My Developing Philosophy of Education: insights from key Educational Theorists.
My own Philosophy of Education has taken me twelve weeks of learning and studying varying different characters such as John Dewey, Maxine Greene and other educators that gave me a brilliant insight into what education really is about. I believe that having your own philosophy of education is essential in every teacher and teacher to be, without one you aren’t educating students to their full potential.
For the last number of years there has been debates and discussions between endless parties about the way children are thought in this day and age. This debate varies from all sorts of things, from how children were made learn to how children were made listen to how children were made behave.
Firstly, what struck me the most was the about this module and what I made sure to have in my own philosophy of education is the difference of education years ago against the education of now. John Dewey is the person who first opened my eyes to this theory. John Dewey is an American educational theorist who I have found very helpful in building my own philosophy of education.
It was not until I sat back and done a bit of research did I realise the extent of how different and similar education is from now and then, sometimes this a good thing but often a bad thing. If we look at a picture of a classroom forty years ago and compare it to a classroom now, what is the difference? Not a whole lot if I am to be honest and I think many would agree with me on that. Thankfully though teaching styles have changed extremely. Compare our generation to our parents’ generation and the difference in stories we tell and they tell is incredible. No more would a child be slapped or hurt if they couldn’t tell you the ten times tables. The style of teaching is improving massively year after year but I feel like there is still a long way to go before we can say our education system is in an ideal situation.
Similarly enough to old style versus new style we can compare traditional education to progressive education. This topic was discussed by John Dewey. Fortunately traditional teaching seems to be on the decline as progressive education is getting more and more popular. I strongly agree with the notion of progressive education as it facilitates the student to learn in a possibly unique way to them individually while also benefiting everyone one in the classroom letting them learn in a way that suits them. John Dewey said “ Learning by Doing”. This is crucially important for me as I write my own philosophy of education. Personally this theory is one of my most highly regarded theories from John Dewey. I feel like it has an extra importance to me as I am on my way to becoming a Construction and D.C.G teacher. Thankfully I was lucky enough to experience this theory first hand as young lad attempting woodwork for the first time. That experience is the main reason why I am sitting down writing this now. I found my own passion for the subject through Progressive Education.
John Dewey, JD. Experience and Education: The Kappa Delta Pi Lecture Series. New York: COLLIER BOOKS Macmillan Publishing Company.
“We might go through all the points of difference between the new and the old education and reach similar conclusions. When external control is rejected, the problem becomes that of finding the factors of control that are inherent within experience. When external authority is rejected, it does not follow that all authority should be rejected, but rather that there is need to search for a more effective source of authority” (21) .
Another theory to which I am going to follow and lead my philosophy of education by is that of experience and education. In my opinion not only is our job as a teacher to formally teach the students the coursework on the syllabus but also to develop them into the grown up adults they are meant to be. This can be done through experience. Not the experience of the teacher in his or hers methods but the experience of each individual student as they grow up. We as future teachers are only there to facilitate the learning and the experience of the child. Teachers can be considered as tools to construct and guide students through and into what they want to be. Teachers are much like books and other educational materials being handed down through generations, we are here to equip the students with what is necessary for them to experience the real education and set them up for future responsibilities and for the rollercoaster that is life.
John Dewey, JD. Experience and Education: The Kappa Delta Pi Lecture Series. New York: COLLIER BOOKS Macmillan Publishing Company.
“The main purpose or objective is to prepare the young for future responsibilities and for success in life, by means of acquisition of the organized bodies of information and prepared forms of skill which comprehend the material of instruction. Since the subject matter as well as standards of proper conduct are handed down from the past, the attitude of pupils must, upon the whole, be one of docility, receptivity and obedience. Books especially textbooks, are the chief representatives of the lore and wisdom of the past, while teachers are the organs through which pupils are brought into effective connection with the material. Teachers are the agents through which knowledge and skills are communicated and rules of conduct enforced.” (18) .
Along my twelve weeks of learning about different theories from different theorists I found myself caught up by one man especially, Paulo Freire. Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. I along with anyone I have discussed this topic with agrees with Paulo in regards to the relationship between the student and the teacher. I firmly believe that a good relationship is essential in in classroom environment. Without a functional relationship between the teacher and even one student it can cause a lot of interruption and unnecessary hardship for the class. Paulo’s theory could possible be even more relevant now than ever before. I know from experience that not every student and teacher are going to get on together always, throughout secondary school there would always be a character or two who would make life hell for thr teavher and in return seriously disrupt the class. This one person could put education of the rest of the class at risk. Therefore I believe that even if it is not possible for every teacher to get on with every student once they have a mutual and respectful relationship the class can work as normal. It is not about getting every teacher to be best friends wit every student rather than get every teacher and student to understand and respect the relationship between them. Having a good relationship with your student doesn’t mean you have to love your student. I find this as one of the most important aspects of teachers in education. Without working relationships nothing can be achieved in the classroom.
Paulo Freire, PF. Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New Revised 20th Anniversary Edition. New York: Continuum.
“Worse yet, it banking model turns them students into ‘containers’ to be ‘filled’ by the teacher. The more completely she fills the receptacles, the better a teacher she is. The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are” (72).
Lastly the man I want to talk to you next is in fact lecturer here at the University of Limerick. Trevor Hickey came into us as a guest speaker and spoke to us about his experience in his educational journey through life. He spoke to us about how important it is to be happy in what you are doing, both in work (teaching) and in life. he explained to us that in life in general you aren’t happy that it will show in your work. I found this very interesting as the importance a teacher has as they influence hundreds of students each day. Trevor then spoke about values, value being the one of the only jobs men and women can do that computers and robots can not. Overall Trevor summed up a lot of what I believe in in terms of education. This talk from Trevor felt personal also as he comes from the same side if the house as me, him being a construction teacher and me training to be one.
Overall my Philosophy of Education has still a long way to come over the next few years which I massively look forward to. I am also getting the full benefit of having a philosophy of my own in first year. This means that as I progress through the years I have a structure that I know I will fully implement as teacher.