What is your Educational Philosophy?

When I took the Educational Philosophy survey, I thought I knew for sure what my own philosophy would be. When I looked at my results I was pleasantly surprised. First, my Functional Philosophy is based on Constructivism. Constructivism is based on the learner’s ability to construct meaning on their own of their surrounding environment and using previous knowledge to do so. Although, I scored high for Constructivism, there are certain elements in Behaviorism that I can relate to. I believe a curriculum should be teacher centered for the first half of the student’s life. How else will the student gain any type of knowledge base? The teacher must be clear when describing objectives and standards. The student will then use this blatant showing of skills and information as their own knowledge base for all other subjects they may study in the future. Plus, Behaviorism prides itself in being able to measure the amount of learning taking place. This is a big help because we, as teachers, can then automatically see whether the student is “getting it” or not. Constructivism uses what a student already knows about a subject to better explain the different aspects of it. But if the student doesn’t have a concrete set of facts to use, then how will they construct on what they know to begin with? Constructivism is a good tool for deep learning when dealing with students in middle school. By then the students will have already begun constructing and reconstructing their own base of knowledge as they see fit. The second Educational Philosophy I scored high on was Reconstruction/ Critical Theory. At first, I wasn’t even sure what this philosophy entitled. Social Reconstruction was not a topic I even considered an issue. Well, obviously my actions speak louder than my words. And the selections I made on the survey were the ones that led me down this philosophical pathway. From speaking to Prof. McNair I learned that this Educational Philosophy is one that wants to make big changes on the educational scene, a “rabble-rouser” as he put it. I do not consider myself to be that type of a person. I like leading a quite life, one by the books. That is why I like Behaviorism. But when I read a little more on Progressive Education and Social Reconstruction, I began remembering why I had chosen this profession to begin with. I remember saying things like “I hope to change the educational community with my fresh new insights.” Sometimes I would mention Socrates and my need to corrupt the youth. I am going into art education so that I can show all my old stick-in-the-mud art teachers what the true meaning of art is. I want my students to embrace the Elements of Art like they would the Styles of Writing. I want them to experience fine art as well as street art, like Graffiti. I want to show my students that art isn’t just for the critics or the artsy fartsy people. That anyone with vision can take in the sights that make true art so powerful. Reading about what Social Reconstruction stands for made me realize that the education of our children is what shapes our society. A child will spend a large portion of their life (10 to 13 years) in school. A teacher, next to the parents, is the second to third most influential person in a student’s life. What we bring into the classroom with us, is what they’ll take out with them. This is something to be aware of. The society norms are begun and shaped in the classroom, and that is why certain bad habits don’t die, because we continue to accept them as society norms, like cliques and stereotypes. There is a more valuable social order and I hope to unlock it in my classroom. I hope to achieve this through giving my students a chance to question tradition and traditional values. As the teacher, I will give my students the tools they will need to explore on their own the meaning of art. In the end, art isn’t just defined as a production of aesthetic objects, its real definition and essence is a skill obtained through experience, study, and observation. Finally, it was a tie for the last slot on my Educational Philosophy list. The two philosophies were Progressivism and Essentialism. I read on Progressivism when I read about Social Reconstruction. Now, Progressivism and Social Reconstruction are on opposites sides of the Educational Philosophy spectrum. In Progressivism the emphasis is on the child and not the society. They believe that the society is already good. I don’t believe that, actually a Democracy is philosophically not a sound way to run a country; it’s actually the wrong way. What we should strive to gain is a Polity. But that conversation will be for another time. I do agree with the Progressivism’s view on where a school’s focus should lie, and that is on developing the student’s unique talents, capabilities, and interests. Having scored the same for Essentialism and Progressivism is quite a contradiction within itself. And easily describes me as an upcoming teacher. I’m a walking contradiction when it comes to my Educational Philosophy. In Essentialism the focus is not on the student, but on the subject. Something I don’t agree with a hundred percent, especially when fine arts are not considered a high priority. The subject I hope to teach. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are the most important subjects and the ones that must be mastered before any other. This I agree with. Those subjects will be the foundation of a student’s knowledge base for the rest of his/her life. It is important that they have a strong foundation in these subjects if they are to succeed in their adult life. But by strong, I don’t mean meeting the minimum requirements on a standardized test like Essentialism would have it. These subjects should be mastered on an above average level, along with the other subjects, like music, physical education, and especially art, which will lead to the education of a well rounded student. In the end, I think all these Educational Philosophies aren’t necessarily a contradiction within me, but act more as a balancing scale. All though they are very different educational aspects they help me put into perspective what is truly important, the students, the subject matter, and how to keep them both balanced.