A Reflection on the Philosophies of Education

The philosophy of education examines the goals, forms, methods, and meaning

of education. The term is used to describe both fundamental philosophical analysis of

these themes and the description or analysis of particular pedagogical approaches.

Education, as an idea and as a practice in today’s society, has its philosophical roots,

as do all institutions do today. These philosophies have all manifested themselves

differently in the education system we have. These manifestations come along with

many different values and practices, some of which I agree with and some of which I

disagree with. Based on what I have learned from the discussions about the

foundational philosophies, the progressivism, perennialism, essentialism, behaviorism,

and reconstructionism and after examining and understanding each philosophy, I’d like

to share my views on which manifestations are effective and ineffective in our education

system today.

The first educational philosophy I’d like to discuss is the progressivism, which is

an educational movement started by John Dewey that says that students learn through

their own experiences. It believes that education should focus on the whole child, rather

than on the content of the teacher. It stresses that student should test ideas by active

experimentation and learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through

experiencing the world or what we so called “learning by doing”. Dewey wanted the

students to work on hands-on projects so learning would take place, rather than

memorization. I do believe in this philosophy because students are actively learning,

they interact with one another and develop social qualities such as cooperation and

tolerance for different point of views. They just don’t go on memorization what they
need to know and after the test it goes away. They solve the problems in the classroom

similar to those they will encounter in their everyday lives and that they would be ready

for the real-world experiences. Based on these definitions, I mostly agree with this

philosophy. This philosophy actually excites me and others because it allows for

individuals to experiment and grapple with knowledge and ideas through interactive

means. Through these “experiences”, I feel that the most effective type of learning

occurs.

The next philosophy I’d like to delve into is essentialism by William C. Bagley,

whose adherents believe that children should learn the traditional basic subjects

thoroughly and aims to instill students with the most basic academic knowledge and

skills and character development. The teacher should serve as an intellectual and moral

role model for the students. I think of this philosophy as the best one for the reason that

in my own view an individual cannot spread their wings and soar high if they are unable

to read, write, do the basic arithmetic, and even possess the good moral character.

These skills are the very basic for human being to have to be able to go with the flow

and to be fit in the society they are in. This is the very reason why students go to school

to learn the basics so that when students leave school, they will not only possess basic

knowledge and skills, but they will also have disciplined, practical minds, capable of

applying lessons learned in school in the real world.

The next philosophy of education I’d like to share my opinion on is perennialism

by Mortimer Adler, which values intellectual development above anything else, and

believes that wisdom is timeless, and the mind must be developed before it should be

trained to do a job. In my opinion, the ideas of this philosophy are theoretically fine. But
if we put it into practice, this method of education would alienate too many students.

Why? It’s because students will feel powerless, meaningless, normless, or estranged in

and from school for example in the sense of school’s practice in grading system, which

stratifies students into levels of academic achievement. Apparently, this is a teacher-

centered approach for teachers are not concerned about the student’s interest and

experiences. They used tried and true methods and techniques of teaching that are

believed to be beneficial to disciplining students’ minds.. I firmly agree to the focus of

this philosophy which is to teach ideas that are everlasting, ideas that have lasted for

centuries believing the ideas are as relevant and meaningful today as they were written.

And that education is not an imitation of life but a preparation for it.

Another philosophy of education I’d like to shed some light on is behaviorism,

which focuses on objectively observable behaviors and discounts any independent

activities of the mind, and define learning as nothing more than the acquisition of new

behavior based on environmental conditions. One good thing about this philosophy is

the idea that teachers use reward or punishment for students’ behaviors which I think

effective in the teaching and learning process. Students feel appreciated for their good

deeds and made them feel responsible and accountable for their bad deeds.

The last philosophy I’d like to ponder on is reconstructionism by Theodore

Brameld, which emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a quest to create a

better society and worldwide democracy. It views school as tools to solve social

problems and that school should provide a curriculum that foster their development. The

best thing about this philosophy is that it focuses on student experience and taking

social action on real problems, such as violence, hunger, poverty, racism, pollution etc.
and focuses strategies such as inquiry, dialogue, and multiple perspectives in dealing

with controversial issues. In the classroom setting, the teacher involves the students in

discussions of moral dilemmas to understand the implication of one’s action. Students

individually select their objectives and social priorities and then, with guidance from the

teacher, create a plan of action to make the change happen. As a teacher, what I like

most about this philosophy is that it promotes teachers to not tell students what is right

or wrong in society, but instead to guide students by exploring social issues, presenting

alternative viewpoints, and facilitating student’s analysis of the issues. In this manner,

students are being taught to be socially aware and being able to address the social

issues without someone telling them what to do. I believe this because I have seen,

from personal experience, how one’s family, community, or home life can alter a

student’s perception of inequality that exists in society. I believe that it is the job of the

school to set these inequalities straight in the minds of students. The schools can be a

basis where students, educators, and the community can come together to work to

create a positive change in the society. This thought made me appreciate more about

reconstructionism.

These five philosophies, in my opinion, are all effective and ineffective in their

own ways. I believed that the combination of certain aspects of each of the five

philosophies is necessary for our education system to be truly effective. We should

uphold the ultimate goal of these philosophies which is to educate students so they can

be become an asset to the society.

Prepared by: ROSEMARIE VERO-MARTEJA

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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