Among the most crucial elements of the learning process is the involvement of parents. As is the case in many societies, the parents regularly help their children with their homework. They therefore play a critical role in their development. The teacher should constantly consult the parent in developing the curriculum. Homework is arguably the best way to test the students’ interpretation skills and retention abilities. There should therefore be emphasis on class attendance, as well as PTA involvement. However, I think the involvement of these parties should not be intrusive, thereby allowing the student to follow their own learning paths.
As a teacher in training my philosophy is more aligned with progressivism which advocates for the focus on the child especially, with less emphasis on the content and the teacher. In this respect, I will allow students to experience the world individually. My role as the teacher is to respond to the questions the learner has while on this unique learning journey. The curriculum would then be developed on this basis. In my view the wholesome development of the child is taken into account. However, it is important to understand that students may develop ideas that many scholars before her have already developed. In this respect, the student should include their personal experiences, but build upon ideas that preceded her age. This would be more beneficial to society as a whole than if they started working on their own ideas from scratch.
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"My Educational Philosophy".
I believe that Teaching should focus more on individual students, in which case each one has unique interests and ways through which they understand their classes. In teaching, therefore, while there is a uniform way of teaching, which involves standing in front of a class and relaying material, the teacher should also apply methods in which these differences between the students can come to light. By so doing, teaching will be more effective. Besides students, parents play a crucial role in the student’s development. Meetings with parents, especially those who include students as well, would be useful in improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning. In this respect, I consider existentialism a progressivist approach to teaching and learning.
As a teacher in training my philosophy is also aligned with perennialism. I believe teaching should play a key role in ensuring the students understand the fundamental principles that underpin human civilization today. As a result, it is important to ensure that they receive teachings on such topics as Shakespearean literature and Einsteinian physics. This should precede contemporary issues. While this is less progressivist than existentialism, it is still beneficial to the learner in developing their worldview. Robert Maynard and Mortimer Adler are two of the best-known advocates for perennialist philosophy. Hutchins developed an undergraduate curriculum based on the study of the Great Books and discussions of these classics in small seminars while, Adler along with Hutchins were contributory in establishing the Great Books of Western World curriculum. Through concentrating study on over one-hundred enduring classics, from Plato to Einstein, the Great Books approach aims at the major perennialist goal of teaching students to become independent and critical thinkers. It is a demanding curriculum, and it focuses on the enduring disciplines of knowledge rather than on current events or student interest.
Essentialism presents a more conservative approach to teaching and learning. In contrast with progressivism, essentialism advances the idea of having standards and consistently ensuring all teaching adhere to them. I believe this form of teaching would not benefit students with an orientation towards music, art, or drama. Noteworthy is the fact that essentialism gives room for the curriculum to change. In my view, a standardization of the education system would ensure that the entire education sector would be easier to audit, while ensuring relatively few students would exhibit problems with basic issues in their learning curve. In my view however, essentialism and perennialism pays less attention to the individual student’s attributes.
In sum, my philosophy of education is founded in the concepts of progressivism in that the focus of the educational experience should be aligned with the individual student rather than standardized as the latter can fail to foster the students’ development. Yet, there are components of existentialism, perennialism, and essentialism that should not be dismissed as relevant to a comprehensive education. Existentialism further supports the focus on the student by involving the parents and other caregivers in the decision-making processes. By utilizing the parents’ knowledge about the student, it is possible to better structure a classroom that will navigate their learning. Perennialism provides a grounding for the progressive approach by promoting the learning of standardized and traditional materials. This allows the educational experience to provide a foundation of learning and is essential to a comprehensive education. Finally, essentialism lean towards more conservative teaching which generally conflicts with progressivism but is necessary to ensure that the teachers are presenting the materials that are necessary for transitioning the students to the next stage of their academic or professional careers. Therefore, while I base my philosophy of education on progressivism, I recognize the necessity to integrate multiple theories to guide the students’ academic progress.
