Educational Philosophy 1

American Educational Philosophy: A Graphic Organization

Bee Thao

Kaplan University

ED553-01

Elizabeth Kindall

December 6, 2010
 Educational Philosophy 2

American Educational Philosophy

Name John Locke, Christian von Jean Jacques Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, Edward L. Thorndike,
& Wolff, Rousseau, 1874-1949
time period 1632-1704 1679-1754 1712-1778 1743-1826 1796-1859
Main beliefs Mind is a blank Mind consists of 3 Children are naturally Selectivity of higher Proponent of non- Learning consists of habits
slate; knowledge faculties: will, good; Open education education (Shmoop, sectarian public strengthened through
derived from emotions, & intellect; for students, who guide 2010); Educated education; disuse of repetition until the desired
experience and Intellect must be their own instruction citizenship to support and corporal punishment results are achieved
empirical thought developed to control through hands on balance government; and educational (“Connectionism”, n.d.);
processes (Sass, the will and emotions experiences (Noddings, Separation of education reform (Ritchie, n.d.; Believed in active learning
n.d.) (Hettche, 2006) 1998) and religion (Jewett, Virtuology, 2001) and opposed lectures (Clark,
1996) 2010)
Contributions “tabula rasa” Faculty Psychology Importance of Separation of religion Teacher colleges, Connectionism
(Sass, n.d.) (Hettche, 2006) childhood; Open from school as well as school registers, and (“Connectionism”, n.d.;
education (Noddings, government (Jewett, changes in school law Clark, 2010)
1998) 1996; Shmoop, 2010) in Massachusetts
(Virtuology, 2001)
Historical Age of Heavy taxation on French and Indian War Revolutionary War from Mexican-American Reconstruction in the South
events Enlightenment; M American colonies; from 1754-1763 (Sass, 1775-1783; War of 1812 War from 1846-1848; from 1867-1877; Spanish-
igration of War of Austrian n.d.) from 1812-1815 (Sass, Massachusetts passes American War in 1898;
religious sects to Succession from n.d.) the first compulsory World War I from 1917-
America; (History 1740-1748 (History education law in the 1918; Great Depression from
Place, 1998) Place, 1998) United States (Sass, 1929- World War II from
n.d.) 1944-1945 (Sass, n.d.)
Criticisms Opponents Learning is creating Children are born with Public education should Some argue his Connectionism ignores
believed in the associations between potential to become be provided beyond approach was anti- behavioral complexities o the
innate abilities stimuli and responses good or evil; With open primary levels (Shmoop, Christian and resulted human mind, and his
and inborn human which strengthen education students may 2010) in secularization; experiments largely limited
ideas through practice never feel motivated to others argue it was not actions to stimulus and
(Anonymous, (“Connectionism”, learn specific topics secular enough for response events (“Edward”,
2001) n.d.) (Noddings, 1998) non-Christians 2008)
(Ritchie, n.d.)
 Educational Philosophy 3

American educational philosophies can be attributed to the contributions of the following philosophers:
John Locke. As part of the Age of Enlightenment, John Locke believed that the human mind is a blank slate, or “tabula rasa”
(Sass, n.d.). His views were in opposition to the religious and political views at the time, resulting in his emigration from his
homeland, England, to the mainland Europe (Anonymous, 2001). His views were carried to the Americas by the Puritan and other
religious settlers of the New World, who later established schools to impress the knowledge of their religion to their children.
Christian von Wolff. Wolff believed the mind was a muscle, but his belief in the faculties of the mind, particularly of the
ability of the faculty of intelligence to control the other faculties of will and emotions, found fruition in the American colonies
(Hettche, 2006; Histroy Place, 1998). In New England, the Americans lived a strict existence that seemed to model control of will and
emotions. With the heavy taxation imposed by the King of England to win foreign wars, reason and intellect appeared to require a
split between America and Great Britain, resulting in the American Revolutionary War. Wolff’s philosophy also set the groundwork
for Thorndike’s Connectionism (“Connectionism”, n.d.)
Jean Jacques Rousseau. He believed that children are born naturally good, leading to the idea of open education (Noddings,
1998). Rousseau could be considered one of the first proponents of open education, where teaches act as facilitators and guides, while
students learn through tactile experiences with little book-learning. While Rousseau’s philosophy may not have been very popular
during early American history, it has found resurgence in through the works of John Dewey, who also believed in teachers as
facilitators. Rousseau’s philosophy also influenced the use of hands-on activities in education.
Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson believed in having an educated citizenship that would guide the nation; resulting in primary
education for the public and the idea of having a very selective secondary and university education for the few leaders of society
(Jewett, 1996; Shmoop, 2010). He was a contributor to the founding of the United States of America and firmly believed in the
separation of church and state. With the idea that public education should guide citizens to guide the nation, he believed in the
separation of religion from public education as well; resulting in the planning and formation of the University of Virginia, the first
university in the nation that was not religiously affiliated (Jewett, 1996). Jefferson contributed a great deal to the nation and public
education.
Horace Mann. As with Jefferson, Mann was a politician who helped advance the cause of public education in America
(Ritchie, n.d.; Virtuology, 2001). However, Mann believed in compulsory, public primary and secondary education, and led
Massachusetts in becoming the first state in the nation to have such a law (Sass, n.d.; Virtuology, 2001). He also developed school
registers to monitor education, teacher colleges to train and develop good school teachers, and argued against corporal punishment in
schools.
Edward L. Thorndike. Growing up during a time that included several wars, Thorndike developed an educational philosophy
that drew from Wolff as well as Behaviorism (“Connectionism”, n.d.). Thorndike believed that learning occurred when the mind
made a connection between a stimulus and a response; he also believed that connections could be strengthened through repetition.
This type of learning took root in school drills prior to the 1960s (Clark, 2010). His strong belief in activity based learning and disdain
for lectures contributed to the idea of Open Education.
 Educational Philosophy 4

References

Anonymous. (2001). John Locke (1632-1704). Retrieved December 2, 2010, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/

Clark, D. R. (2010). Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949). Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.nwlink.com/~Donclark/
hrd/history/thorndike.html

Connectionism (E. Thorndike). (n.d.) Retrieved December 2, 2010, from http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html

Edward L. Thorndike. (2008). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org
/entry/Edward_L._Thorndike?oldid=687978

Hettche, M. (2006). Christian Wolff. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wolff-christian/

History Place. (1998). American revolution: Early colonial era.

Jewett, T. (1996). Jefferson, education and the franchise. Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/
winter96/jefferson.html

Noddings, N. (1998). Philosophy of education. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Ritchie, S. (n.d.). Horace Mann. Unitarian Universalist Historical Society. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www25.uua.
org/uuhs/duub/articles/horacemann.html

Sass, E. (n.d). American educational history: A hypertext timeline. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from http://www.cloudnet.com/
~edrbsass/educationhistorytimeline.html

Shmoop University. (2010). Ideology in Jefferson’s Revolution of 1800: Looking at the past through the lens of ideology. Retrieved
December 4, 201 from http://www.shmoop.com/jefferson-presidency/ideology.html

Virtuology. (2001). “Horace Mann [Electronic version]”. Edited Appleton’s Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 4, 2010, from
http://www.famousamericans.net/horacemann/