Philosophy is crucial for educators when they are implementing the curriculum of the class they are teaching. A great teacher not only teaches the requirements of his or her curriculum, but motivates their students to want to learn the materials being taught. When looking at Philosophy and a curriculum an educator must look at the connection between the two. The Greek meaning of Philosophy is the love of wisdom. When examining the relationship between Philosophy and curriculum an educator will understand that Philosophy is one of the foundations of education.
An educational philosophy is the approach to education.It incorporates the values and ideals that we want to accomplish. The curriculum is the diagram that encompasses the philosophy into the objectives of the lessons. In today’s world educators worry about lacking basic skills in Reading and Mathematics that our students are having and focus more on modern technology and having our students think out of the box.
This discussion will include my personal education philosophy, types of philosophies, my personal results of the Philosophy Preference Assessment and how my personal philosophy will influence my instructional practices and my choice of classroom curriculum.There are five educational philosophies. They are perennialism, idealism, realism, experimentalism, and existentialism. Wiles stated, "Perennialists believe education is a constant due to a human’s ability to reason, therefore education needs to focus on developing rationality.
Perennialists believe education is a preparation for life, and students should be taught the world’s permanencies through structured study. Idealism is a philosophy that espouses the refined wisdom of men and women. Idealists favor schools that teach subjects of the mind, such as are found in most public school classrooms.For the realist, the world is as it is, and the job of schools is to teach students about the world. The experimentalist favors a school with heavy emphasis on social subjects and experiences.
Learning would occur through a problem-solving or inquiry format. For existentialists, schools, if they existed at all, would be places that assisted students in knowing themselves and learning their place in society. If subject matter existed, it would be a matter of interpretation such as the arts, ethics, or philosophy. These five educational philosophies are very different from one another.
"My results of the Philosophy Preference Assessment were very similar. The Philosophy I scored the highest for was realist. Kurtus stated; “realism believes in the world as it is. It is based on the view that reality is what we observe. It believes that truth is what we sense and observe and that goodness is found in the order of the laws of nature.
As a result, schools exist to reveal the order of the world and universe. Students are taught factual information. ” ( 2001, p. 1) My lowest results were in the philosophy Existentialist.Experimentalism believes that things are constantly changing.
It is based on the view that reality is what you experience. It believes that truth is what works right now and that goodness comes from group decisions. As a result, schools exist to discover and expand the society we live in. Students study social experiences and solve problems. ” (Kurtus, 2001, p. 1) If I plotted my results correctly they would indicate pattern 4, pattern 4 means “If the pattern appears U-shaped, as in either of the graphs in Figure 1-8, a significant amount of value inconsistency is indicated.
Such a response would suggest strong beliefs in very different and divergent systems. ” (Wiles, Bondi & Sowell, 2002, p1) My critique of the results from the Philosophy Preference Assessment would be uncertain. Although I was an Air Force Instructor I have not had the opportunity to teach in school. Most of the questions could be misunderstood unless you are in the teaching field, but for a person that has been in the teaching profession this assessment would be great at showing the philosophy they have.
I do agree with the assessment that my personal philosophy is primarily realism. Realism believes in order and discipline. I believe that an educator must maintain order and discipline in the classroom. A teacher or instructor has to be the primary leader in the classroom because they should be the subject matter expert and maintain an environment conducive to learning. Kurtus stated, “If you got locked in one philosophy, it seems that the view of the world and the ability to change are restricted. (2001, p.
1) I completely concur that if teachers get stuck on one philosophy they will assume that there way is the only way and the correct way. I also agree with the methods of teaching for realists, which are recitation and demonstration.“Before curriculum specialists can work with parents, teachers, administrators, and other educators to explore educational values, they must examine their own attitudes and philosophies. ((Wiles, Bondi & Sowell, 2002, p1) My personal philosophy has influenced the way I carry out my instruction, and once I become a teacher; my choice of classroom curriculum in various ways. After taking the philosophy assessment I am aware of my philosophy and can strive to use all philosophies in my instruction.
As stated previously, realism is my predominate philosophy; however, I feel a combination of several of the philosophies is necessary to be successful in the classroom.Hopefully I can use all teaching methods during my career as a teacher. A combination of all the educational philosophies would be the best approach for educators in the classroom. Educational philosophy is critical to understanding and building curriculums. The association between philosophy and curriculum are detrimental to education. The five basic philosophies of education are Perennialism, Idealism, Realism, Experimentalism and Existentialism.
These philosophies support educators and curriculum leaders in more ways than we know.
