CRITIQUE

PAPER
Submitted by:
Pinky O. Mancao
MA-Math
 Historical Foundation of Education

We do not know the exact date on when was the start of education. Maybe it started when
those first man and woman stepped on earth and as they produced offspring and the world’s
population gets bigger and bigger, education system also changes over time until it ends up
today’s educational system. As I go over to the historical foundation of education, I could
compare and differentiate the system of education then and now. To start with the primitive
education, their purpose is for survival and security. Survival in the sense that they need to
explore ways in order to obtain food to eat, find ways to have shelter. Security, in the sense that
they need to defend their selves from wild animals as well as from environmental phenomenon
in order for them to stay alive. They find ways on how to live a life considering only the
resources and the facilities available in their environment. As what the adults did in order to live,
their offspring also did the same. Parents taught their kids the necessary skills needed for
survival. And kids learn through observation. And this is already a form of education. Education
during primitive period is informal. No exact place to conduct classes for it is done only in the
home or in the environment. Their educational aim was to prepare the young to secure himself
and his family and to appease the gods of spirits that controlled his existence. Primitive people
respect for trees, rocks, the sun, etc. and this culture is passed to their offspring. In short,
education was simply enculturation, that is, the imposing of group characteristics upon children.
And for a member to deviate from customs and beliefs of his tribe was unpardonable.
After the primitive education came the Sumerian education. In this era, there was like a
formality of education for it is already conducted in a temple associated with a priest. But
education this time was not accessible by poor students because the poor could hardly afford the
cost and the time which a prolonged education demanded. This time also started the reward and
punishment concept in the field of education. Sumerians were praised if the work was done well
and accurate. Otherwise, students were punished with lashes from a stick or cane. This concept
of rewards and punishments still exist in present educational system but because of the existing
laws to protect learners, corporal punishments are prohibited.
It was during the Egyptian education that young children were educated to various
subjects and topics. But during this time, girls were not sent to school and instead their education
was conducted at home. They were engaged to disciplines that were considered to be important
for women such as sewing, cooking, and reading, etc. people of lower classes usually could not
send their children to schools because of the limited number of schools, and these schools were
typically reserved for children from royal and rich backgrounds. This system of education is
totally opposite to our present educational system. Today we have what we call “education for
all” where the Department of Education provides alternative solution to those people who cannot
access formal education like ALS, mobile teaching, etc.
Indians, on the other hand, had also contributions in the field of education. Their aims of
education were to provide good training to young men and women in the performance of their
social, economic and religious duties as well as the preservation and enrichment of culture,
character and personality development and cultivation of noble ideas. Discrimination also exists
for only males of upper caste were only allowed for formal education. Their system of education
is also opposite to our present educational system since today we implement democratic
classroom where all students regardless of their gender are involve in classroom decision-
making.
After Hindu came the Chinese education. In this era, rises the great philosopher of all
time when it comes to ideological and ethical (moral) learning. There was the organization of
higher education where students are prepared for taking the government examinations – Civil
Service Exam. It is the outstanding contribution of Chinese education. This is important and still
existing nowadays. Citizens who wish to have career in government should pass this
examination.
Education system was gradually improved. For every era had passed, there were changes
and there was additional content to be studied. Still survival is one subject to be taught but there
was already improvement when it comes to training from just merely observing the elders here
comes the military schools. Present curriculum includes military training, like ROTC, and this is
compulsory to all college students. This was rooted from Spartan education in which their aims
of education is military and discipline. Their goal was to produce good soldiers. This leads to the
development of patriotism.
From those continuous changes and modification from time to time, our present
education today is the product which is subject also for change for it depends on the demands of
the society. Considering the content to be studied in present education, it seems that it is different
compared before. We already have established different discipline to be studied. Education is
totally formal. Though the change in education system is of great extent, it is still connected to
the very first educational system. What we learned from school is for our survival and security
too just like before. We do not go to school just for fun or whenever we like, but we go to school
to learn the skills necessary to survive in this ever changing world. The teachers taught us on
how to defend ourselves; they develop our mental faculties for us to be able to use the power of
minds, to boosts our potentials thus improving our way of living, meeting our necessities and can
defend ourselves from any harm. So somewhat like before, for survival and security. It only
differed on how education is conducted. Today, education integrates the use of technology.
Technology becomes an integral part of our everyday lives. It has brought change in our world
including our educational system.
In Philippine setting, educational system is influenced by the different conquerors. It had
undergone several stages of development from the pre-Spanish times to present. In meeting the
needs of the society, system of education changes at certain periods in our national struggle. As
early in pre-Spanish times, education was informal, unstructured, and devoid of methods.
Children were provided more vocational training and less academics by their parents and in the
houses of tribal tutors. This system of education underwent major changes during Spanish
period. Tribal tutors were being replaced by Spanish missionaries. And education that time was
religion-oriented. As the Spain was defeated by the American forces and the American occupied
the Philippines, changes in the educational system occurred. A system of free and compulsory
elementary education was established. Because of the heavy shortage of teachers, teachers from
the US were brought to the Philippines. They were the Thomasite. Later on, they trained
teachers. They also encourage Filipino in the field of teaching. They sent outstanding Filipino
scholars to US to train as teachers. Many schools were opened. It gave rise to the public system
of education in which it still exist up to present educational system. Religion was not part of their
school curriculum as it had been during the Spanish period. Filipinos during American period
were given chance to develop their potential because those students who excelled academically
were sent to the US to continue their studies and to become experts in their desired fields or
professions. As the occupation of American ended, the Japanese being the next conqueror
brought great influence to our educational system. There what we called the trifocal system
which is existing in our present educational system.
In summary, our educational system has been highly influenced by the country’s colonial
history. The most important and lasting contributions came during America’s occupation where
English was introduced as the primary language of instruction and a system of public education
was first established. In fact, the American English has always been imposed in our schools and
become second to the Filipino as our national language. One of the most notable milestones in
the Philippine education is that the government actively seeks to expand access and participation
in higher education. There is an increase in the number of higher education faculty holding
higher degrees. The number of higher education institutes with accredited education programs
increased.
Individually, we just have to be more open to educational opportunities. Be more pro-
active in teaching ourselves to be our own responsible innovators and knowledge producers for
our own professional and financial gain. Continuous learning and education, after all, sre still
the greatest investments we could give to ourselves.
 Philosophical Foundation of Education

The philosophical foundation of curriculum helps determine the driving purpose of

education. While the historical foundation highlights the goal of education, like for survival and
security, philosophical foundation presents the manner of thinking from which those goals are
created. There are many philosophies from which education was anchored.
Idealism. This is the most significant philosophy of which most of the world’s religions
are based. Idealist holds that the most basic unit of reality is not material but conceptual. In
idealist classroom, students are encouraged to stretch themselves through higher-level thinking to
become truth seekers. Students are also encouraged to share ideas. There is no such thing as
good ideas or bad ideas. Ideas are generated in the head and have to be translated into language
and put forward. The teacher’s role in idealism is to facilitate thinking through generation of
ideas.
Realism. This educational philosophy believes that reality exists independent of the
human mind, and that the physical objects are the ultimate reality. This philosophy aims to
develop students intellectual ability by providing them information and knowledge necessary to
understand current events. This exemplifies that mind is a blank slate because teachers’ role is to
provide information. If we reflect this philosophy to our present educational system, curriculum
has subjects in which knowledge is being provided to students and the students receive and
remember facts through rote memorization. For more understanding, education should proceed
from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract. On the part of the teacher, he must have
full mastery of the knowledge. He must be able to expose and guide the student towards the
realities of life. He must be able to relate between “utility in daily life” and “education”.
Pragmatism. This philosophy deals with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is
based on practical rather than theoretical considerations. It means being open to change and
working with that change to your benefit. This is somewhat like realism also because it
recognizes the universe and real physical world but the difference is that the focus of this
philosophy is on reality that will benefit the learner. So the teacher should teach not only what
will be essential to the students but also the things that will benefit them. Pragmatist view of
education is not merely schooling, but it should develop the child for society and for him/her.
Classroom application of this philosophy is to engage the students into activities which provide
them opportunities for self-individualization. Formal instruction is abandoned and flexible
methods are used. See to it that the same things are not done repeatedly because not all learners
can learn the same way. Applying Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence, students are
unique and that they may possess two or more intelligences. Thus, methods of instruction should
not be uniform all throughout. Education under pragmatism must be action-oriented. Teachers
should not rely on textbooks rather give student real world tasks in which they can put classroom
theories into practice.
Existentialism. This philosophy focuses on the individual, seeking out a personal
understanding of the world. Thus each individual characterizes for himself or herself the
concepts of reality, truth and goodness and as a result, school exist to aid children in knowing
themselves and their place in society. Applying this philosophy in the field of education,
teachers’ role is to provide pathways for students to explore their own values, meaning and
choices. Provide learners with experiences that trigger self-reflection. Expose them to a wide
range of options from which to choose their own identity, goals, and values. Learners should be
given a great deal of freedom to pursue areas of interest and to engage with peers in discussions
that help them shape and clarify their individual values in a social context.
Social Reconstructionism. This philosophy views school as tools to solve social
problems. Because all leaders are the product of schools, schools should provide a curriculum
that fosters their development. This philosophy not only aims to educate a generation of problem
solvers but also try to identify and correct many noteworthy social problems that face our nation.
Rather than a philosophy of education, reconstructionism may be referred to as more of a remedy
for a society that seeks to build social order. Teachers’ role should be facilitators for analysis and
change.
Progressivism. This philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active
experimentation. Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing
the world. It is active, not passive. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who make
meaning through his or her individual experience in the physical and cultural context. Teachers
should provide experiences so that students can learn by doing.
Essentialism. The emphasis of this philosophy is on intellectual and moral standards that
school should teach. The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic
rigor. It should focus on facts, training students to read, write, speak, and compute clearly and
logically. Our present educational system exemplifies essentialist view of education. Teachers
taught children how to read and write as early as 5 or 6 years old because it is necessary. They
instill to all students the most essential or basic academic knowledge and skills. In present
educational system, students are required to master a set body of information and basic
techniques for their grade level before they are promoted to the next higher grade.
Perennialism. The focus of this philosophy is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek
enduring truths which are constant, not changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most
essential level, do not change. The teacher is not concern at the student’s interest. He sets
everything based on the syllabus. He is more concerned with transferring knowledge from older
generations to younger generations.
The abovementioned philosophies are just few among the many philosophies each of
which has contribution to our existing educational system. To sum up, our present educational
system is anchored from the different philosophical views. Gathered to become one, curriculum
consists of learning experiences rooted from the different philosophies.
 Psychological Foundation of Education

Education is not successful if you cannot understand the facts and concepts in
psychology. Psychology is very important when it comes to the pattern of behaviour. Since
teachers deal students, they need to be equipped with the knowledge in psychology. There are
different concepts in psychology that is useful and applicable in the field of education. These
concepts are necessary to understand students’ behavioural and mental development.
To start with the concept of motivation, students’ behaviour depends on his inner drive to
do the acts. This is what we call intrinsic motivation. Sometimes we think of motivation not as
something inside a student but as equivalent to the student’s outward behaviours.