Each teacher has his or her own method of teaching. No one teacher teaches the same way as another. These methods are manifested in a teacher’s education philosophy, or “the principles that guide professional action.”(Parkay, 2015, p.114) A teacher creates his or her philosophy by examining his/her beliefs in a variety of categories, like what a teacher’s role should be, what a student’s role should be, and what should be taught. When the teacher has thoroughly examined his/her educational views, they have generated their educational philosophy. There are five main philosophies of education, two of which are essentialism and existentialism (Parkay, 2015, 123). Essentialism is a philosophy with an overall goal of educating children on the
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Essentialism focuses on a core curriculum, while existentialism focuses on individuality (Parkay & Hess, 2000). In an essentialist classroom, the teacher is an authoritative figure. All decisions fall into the teacher’s hands, and all aspects of the classroom are under the teacher’s control (Erkilic, 2008, p.2). Existential classrooms are student led, with the teacher’s primary role being to mediate and guide. Students in an existential classroom get to pick what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. This practice causes the emphasis to fall away from math and science, and move towards the humanities. The purpose of self-study is to urge students to develop self-awareness and responsibility (Malik & Akhter, 2013, p.89). A teacher tests student’s knowledge through subjective appraisals (Magrini, 2013), while an essentialist teacher uses traditional exams to test his/her student’s knowledge. Science and math are the emphases of an essentialist curriculum, though reading, English, and history are not to be ignored. The teacher leads all learning, with all students participating in one large lesson (Parkay & Hess, 2000). When the year is at its end, students in an essentialist classroom should be educated in discipline, hard work, and respect for authority. Conversely, children in an existentialist classroom should possess a better understanding of themselves. While …show more content…
Existentialism is student-centered, with an emphasis on developing an individual. Essentialism is teacher-centered, with an emphasis on teaching essential knowledge (Parkay, 2015, p. 126-128). Both existentialism and essentialism have important attributes that should be incorporated into each classroom. When I enter the field, I hope to not only pull elements from essentialism and existentialism, but also the other philosophies to build a rounded classroom that will cater to every student 's
Essentialism focuses on a core curriculum, while existentialism focuses on individuality (Parkay & Hess, 2000). In an essentialist classroom, the teacher is an authoritative figure. All decisions fall into the teacher’s hands, and all aspects of the classroom are under the teacher’s control (Erkilic, 2008, p.2). Existential classrooms are student led, with the teacher’s primary role being to mediate and guide. Students in an existential classroom get to pick what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. This practice causes the emphasis to fall away from math and science, and move towards the humanities. The purpose of self-study is to urge students to develop self-awareness and responsibility (Malik & Akhter, 2013, p.89). A teacher tests student’s knowledge through subjective appraisals (Magrini, 2013), while an essentialist teacher uses traditional exams to test his/her student’s knowledge. Science and math are the emphases of an essentialist curriculum, though reading, English, and history are not to be ignored. The teacher leads all learning, with all students participating in one large lesson (Parkay & Hess, 2000). When the year is at its end, students in an essentialist classroom should be educated in discipline, hard work, and respect for authority. Conversely, children in an existentialist classroom should possess a better understanding of themselves. While …show more content…
Existentialism is student-centered, with an emphasis on developing an individual. Essentialism is teacher-centered, with an emphasis on teaching essential knowledge (Parkay, 2015, p. 126-128). Both existentialism and essentialism have important attributes that should be incorporated into each classroom. When I enter the field, I hope to not only pull elements from essentialism and existentialism, but also the other philosophies to build a rounded classroom that will cater to every student 's