How Can Educational Philosophies Influence Schooling?

By Hannah Maness -

 

        Educational philosophies can have a huge influence on schooling. Each individual teacher has their own philosophy of education that leads to differences in teaching styles in the classroom. Depending on the educational philosophy implemented in the classroom, these ideas of teaching can have a positive or negative impact on students. 

    Learning about the different types of educational philosophies and taking a quiz to see which philosophy my values aligned with was very interesting to see. After learning which educational philosophies best represented my teaching style, I could understand why I believe in what I do, and not only why I want to become a teacher, but also what I want my classroom to look like and how I want to make my students feel. 

    Educational philosophies consist of two categories, teacher-centered, or student-centered, and the different philosophies are classified under one of these two.

    Teacher-centered philosophies include the teachers or someone above them writing a curriculum and students are mainly taught through lectures and textbook readings. The two teacher-centered philosophies are Essentialism and Perennialism. These traditional education philosophies emphasize the importance of memorizing material, gaining core knowledge, and reading traditional western civilization literature. This is how students have been taught for decades if not centuries. These philosophies influence students to adhere to strict guidelines and don't really allow them any room to explore learning for themselves. While it is important for students to have basic knowledge of subjects, only using these philosophies in teaching can limit students from gaining more relevant perspectives of learning and society today. 

    Student-centered philosophies include students assisting with curriculum and learning through hands on activities. The three student-centered philosophies are Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, and Existentialism. These progressive educational philosophies encourage students to learn about relevant topics in society, group work, and students being in charge of the pace in which they are learning. These philosophies encourage independent learning and can help students to become more confident and successful learners. Encouraging students to learn about things that they can relate their life to also results in a higher engagement rate and can help make students look forward to learning.

    While many teachers hold different beliefs about which educational philosophies to use in the classroom, I believe that a combination of both teacher-centered and student-centered philosophies will allow students to learn necessary knowledge, but also allow them to learn about relevant topics and their interests. It will also allow them to learn necessary listening skills and tools such as how to take notes, but it will give them a hands-on approach to their learning and provide them with a sense of autonomy. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Can Instruction Be Differentiated For Diverse Learners?

By Hannah Maness -
Image
       As educators, it is important to recognize that learning is not "one size fits all." What one student understands, another may not, and it is vital that we differentiate instruction so all students can have a chance to fully learn and understand the content we teach. The first step to differentiating instruction in the classroom is understanding that students will learn in different ways. Understanding this allows teachers to teach through various methods. Having students take a quiz at the beginning of the year that categorizes them into which specific type of learner that they are such as, visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, would be helpful for students to know. It would also be beneficial for teachers to have this information, so they know how to help their students understand content better. However, it is important to not isolate students into being just one type of learner. It is important to emphasize to students that there are many different approaches ...
Read more

Why Teach?

By Hannah Maness -
Image
Throughout my K-12 education, I was blessed to have teachers that had a positive impact on my life. I had several teachers in elementary school, middle school, and high school that helped shape me into the person that I am today. These teachers ultimately inspired me to choose a career in education. I believe that teachers can have one of the greatest impacts on adolescents because of how closely they interact with them. Memorable teachers of mine always made me feel welcomed, heard, and seen in the classroom, and my goal is to do the same for my students. I want to teach because I think it is such a privilege to watch and help the next generation grow into who they want to be. I want to serve as the same role model that several of my teachers were for me and create a safe space for students to express themselves.   I am currently seeking a degree in 4-8 Middle Level Education with a Generalist certification, and while I am open to teaching any of these grades, I would love to teac...
Read more

Segregation Reflection

By Hannah Maness -
      After learning more about segregation and the practices put in place to further segregate the country. I became more aware of how far the government went to separate individuals and make it harder for minorities to have equal access to opportunities in life. I also became aware of the Federal Housing Act and how in some neighborhoods, homes could only be sold to white people, and they could not be resold to African Americans. This was upheld by federal judges because they were considered to be "private agreements." I was surprised to learn that white Americans were required to pay relatively low down-payments for houses and that they were able to get loans very easily. While on the other hand, African Americans were required to pay extremely high down-payments for their houses and that because the federal government wouldn't ensure them, they were often unable to get loans. Ending segregation is not only about ending separation. It's about creating equal opportu...
Read more