After
taking the Education Philosophy quiz, I was surprised to find that my
prediction was incorrect—I wasn’t a pure Existentialist. However, I did tend
towards Experimentalism and Existentialism. The majority of my selections fell
within Postmodernism. Even though the results of this quiz are somewhat
limited, it’s fun to think about the questions posed.
Knowing
myself reveals my biases, strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. It’s my job to
bring balance without favoring my strengths all the time. I’ll work harder to
balance out my weaknesses and less developed tendencies, especially when it
comes to the curriculum and classroom. It’s important to remember that my
philosophies frame my essential questions and slant the information I present
and sources I choose.
Who
I am, my beliefs, values, style, and preferences color my view of the world,
students, and classroom. It’s my responsibility to see my filters for what they
are, and recognize that students, parents, and teachers may be challenged by,
in agreement with, or polar opposite from me. By presenting multiple sides to
situation—information presented as possibilities and not fact with one truth
but a variety of perspectives—is critical. I’m curious to see what my students’
educational philosophies are from a learning perspective—and that of my
cooperating teacher. All of these factors impact my learning, collaboration and
teaching.
Grant
and Gillette discuss Existentialism and Postmodernism on the following sections
pulled from their more extensive chart.
According
to Grant and Gillette, “Experimentalism is the belief that the primary purpose
of schools is to teach students to think effectively” (analyze, criticize,
select between alternatives, and propose solutions based on analysis and
selection). This could dictate my choice of assignments and projects dominated
by thought and thought patterns. “ Existentialism is a philosophy that seeks to
understand what it is like to be an individual living in the world...able to
deal with human existence.” Instruction steeped in Existential philosophy could
ask students to use their “freedom of choice, contemplate responsibility, and
to live meaningful and authentic lives.” Postmodernism includes “truth,
language, and thought within reason, science, technology, human nature, and
self.” Teachers with a Postmodern slant could potentially discuss power and
oppression, creativity, aesthetics, knowledge, and power.
Carrying
out my philosophy in the classroom would ideally follow a democratic position
offering students different perspectives on an issue and encouraging them to
seek different points of view.
Reference:
Grant, C.A. & Gillette, M. (2006). Pursuing An
Educational Philosophy, Learning to Teach Everyone's Children: Equity,
empowerment and education that is multicultural, NY: Cengage, 299-339.
No comments:
Post a Comment