Activity 2

“Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are

fundamental to one’s education.”
Two among the four teachers I am currently observing have
undergone a survey checklist that will indicate which among the five
philosophies therein as to Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism,
Existentialism, and Behaviorism they are most dominantly conforming
themselves to. So to make the long story short, both of my teacher
respondents confirmed that they believe in the philosophy of Progressivism
as it was the most dominant for them, respectively. That they are in favor of
individuality, progress, and change. However, it would be of no use if their
dominant philosophy will not be supported by their actions!
I have here five distinct teaching applications that will actually prove
them to be progressivist teachers and I chose Ms. Mirasol to be my
reference teacher in the following key observations I have recorded here.
First, she is allowing her grade 7 students to interact and develop social
quality such as cooperation. Just like what Helen Keller once said “Alone
we can do little; together we can do so much.” Ms. Mirasol let her students
work in groups to make a poem about their experience whenever their
crush are near them. Now, there is another keyword for progressivism and
that is experience! According to Albert Einstein, “The only source of
knowledge is experience.” This I also observed from Ms. Mirasol when she
asked her students about their experiences in playing different musical
instruments. As a MAPEH teacher, she could just teach them the topic right
away but she did the opposite. She let her students discover their topic of
the day and I think that’s better than the other way around. By this time,
the third application lies on discovery! Ms. Mirasol ask her students of how
a badminton court looks like. One of the students mistakenly thought it was
like a basketball court, another guessed it as a volleyball court. Both of
them are wrong but she still let others make another guess instead of just
draw it on the board because there seems no one to answer it right. What
she did was ask another set of question such as “Is there a net used in
playing badminton?”, “Where is it located?”, “How about the position of the
players?” “Is there a dividing line between the mixed players?” and that was
the time when the students finally got the correct answer just exactly as
what the famous James Joyce has quoted, “Mistakes are portals of
discovery.” However, out of excitement, all of the students answered in
chorus. Most of them are shouting and one student actually went on the
board to draw the answer even though Ms. Mirasol does not require him to.
So she raised her voice to stop them and it was followed by an immediate
action. She told them to be respectful and that they should learn to do that
by NOW because if not, they will be carrying that attitude and it would be
very unlikely for them to especially that they are already in their high
school. This was the fourth application and so far the most important trait
of a progressivist teacher—helping her students become better students
now! Meanwhile, on that same day after the teacher taught them the sport
badminton, she told her class before she dismissed them that they will not
be just memorizing all of the key concepts but they will also apply what they
have learned on their practicum next meeting. That way, students will
remember it best because there is an application of knowledge. To support
this is another quotation from Benjamin Franklin, “Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

My Reflections
1. I am a fan of discoveries because I believe it equates to progress which is
a result of change. I am also very eager to try new things and if there are
things I am not yet familiar about, I always listen to those having the
experiences because in that simple way, I am learning from them already.
Most importantly, I learned to work with people. Long ago, I find it hard to
blend in but I strived to get out of my comfort zone and found myself
having fun working with people of different personalities. These, I think,
are some of the practices I do which reflects my philosophy.
2. “We listen to learn and we learn to listen.”
Although they are interchangeable, they are prerequisites of one another.
So as a progressivist teacher, who believes in the essence of change, I will
listen to learn. I will listen to my students’ experiences to learn how they are
coping with every challenges in school and in life so I could help them and
prepare them now. The same way, I will learn to listen not just to the voices
I heard but also to the voices I do not. Sometimes, we just have to listen so
that we could know how to teach, when to teach, and what to teach.

3. Even there is the checklist that proves her to be a progressivist teacher, it

won’t guarantee her to be one unless she will incorporate it in her teaching
methods. Ms. Mirasol has evidently shown the characteristics of a
progressivist teacher before, during, and after their every discussion. Every
start of a new lesson, she let her students discover their topic and upon its
discovery, she encourages her students to ask questions, if any, for
verification. During discussions, she asks her students about their
experiences in relation to the topic and so for others to learn as well from
their classmates’ experiences. Then, after every discussion, she encourages
her students to be good and respectful. “Kung hindi kayo magtitino ngayon,
dadalhin ninyo yan hanggang sa lumaki kayo.” Ms. Mirasol told her grade 7
students before leaving the room.