Progressive Learning Philosophy

For years I have espoused the need for progressive education. It is important to see the whole child, trust who they are and that the want to learn is intrinsic to our very nature as human beings. When looking for guidance for my learning philosophy, I looked to John Holt and John Taylor Gatto. The signature line for my emails for years was, “Know where to find the information and how to use it - That 's the secret of success. - Albert Einstein.” I believe that as a teacher, it is my job to instill a zeal for learning, an ability to think critically about issues and apply those thoughts to real-world problems, to know where to find answers to life 's questions. And I believe in my students to have in them that spark, that need as human …show more content…
The students could learn the basics in a standard lecture format with a handout of key terms and ideas, the essentialist philosophy. From there, we could suss out the student 's individual interests within the food web and smaller groups or individuals could provide informal posters about their topics. Deeper hands-on learning could come from a field-trip with a naturalist to the prairie dog and black-footed-ferret habitat or to dairy farm to see how waste from the cows is broken down by microbes. The keys being the student 's interests and hands-on learning, the progressive philosophy in action. They are learning metacognition, taking charge of their learning in a real way. Planning out their learning, monitoring their understanding, and evaluating their progress (Sadker & Zittleman, p349).

In conclusion, I do believe that there can be a wedding of progresivism and essentialism in the modern classroom. It will take thought. It will take hard work. It will take trial-and-error, resilience, and persistence. But teaching the students in a way that is authentic to me and meaningful to them is the only thing I can