my co - teachers' philosophy

My Co – Teachers’ Philosophy

                As what the result of my educational philosophy facilitator shows, I am a progressivist. My curios mind is now asking, what kind of teachers are my colleagues? What are their philosophies as a teacher? The only way to know the answer this is to let them answer the same facilitator.

                Seven of my colleagues were available when I made them answer the facilitator. They are entitled to encircle one, more than one or all the choices in each item according to their belief.

                The result of their answers is shown below.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY	Progressivism	Perennialism	Essentialism	Existentialism	Evaluation
RESPONDENT NUMBER
1	4	2	1	4	Both Progressivist and Existentialist
2	3	1	4	3	Essentialist
3	1	3	4	2	Essentialist
4	3	2	1	5	Essentialist
5	5	0	3	3	Progressivist
6	5	2	3	1	Progressivist
7	6	1	4	0	Progressivist

                The table shows that my co – teachers are both Progressivists and Essentialists.

                Progressivists believe that individuality, progress, and change are fundamental to one's education. Believing that people learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives, progressivists center their curricula on the needs, experiences, interests, and abilities of students. Progressivist teachers try making school interesting and useful by planning lessons that provoke curiosity. In a progressivist school, students are actively learning. The students interact with one another and develop social qualities such as cooperation and tolerance for different points of view. In addition, students solve problems in the classroom similar to those they will encounter in their everyday lives. Progressivists believe that education should be a process of ongoing growth, not just a preparation for becoming an adult. (http://www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/progressivism.html. 8/4/2013. 4:43 PM)

                Essentialists’ believe that children should learn the traditional basic subjects thoroughly and rigorously. In this philosophical school of thought, the aim is to instill students with the "essentials" of academic knowledge, enacting a back-to-basics approach. Essentialism ensures that the accumulated wisdom of our civilization as taught in the traditional academic disciplines is passed on from teacher to student. Such disciplines might include Reading, Writing, Literature, Foreign Languages, History, Mathematics, Science, Art, and Music. Moreover, this traditional approach is meant to train the mind, promote reasoning, and ensure a common culture. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_essentialism. 8/4/2013.4:48 PM.)

                These two philosophies help in developing a citizen who is not only sensitive but intelligent. That’s what all teachers try to do.