also addresses the

“responsibility [for teachers] to help their students develop the capacity to care” (p. 18). The

capacity to care goes hand in hand with my personal value of the teacher’s role as guiding

students to be empathetic citizens.

According to Tan (2006), the progressivist and reconstructionist educational approaches

share similar values since they both stem from a pragmatic way of thought. Moreover, Mr. Watts

and my own personal educational philosophy, both view schools as social agencies rather than

academic entities (Tan, 2006, p. 35). Gutek also asserts that both philosophies are also focused

on the child and catering to his or her emotional, physical, social and intellectual evolution (Tan,

2006, p. 34).

Given the social, cultural and political context of Mr. Watts’ teaching experience, he

demonstrated his natural ability as a teacher to truly inspire the children of Bougainville.

Although the residents of this island may have viewed him through an idealist lens, Mr. Watts’

teaching approach is much more progressivist, as he was fully committed to the development of

the children. He wanted to help them expand their ideas, considering that the children are

uninformed about the rest of the world. Furthermore, my own reconstructionist educational

philosophy aims to enlighten students about global issues, while inspiring them to become better

democratic citizens. The underlining values that are present in both approaches are the concept

of caring and trust. Notably, Noddings (1992) describes a universal human characteristic as
being the desire to be cared for (p. 17). It is the role of the teacher to provide students with

proper knowledge and carefully guide them to embrace their own ideas. As a result, they are able

to form their own educated opinions that prepare them to be well rounded citizens once they

reach adulthood.

References

Cohen, M. L. (1999). Section III - Philosophical perspectives in education. Retrieved November

11, 2018, from https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP2.html.

Collins, J. W. (2013). Education, democracy, and social discourse. Schools: Studies in

Education, 10(2), 298-303.

Conti, J. G. (2007). Identifying your educational philosophy: Developing of the philosophies

held by instructors of lifelong-learners (PHIL). Journal of Adult Education, 36(1), 19-35.

Dewey, J. (1897). My pedagogical creed. In The School Journal (pp. 77-80).

Holmes, B. (1967). Idealism in education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 5(1), 100-110.
Jones, L. (2006). Mister Pip. Vintage Canada Edition 2008. Toronto, ON: The Text Publishing
Company.

Noddings, N. (1992). Chapter 2: Caring. In The challenge to care in schools: An alternative

approach to education (pp.15-27). New York: Teachers College Press.

Palmer, P. (1998). The heart of a teacher: Identity and integrity. In The courage to teach (pp. 8-
33). San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Tan, C. (2006). Philosophical perspectives on education. In C. Tan et al. (Eds.), Critical

perspectives on education: An introduction (pp. 21-40). Singapore: Prentice Hall.