Adam Freshwater

12/9/2016
Prof. Boerio
Fall 2016 Edu. Psych.
The profession of education is much more than what most people probably
associate it to be. There is more to the job than just going in giving some information
and go home for the summer. There are many ways to go about presenting the
information as well as several aspects that go into deciding the style that best fits you or
the particular lesson. Also teachers have to handle discipline and motivation, which there
are different ways to go about these as well. Every teacher has their own way of doing
things and the following is my belief.
Educators should have an understanding of the people they are teaching. It is not
uncommon to see a personal understanding, which I feel is needed, but also an
understanding of where they are developmentally. Teachers who have knowledge of the
biological functions of their students can better meet their needs. This gives them the
ability to teach to their students capabilities or push them to maximize their potential.
Also this understanding of development will allow teachers to know the physical changes
and struggles that students may be going through. There is a popular debate between
those who believe nature is the most important and those who believe in nurture. The
nature argument is an emphasis on the importance of heredity while nurture the
importance of environment. I feel that the more important to be taught is nurture. I feel
this way because nature is something you are born with and cannot be changed. Nurture
can be influenced by forces outside the individual and providing a positive environment
will help children to grow academically and socially. The other debate in the

development children is whether it is continuous or discontinuous. Continuous

development is progression through development gradually. Discontinuous development
breaks the flow of development up into fixed stages. I believe in the continuous theory
because development is not a perfectly routine process. Some people go through stages
at different times and speeds and the stages may even overlap. Throughout the course of
a childs education the influence of their social and emotional development change. At
first children idolize family then school figures and finally peers. The ability to
understand these social patterns allows educators to better motivate students. Another
application of this information would be helping students to bust self-esteem and social
relationships.
The way that a teacher goes about teaching and approaches the idea of learning
should be their main focus. There are five major categories of educational philosophies
more directly associated with the learning. The first of the five is essentialism.
Essentialism is a traditional approach to teaching. This philosophy believes in a core
curriculum that everyone should learn and it should be a basic but ridged curriculum.
Essentialists dont listen to students as far as what or how they the students want to learn.
Supporters of the theory feel that schools are dumbing down the curriculum. The
teacher is the dispenser of knowledge while the student sits and learns. Essentialism is a
back to basics, direct instruction teacher controlled method.
The next philosophy is perennialism, which is similar to essentialism. The
difference between the two is in the interpretation of what the core should be. Those that
believe in perennialism think that the core is everlasting. There are things in life that do

not change, even as society changes they feel there are truths that do not. Teachers in this
philosophy lead discussion and students are expected to learn in a uniform manner.
The first two philosophies are teacher-centered approaches while the last three are
student centered. Progressivism is an experience based curriculum where students have
more opportunity to problem solve. The teacher is the facilitator instead of distributer.
They apply students to be able to find answers on their own. There is a focus on each
individual student development in this philosophy. A lot of time in this method the
process is more important than the result.
Social Reconstructionism is the next philosophy and it calls on schools to educate
students to make changes in society and get away from discrimination. This philosophy
takes a very communist view to education and has referenced Karl Marx. The teacher
trys to make students aware of their responsibility for humanity while students are
actively involved in discussion.
The last is existentialism where the teacher is a promoter of discussion. This is an
extremely individualized form of education where the student searches for personal
meaning in discussion topics. An existentialist teacher would give students the ability to
choose then form a lesson around each individual choice.
The reason for my explaining of each was that I believe that the best philosophy is
a combination of them. There are situations where one method would work better than
another. I feel that the teacher should be more progressive in the sense of being
encouraging and still facilitating the information that is needed. The student is a cross
between progressive and existential. Classroom environment is a more essentialist set up
for the rules but collaboration and asking questions are just as important. Curriculum has

to have some structure like perennialisum but still promote equality and creativity.
Instructional methods can change with each subject being taught. In some cases direct
instruction may be best but other time cooperation is more effective.
Student motivation is the next topic for discussion and everyone has their own
take on it. Some questions within the subject are how to motivate and who is responsible
for motivation. There are several theories for motivation of students but I dont think that
one single theory does the job. I think that the best method is a mixture of some of them
so that it isnt always a prize or treat that is being given. When it comes down to it
though the most important thin in motivation of students is meeting their basic human
needs. If a child does not feel safe at home or is hungry everyday at school, the last thing
they are worrying about is school. Students basic needs have to be taken care of before
you can even try to teach anything. This belief is true for all age groups. This is the
theory that follows Maslows hierarchy of needs. Once these needs are meet there is still
the need to make students want to learn, which is when you can use other motivational
theories. Some of the theories I like, at least in some situations, are the behavioral and
attribution. The behavioral theory is a reinforcement strategy to encourage or discourage
behavior. The basic idea is to reward favorable behaviors and punish those that are not.
This is where you see rewards being given out but I dont thing grades should be
rewarded this way. Students should not associate good grades with a treat in my opinion.
Students should work hard and get the grade for themselves. Then attribution theory is
what students associate the success to, why they did or did not do well. The plan here
would be to make students realize that they worked hard and got a good grade because of
that. Some students would attribute success to luck or something else outside of

themselves. I would want them to give themselves credit for the work. This would teach
them an impotant lesson that hard work pays off in the end.
Finally my classroom management techniques would come part from things that I
have learned and part from what I felt worked when I was in school. The instructional
method would not be set in stone; instead it would differ by subject or topic. There are
times when direct instruction is the better method. When information needs to be
understood across the whole class or a standard is being taught directly distributing the
information would work the best. But in situations that are more debatable topics or
group work a student-centered approach can be more effective. Also this method can be
a good way to switch up from a normal class environment. These methods can even be
combined in a single lesson. In regard to discipline I had a teacher that said he was firm
but fair which I always admired because he followed the policy. I cannot emphasize the
importance of avoiding bias or showing favoritism. Students know more then teachers
think when it comes to classroom treatment. When one student does something and
nothing happens but when someone else does the same thing they know something is
wrong there. This treatment can damage self-esteem and push kids away from the
education system.
Furthermore I would have many aspects to my philosophy. First would be to get
to know students on a personal level to individualize education. Also understanding
developmental patterns is an important part to being able to make connections with
students. Next is the actual philosophy for instruction and classroom environment.
These are going to be different for everyone. There are so many different opinions on the

topics that everyone will have a different combination of instructional methods and
philosophies.

Reference
Powell, Sara. Your Introduction to Education: Exploration in Teaching 2nd Edition.
Pearson, 2012