What is the purpose of education? Is it to retain knowledge or to prepare for an occupation? Is it to discover who you are or to improve society? Since I plan to become an educator, I have struggled through these questions in order to form my personal philosophy of education. After examining the philosophies of Existentialism, Essentialism, Constructivism, Perennialism, and Progressivism, I chose to adopt Progressivism as my primary position for my personal viewpoint. As a music teacher, my goal will be to facilitate learning through experiences and collaboration so that my students may gain a love and an understanding of music.
1. Although all of the Philosophies have great ideas, I connected most with Progressivism, and have chosen it to …show more content…
Dewey also emphasized the importance of experience to shape education. However, some experiences benefit education and others do not. Experiences that are “mis-educative” stunt the growth of the student, perhaps making them less responsive or uninterested in further learning (Dewey 26). For instance, if lecture is the only method used to teach a subject, students may begin to associate that subject with boredom based on their mis-educative experience. In his book, Experience and Education, John Dewey states that Progressivist educators, “should know how to utilize the surroundings, physical and social, that exist so as to extract from them all that they have to contribute to building up experiences that are worthwhile (40).” As educators, we should identify the quality of experiences, both the present aspect and the future aspect. We should ask ourselves: Does the current experience promote immediate growth as well as long term positive effects? (Dewey 27) Emphasizing experience separates Progressivism from the traditional educational philosophies that Dewey observed in the early …show more content…
Traditional education does not need to account for surroundings; however, Progressive education must connect education with experience. For example, a traditional teacher may continue to lecture even if the classroom is chilly. Whereas a Progressivist might decide that it would be good to get everyone’s blood pumping and warmed up by doing a song with actions. It is important not to get so caught up in the curriculum that you overlook students’ needs. Student growth and experience is more important than strict curriculum in Progressivism. Traditional education is unnecessarily complex because it is artificial; information is given through lecture and is not discussed or actualized. In contrast, Progressivism is based on real-life experiences (Dewey 30). Dewey states: “Every experience is a moving force. Its value can be judged only on the ground of what it moves toward and into (38).” As an educator, my goal is to commit myself to recognizing the direction of an experience and guiding it in a positive
1. Although all of the Philosophies have great ideas, I connected most with Progressivism, and have chosen it to …show more content…
Dewey also emphasized the importance of experience to shape education. However, some experiences benefit education and others do not. Experiences that are “mis-educative” stunt the growth of the student, perhaps making them less responsive or uninterested in further learning (Dewey 26). For instance, if lecture is the only method used to teach a subject, students may begin to associate that subject with boredom based on their mis-educative experience. In his book, Experience and Education, John Dewey states that Progressivist educators, “should know how to utilize the surroundings, physical and social, that exist so as to extract from them all that they have to contribute to building up experiences that are worthwhile (40).” As educators, we should identify the quality of experiences, both the present aspect and the future aspect. We should ask ourselves: Does the current experience promote immediate growth as well as long term positive effects? (Dewey 27) Emphasizing experience separates Progressivism from the traditional educational philosophies that Dewey observed in the early …show more content…
Traditional education does not need to account for surroundings; however, Progressive education must connect education with experience. For example, a traditional teacher may continue to lecture even if the classroom is chilly. Whereas a Progressivist might decide that it would be good to get everyone’s blood pumping and warmed up by doing a song with actions. It is important not to get so caught up in the curriculum that you overlook students’ needs. Student growth and experience is more important than strict curriculum in Progressivism. Traditional education is unnecessarily complex because it is artificial; information is given through lecture and is not discussed or actualized. In contrast, Progressivism is based on real-life experiences (Dewey 30). Dewey states: “Every experience is a moving force. Its value can be judged only on the ground of what it moves toward and into (38).” As an educator, my goal is to commit myself to recognizing the direction of an experience and guiding it in a positive