Running head: Philosophy of Education 1

Philosophy of Education

Aaron J. Caballero

College of Southern Nevada

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The 5 Education Philosophies

Perennialism

Perennialism focuses on acquiring the principles and ethics of how one should solve

issues. It often involves developing a traditional ideology of the West and the morals and code of

conduct associated with this area of the world. Essentially the philosophy states that there’s an

unchanging set of traditional principles that are essential to the development of one’s mindset to

motivate students. It’s often seen that these values can be taught through the usage of the Great

Books of our culture. It’s seen by Perennialists that this information from the Great Books can

and should be passed down to future generations to ensure stability and growth in their character

as individuals and a generation. The two main people associated with this philosophy are Robert

Maynard Hayes, who is known for his Great Books program, and Mortimer Adler for further

building upon Hayes’ program.

Essentialism

Essentialism closely resembles Perennialism, however it doesn’t have a primary focus of

the Great Books of our society. It acknowledges that adjustments may be necessary as for how

the core unchanging ideas are taught. Essentialists have a general belief that education should

focus on teaching the “Essentials” of education. That there’s a specific set of ideas that can and

should be passed down to every generation. That students should be taught to understand how to

think effectively and have the ability to take in new information on their own. William Bagley

begun this in 1934 through his journal.

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Progressivism

Focuses on learning through the implementation of real experiences in learning. It’s

believed that there should be active experimenting while the learning process takes place. The

belief states that one should be able to make their own meaning out of their experiences in the

world around them. Progressivism stresses the need for shared planning and compromise

between student and teacher, that students should have active participation in what they learn.

John Dewey was one of the most well-known progressivists.

Social Reconstructionism

This philosophy focuses on the need for education to be teaching the future generations

how to make the world a better place moving forward. Social Reconstructionism states that a

teacher’s goal should be to provide their students with the tools to make the world a better place

for themselves and everyone else around them. It’s believed that our world is a place that needs

tremendous growth, and that it’s a teacher’s responsibility to help future generations achieve

such growth. Theodore Brameld was the first of the Social Reconstructionists.

Existentialism

This philosophy focuses on the belief that there should be a focus on students’

individuality in their education. This often leads to many core classes being considered less

valuable based upon individual students’ desires. Students’ courses are tied to what they want

their future to be. Their choices directly influence what their education will be moving forward,

and a teacher’s goal is to lead a student to embrace this individuality. This is often found in many

public schools, especially ones with a large number of electives for students to pursue a variety

of their passions. Emphasis is placed upon humanities in this philosophy due to it focusing on
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individuality. Students are urged to better understand their identities in order to determine where

they should head in life and what classes are the most essential to them. Teachers are also given

the responsibility of displaying a variety of options for their students’ futures.

My Personal Philosophy of Education

Profession

I chose this profession due to a wide variety of experiences in my personal life. As an

older sibling to three younger brothers, I often found myself helping with their homework in

addition to teaching them how to play piano and guitar as it was a shared interest of ours in

which I had more experience in. Seeing the excitement across their faces when they played new

songs filled me with joy. I loved the feeling that I was able to make a positive impact through

sharing what I find joy in with others. Shortly after my Senior year in high school, I also acted as

a private guitar tutor for my former Calculus teacher’s son. On our second session I walked into

their living room to see him super eager to show me what he had learned.

He was practically jumping out of his chair with happiness, and seeing that I was able to

bring this light of joy out of him made me feel fulfilled inside. Though I haven’t done my field

observation yet, in the time I’ve spent in classrooms growing up along with being a student aide

for several years, I found myself enjoying being able to grade and give feedback to students on

assignments. Teaching even on a small scale brought joy to me in the time I spent doing it, and

the idea of being one honestly brings me joy. I’m great at working in hectic and high-stress
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environments as there are seven kids in my family, so this will definitely serve me well moving

forward.

Teaching

Perennialism and Existentialism are the two main educational philosophies that I identify

most with, but there’s a wide variety of other main ones that I scored high in as well. I want to

give students the skills to manage themselves and head in whichever direction that they see fit. I

feel as though my role as a teacher should be to give them a healthy, structured skill set that

allows their individual freedom to fulfill their life in the direction that fulfills them. I want to

allow my students to find the answers themselves, to think creatively and effectively, and have

the skill to fully grasp the possibilities of each direction they take in life. I’d love to be able to

share the knowledge I obtain. Of course, while sharing what makes me personally happy is

something I enjoy, I understand that people are fulfilled in different ways. I don’t expect to

always have a perfect spark with every student, but I want to do my best to make my class as

enjoyable as possible for everyone involved.

The history of teaching has been a rocky road as many children were initially excluded

from an education on the basis of race or sex. In addition, even when students were given

education, there was often a difference in how students were treated based on their identity.

Plessy v. Ferguson was one example of the separation and differing of educational opportunity

on the basis of race. The “Separate but equal” philosophy led to an unhealthy societal

segregation of races. It took almost sixty years for Plessy v. Ferguson to finally be rejected when

Brown v. Board of Education nullified this previous decision. As a teacher I want to give every
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student an opportunity to achieve the same heights as everyone around them regardless of race,

sex, disability, or any other personal attribute.

Instruction

I’ll be sure to implement a wide variety of strategies to help supplement my students’

learning. For example, I’ll be sure to use a variety of mnemonic devices to help them recall

information easier. In addition, I’ll try to give more room for students to question things

themselves without always give my own personal answer to complex issues. I want my students

to be able to think and discover a variety of new things on their own. I’ll also try to appeal to all

of the different types of learners, whether a student is a kinesthetic, auditory, or a visual learner

I’ll try to have something in store for them that actively involves them. I also want to show the

practicality and reason as to why students are learning what they are and how it will serve them

in life to have this knowledge.

Future

In my teaching career I will need to possess patience, understanding of students, the

ability to present information effectively, and I’ll also need to have the confidence to lead others

in a classroom setting. I plan to finish this course and my Bachelor’s degree, then move forward

towards student teaching and getting my license. After this I’ll search for a job as a teacher at a

nearby school. I plan on first getting a Secondary Education Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies,

and then afterwards getting one in Music Education. I greatly enjoy sharing what I learn about

psychology along with the history of our culture and the world to others, and I also love the joy

of music as well. Luckily both fall under the same general category as both are a Secondary

Education Bachelor of Arts degree, so I’ll be able to get a lot of the requirements for both
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degrees done simultaneously. After getting my second degree, I may either stay at my current

school or find another in-state or out-of-state depending on a variety of personal factors. In the

end though, teaching is something I enjoy and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it basically wherever I have the

opportunity to share what I love.

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References

Balbuena, Sherwin. “Philosophies of Education.” ​LinkedIn SlideShare​, 6 June 2014,

www.slideshare.net/sherwinbalbuena/philosophies-of-education-35587809.

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATION​, oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html.

Diehl, David E. ​Educational Philosophies Definitions and Comparison Chart​. 2006,

iied.hccs.edu/facultyportal/tlp/seminars/tl1071SupportiveResources/comparison_edu_philo.pdf.

Lynch, Matthew. “5 Things That Educators Should Know About the Philosophy of Education.”

The Edvocate​, 10 Aug. 2018,

www.theedadvocate.org/5-things-that-educators-should-know-about-the-philosophy-of-educatio

n/.