My Philosophy of Education

Throughout the educational course of the Foundations of American Education, I have

learned a lot about what makes an effective teacher. More importantly, however, I learned a lot
about who I would like to be as a future educator. Prior to the course I knew that I wanted to be a
middle school math and science teacher, but I did not know how I would like to teach these
courses to these students. I now know the many philosophies of education and which ones my
ideas and opinions best correlate with in order to make my middle school students as successful
in math and science as they can possibly be.
Out of the five major philosophies of education, the one in which I connect the most is
progressivism. Progressivism is centered on providing students with meaningful knowledge
through real-world experiences. The teacher is there to facilitate and guide the students learning,
but the majority of the knowledge is obtained when the students connect with and experience the
information by working together. This is usually done through games and activities in which the
students must learn by doing (Sadker & Zittleman, 190). Although textbooks and worksheets
may be used, they are not seen as a focus or a teacher of the material, but rather as a tool
(Student-centered Philosophies of Education). Students can use these materials for help, but they
should not rely on them to gather the majority of the information.
I remember when I was in my middle school algebra class, I learned how to calculate tips
and sales tax. This is a very important life skill that I have used and will continue to use very
often in life. In high school, in my marketing elective, I learned how to balance a checkbook.
This is also a very important life skill that I appreciate having learned early on. In my dual
enrollment history class junior year of high school, I had to participate in a simulation of a
famous court case we had learned about. It is through these useful lessons and helpful teaching

methods that I was able to connect with the material and use it both inside and outside of the
school environment. For this reason, out of all of the philosophies of education, I best adhere to
the philosophy of progressivism.
Historically, the foundation of the Laboratory School by John Dewey in 1896 played a
significant role in the progressive movement and my support for the philosophy. Deweys school
allowed for different types of experimental learning. He had different facilities within one
classroom for a science laboratory, an art room, a woodworking shop, and a kitchen Because
Dewey believed that students learn from social interaction, the school [also] used many group
methods, such as cooperative model-making, field trips, role-playing, and dramatizations
(Sadker & Zittleman, 192). By allowing students to participate in the different types of
experimental learning that they were interested in and work with each other to reach a particular
goal and level of learning, Dewey and his Laboratory School allowed students to make
connections with what they were learning and evidently achieve great academic success.
In addition to my appreciation for the educational philosophy of progressivism, I also
connect with the philosophy of essentialism. I feel as though the content and core curriculum
associated with the essentialist philosophy is very important to teach students. I also agree with
the essentialist goal of encouraging students to become culturally literate individuals (Sadker
& Zittleman, 196). Schools should produce driven and capable students whom possess a variety
of knowledge and skills. I do not, however, agree with essentialist teaching method of having the
teacher be the leader in the classroom or the focus on textbooks and standardized test scores
(Sadker & Zittleman, 185). For this reason, I believe that the content and core curriculum
associated with the essentialist philosophy should be taught through the methods and means of
progressivism.

Through life experiences I have also been able to see the significance in learning the core
curriculum associated with the philosophy of essentialism. There have been many instances in
which I had to pull from knowledge learned in multiple subject areas. One example of this is
baking. Not only is baking something that I enjoy doing, but it is also something that requires me
to use information from various subject areas. Reading recipes requires the use of English and
literacy. Unit conversions and modifying the amount of each ingredient to account for the
desired number of people requires math skills. Knowing what materials are safe to place in an
oven or microwave requires scientific knowledge based on insulation and conduction lessons.
Knowing the variety of baked goods that I can choose from can stem from knowledge learned in
history or foreign language courses. Clearly, every time I bake something, I use the knowledge I
have learned in my core classes and am evidently supporting the essentialist philosophy of
education.
Although I do not agree with William Bagleys essentialist ideas and his focus on
stronger standards and more testing, I appreciate how E. D. Hirsch Jr. advocated for a common
curriculum in which all Americans share the same knowledge (Sadker & Zittleman, 184). With
everyone learning the same basic knowledge, more people are capable of completing a given
task. In addition, an increase in tasks one is able to complete increases, as individuals are able to
gain knowledge on a variety of subject areas. This knowledge may include life skills and jobs in
the workforce. For this reason, I agree with E. D. Hirsch Jr.s idea to have all students learn the
same material across the many subjects that make up the core curriculum in order to create
model citizens educated to compete in the world (Sadker & Zittleman, 196).
The Purpose of Education

From both experiences and class discussions, I believe that the most important skills that
students should know are how to read, write, and comprehend. Reading and writing is the basis
of learning for all subjects so it is very important for schools to teach these skills to students.
This is especially true because schools believe that students should learn math, science, history
and English with additional elective choices. Within all of these subjects, students must use the
skills of reading, writing, and comprehending in order to succeed. That is why it is so important
for schools to teach these skills to their students.
Additionally, schools believe that students should be able to complete presentations in
front of their peers, hold discussions and debates, and know how to work both independently and
cooperatively in groups. This thinking matches my selected philosophies of progressivism and
essentialism because although I agree with the schools and believe that students should learn the
core curriculum and focus on literacy, I believe that they should do it in a way in which they are
more active and involved rather than always using textbooks and worksheets.

What Should Be Taught And Why

In my opinion, the knowledge that is of most worth is the information and skills that
students can benefit from in the real world. This is knowledge in which they are able to draw
from inside and outside of the school environment in order to help them become more successful
at the present time and in the future. This knowledge should stem from the core curriculum, as
the variety of information and subject areas learned is beneficial to students.
A well-educated person for this reason is someone who has a versatile knowledge base,
but can also be an expert in one particular area. A well-educated person is also someone who is
able to understand concepts and their overall significance rather than just memorizing facts and
details. An example of this is the scientific method. It is one thing for a student to memorize the

steps of the scientific method, but it is another for a student to connect with the process and
understand its significance in gathering scientific data.
Personally, my curriculum will focus on the most useful and beneficial topics for my
students. I will order my lessons in a way that makes the most sense and allows for the most
productive learning for my students. I will also make sure to teach the information and skills that
my students need to learn by the completion of the grade level, but I will spend more time on
what I believe will best benefit them in the real world.
My thinking here matches my selected philosophy because I believe that students should
learn the core curriculum associated with the essentialist philosophy. However, more
importantly, I believe that students should learn the scientific method and connect with the
information they learn. They should learn it through experience and other progressivist means
that best allow them to understand the information so they can draw from it in both academic and
real-life situations.

The Nature Of The Learner

In terms of student responsibility, I believe that students should have choice and a decent
amount of freedom in determining their learning. They should lead the majority of the
discussions and learn by making mistakes and working on their own. I, as a teacher, should be
there to facilitate activities and lessons and guide students through them, but they should be
doing the majority of the work and learning through experience.
Because I will have a diverse group of students through race, social class, social status,
family situations, learning styles, sexuality, ability, health, personalities, gender, etc. who belong
to different cliques and social groups with different opinions and interests, I do not expect

everyone to be friends each other, especially at the middle school age. Some students may feel
competitive around other students, and some may be more introverted than others.
For this reason, as a teacher I will try my best to build a community for my students in
which they feel comfortable being themselves and are not afraid to participate in the classroom. I
will make sure that they are all able to get along and accept each other so that they can work
cooperatively in pairs and larger groups in order to create the safest and most productive
environment possible.
These ideas connect to my selected philosophy of progressivism because I believe that as
a teacher I should facilitate learning, but not have full control in leading classroom learning. I
believe that students should cooperatively interact with each other through discussion and
activities and in doing so, lead the majority of the learning. This should be done for all subject
areas of the core curriculum, also demonstrating the essentialist philosophy of education.

The Role Of The Teacher

As a teacher, I hope to have a very close relationship with other teaching professionals
and administrators inside and outside of the school environment. For instance, I would like to
share lesson plans and teaching tips with each other to become the most successful teacher
possible. I would also like to build close relationships in which I have great friends to spend time
with outside of the work environment.
In addition to having positive relationships with other workers in the school environment,
I would like to make positive connections with my students and their families. It is important for
me to make students and their parents feel comfortable trusting and confiding in me. I would like
them to view me as an approachable person, and when they feel the need, be able to ask me
questions, for help, for advice, or for whatever else they may need.

As a teacher, I will promote respect between my students and me, as well as amongst my
students. I will do this by building personal relationships with each individual student so that
they feel comfortable approaching me with questions or problems. I will also have my students
build relationships with each other through activities and assignments that require them to work
in pairs or larger groups. In my classroom, I will also promote confidence, determination,
perseverance, hard work, encouragement, a sense of community, and just an overall positive
environment. I will promote all of these values through posters, get-to-know-you activities,
frequently reminding them of the classroom values, challenging my students in the work they do,
and always being understanding and approachable.
These ideas connect to my selected philosophy of progressivism because I would like to
encourage my students to work together and learn cooperatively, mostly on their own, but with
me being there for support and guidance. It connects with my selected philosophy of essentialism
because I will enforce this positive environment in all of the courses that I teach in the future. I
will also encourage other faculty members and teachers to provide a similar environment in their
classrooms despite the different material and subjects they all may teach.

Teaching Methods That Should Be Used And Why

When I become a teacher, I would like my classroom to be very neat and organized
without many distractions. I would like it to be somewhat empty and without clutter, only filled
with objects for academic use and encouragement. I will have several posters of academic
encouragement, but also posters based on the academic lesson I am teaching at that time. To
encourage the feeling of community, I will also have pictures of my family and dogs, and place
small objects on my desk that express myself so my students can feel comfortable around me,
seeing me as another person and not someone to be intimidated by.

Additionally, in an attempt to allow students to express themselves and get to know each
other, in a designated area I will hang work they completed in my class, or something consistent
among the students, that represents each of them individually. Because reading is extremely
important for gaining knowledge, I would also like to have a small library of both academic and
pleasure books that students can borrow.
I will teach my students by incorporating more activities, small group projects,
discussions, and reflections into my lesson plans rather than just simply worksheets and textbook
readings. Although I will definitely use textbooks and worksheets to teach, they will play a much
smaller role in my students learning than it has for me in the past. This is because I want my
students to learn through experience and be able to see how what they are learning connects to
the real world. I want them to understand how they can use this information not only in other
classes, but also in real-life situations. I will make sure to teach lessons that benefit all types of
learners so that not all of my lessons benefit auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learners over the
others.
This relates to my selected philosophy of progressivism because my students will learn
by doing. Although they will sometimes listen to lectures, complete worksheets, and have several
tests to learn the core curriculum as represented by the philosophy of essentialism, they will not
usually be taught using these methods. They will more frequently learn by completing fun
activities, by working together, and through experience. This allows for the students to better
connect with the material and therefore gain more knowledge, which is the ultimate goal of a
teacher.

Works Cited
Education.com, Inc. (2014). Student-centered philosophies of education. Retrieved November 2,
2014, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Student_Centered/
Sadker, D. M., & Zittleman, K. R. (2012). Philosophy of education. In Teachers, schools, and
society (3rd ed., pp. 184-192). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.