Education Philosophy Paper

Philosophy Paper

Loren Larson

South Dakota State University

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Education Philosophy Paper

There are many differences in the field of education, from the different ways students

learn and retain information to the different ways educators present and evaluate students

successes. However, one controversial topic that has been present since the beginning is the

concept of what information students should be learning and how. Some believe that nature is

constant and should be taught in a curriculum that is constant for all, these people are considered

perennialists. A second group believe that there is a critical set of knowledge and skills that

every person should obtain, these people are referred to as essentialists. A third group, known as

behaviorists, believe that people respond to environmental influences and should rely on

reinforcers and punishers to shape their behavior. A fourth group, the one I will be focusing on

most in this paper, believe in emphasizing real-world problem solving and individual

development, these people are known as progressivists.

To me progressivism stands out as the way students should be taught. According to Don

Kauchak and Paul Eggen (2011), progressivists say the purpose of schooling is to develop

students as completely as possible, the curriculum should create experiences that represent

todays world, and educators should guide their students in this process of development (pg.

204). Progressivism was acknowledged by philosopher and educator, John Dewey. Wiles

discusses how Dewey and the progressive education became a popular concept during the time

that the American society was searching through and discarding the turn of the century (para. 4).

Wiles also explains how the word progressive became associated with the idea that the individual

was the most important feature and how schools should be child centered with the curriculum

and instruction adjusted to expand the development of each individual (para. 3). I could not

agree more with these statements. I believe that it is important for students to know what is going

on in the world and also how to live in the world we are in. Therefore, it is our job, as educators,

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Education Philosophy Paper

to teach students how to think and solve problems in the real world and adjust our material so

that it does just that. We can do this by helping students discover that the content they are

learning in school is valuable and showing them how it can be related to their own lives.

I plan to become a teacher in the elementary education field or in a classroom with a

grade kindergarten through eighth. Incorporating the progressive education philosophy, I feel

will be simpler in elementary than it would be in higher up classes. Children at younger ages find

interest in a variety of categories so I feel it would be easier to adjust my curriculum to relate to

what they have interest in than it would be for older children who have a narrower variety of

categories of interest. For example, younger children love multiple things such as playing

outside, video games, computer privileges, take home activities, animals, colors, etc. making it

easier to find something that all of the students relate to and find interest in. Whereas, high

school students are more focused on what they would like to do as an adult such as mechanics,

teaching, biology, mathematics, etc. but would be more focused on one specific area making it

harder to cater to all the students interests.

Along with the belief of what information students need to know and how to teach it to

them comes the belief of information that educators need to know. One thing all educators

should know is the way that the information should be taught to their students. Nationally,

educators are given a list of standards called the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support

Consortium (InTASC) standards that provide ten different standards that educators should

incorporate into their classroom and their teaching. One of these standards I feel fits well with

the philosophy of progressivism is InTASC Standard #2: Learning Differences. In Council of

Chief State School Officers (2011), this standard states that the teacher uses the understanding

of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning

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Education Philosophy Paper

environments that enable each learner to meet high standards (pg. 11). I feel that this meets the

idea of progressivism because it is addressing the individual differences, diverse culture and

communities, and the enablement of each learner. Therefore, it shows that there are differences

between each student and in the world that should be taken into consideration in the classroom as

well as life itself. One way that I would incorporate this standard into my everyday teaching

would be by teaching about the differences between individuals not only in my classroom but in

society so that each student will understand why each race, religion, etc. does things the way

they do. Another example from Henson (2009) would be to create a personal learning web. This

is a pictorial representation of how someones past experiences have influenced that persons

present knowledge and position in life (pg. 35).

As a teacher, it is not only my job to teach the students information but also to make sure

they understand what they are learning. One very easy way to help students understand

something is to relate it to something they already understand and have interest in. Another

InTASC standard that fits this idea and the idea of progressivism is Standard #4: Content

Knowledge. Council of Chief State School Officers (2011) explains this standard as the teacher

understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she

teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and

meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content (pg. 13). By making things meaningful

to the students they are more likely to retain the information because it will stick with their

memory since it meant something to them. A few ways I could do this in my classroom is by

making a geographical map with edible objects that the students can have after class or teaching

grammar with sentences that include the students names so that they remember the day we

talked about them in class. Another example that Combs (2008) talks about is putting the variety

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Education Philosophy Paper

of instructional approaches into the lesson plan such as lecture, problem solving, cooperative

learning, etc. so that you dont forget to use them.

When students education is meaningful it sticks with them for the long run. This makes

it easier for them to recall the information for future situations. This brings me to the next

InTASC standard that can relate back to progressivism. Council of Chief State School Officers

(2011) Standard #6: Assessment is described as the teacher understands and uses multiple

methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and

to guide the teachers and learners decision making (pg. 15). This can be related back to

standard #4 in the way that using various methods of assessments allows most students to relate

to at least one of the methods making it meaningful to them. I would incorporate this into my

classroom by giving relatable assessments like draw me a picture including shapes, angles,

terms, etc. that we learned in math class, having students have a conversation with someone they

know who speaks Spanish and recording it, or having students show they know what each type

of cloud is by taking a picture of it in the sky when they see one to document it. Kauchak and

Eggen (2011) give other examples such as asking for feedback and placing standards and

accountability on students to provide them with responsibility and practice in the subjects (pg.

519).

Although I only discussed InTASC standards two, four, and six and how they work with

the progressivism philosophy of education, there are seven other InTASC standards that work

with this philosophy also. Along with the progressivism philosophy, all ten of the InTASC

standards can be applied to each type of philosophy depending on how each person interprets the

standards. I chose to discuss the progressivist view of educational philosophy because it related

most closely to my idea of what is important for students to learn and how they should learn it. I

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Education Philosophy Paper

found resources to back up my beliefs such as John Dewey who had the same mentality as I do

about the importance of education. Overall, I do not believe there is a right and wrong

philosophy but rather philosophies that fit some peoples needs and interests in education better

than others. This varies on the person, their interests, and learning styles. However, I do believe

that all people need to receive an education regardless of the philosophy it is taught under.

Education, as a whole, is something that I feel is highly important for the functioning of our

society and our world.

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Education Philosophy Paper

References

Council of chief of state school officers, (2011, April). Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support

Consortium (InTASC) model core teaching standards: A resource for state dialogue. Washington, DC:

Author

Wiles, D. John Dewey and progressive Education. Retrieved from

http://www.albany.edu/~dkw42/s2_dewey_progr.html

Henson, K. (2009). Making the most of INTASC standards. SRATE Journal, 18 (2), 35.

Jurgen Combs, H. (2008, May). INTASC portfolio. Retrieved from

http://www.edulink.org/portfolio/INTASC.htm

Kauchak, D. & Eggen, P. (2011) Introduction to teaching becoming a professional. Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

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