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Jaecyn Salomon

Professor Name

EDU 201

December 21, 2021

Essentialism in Education

Learning, teaching, and education has been around for a very long time, whether it be in

school, at home, or during natural learning. However, most people are unaware of the different

philosophies behind teaching and education and how one adapts to a certain type of philosophy.

Of the five educational philosophies, I agree with the essentialism philosophy. The essentialism

philosophy of education was established by a man named William C. Bagley. This philosophy

holds that “common and essential ideas and skills belonging to a certain culture should be taught

to all citizens at the same level at especially primary school level” (Sahin 1). In other words, the

essentialist philosophy focuses on teaching students basic skills and knowledge as well as

focusing on character development and moral values. Being an essentialist teacher, I would use

the philosophy by focusing on core subjects to ensure that my students are understanding the

curriculum as well as providing a classroom where they can grow as a person and adapt moral

values that will help them be a model citizen in the future.

Firstly, I chose essentialism as my teaching philosophy because of the reason I chose to

become a teacher. The main reason I want to become a teacher is to prepare the next generation

of the world; to know that the world is in good hands. I want to raise students who will be

prepared for their future so that they will be able to overcome the many obstacles of life.
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Furthermore, I want to ensure that my students are set up and ready for the future ahead of them

so that they can be successful in school, their careers, and whatever else life offers them. As a

future teacher, I want to ensure that my students are learning basic skills of education while also

teaching them respect, responsibility, and other moral values that a person should have. By using

the essentialist way of teaching, I can ensure that my students will be set up for their future.

Likesaid, as a future teacher, I want to ensure that my students know the basics of

education. Essentialism focuses on the transmission of “intellectual and moral values and

standards” from teacher to student (Sahin 194). Furthermore, the job of an essentialist teacher is

to pass down the basic skills of education. In elementary education, it is important that schools

are given “a good grounding in reading, writing, and arithmetic” (Sahin 197). This is why, in

essentialism, the transmission of knowledge primarily focuses on using textbooks for teaching,

because it contains “timeless sources of knowledge and skills” (Sahin 195). By using textbooks,

all schools have a standard that is grounded and easy to follow so that core subjects are being

taught and followed. Furthermore, I wish to use essentialism for teaching because it requires that

all students are being taught the most important things in school, in a grounded and universal

way; basic skills and core subjects.

Another reason I agree with the essentialist way is because it focuses on raising students

who have moral values and respect to authorities. According to ““Essentialism in Philosophy,

Psychology, Education, Social and Scientific Scopes,” children and students “are required to

learn discipline, civility, and respect for school authority.” When children and students are raised

to know about respect for school authority, they will eventually develop respect for all authority

figures in their lives. In addition to this, they will learn how to be a civil person in society who
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can work with other people. Moreover, students who are raised with essentialist philosophy will

learn how to better adapt in the world with respect and moral values.

After learning how important the essentialist philosophy is in teaching, I have found

myself preparing to be one. The way I will use essentialism in the classroom is very similar to

many teachers out there. First and foremost, I plan to teach the basic skills of education to my

students, as well as the core subjects and moral values. By teaching my students how to read,

write, and do math, they will be prepared for their future in education. In addition to this, my

students' understanding of core subjects such as math, reading, writing, history, and science, they

will not only be prepared for their future in education, but they will also be able to better

understand their own interests as a growing individual. According to “Essentialism,” Dr.

Theodore wrote that teachers should “focus on achievement test scores as a means of evaluating

progress.” Because every student is different, I plan to create goals for every individual student. I

will use individual goals and scores as a way of evaluating individual progress for each child. In

addition to this, I plan to teach my students moral values and standards so that they can grow to

be a model citizen in their society. In my classroom, I plan to use “model student” in reference to

a “model citizen.” A model student in my classroom will follow the posted classroom rules,

show that they have respect for their teacher and other school staff, as well as being kind to their

fellow classmates. My future classroom as an essentialist teacher will show success in proving

that all students are able to learn with grounding, individual goals, and moral values.

Overall, essentialism is an important philosophy for the world of education. Essentialism

focuses on academic knowledge and character development, which are the two main factors a

student should acquire at school. I hope to provide an environment where I can show my future
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students that their class is a safe space, but also provide the best possible education they could

have.
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Works Cited

Sahin, Mehmet. “Essentialism in Philosophy, Psychology, Education, Social and Scientific

Scopes.” Online Submission, 30 Nov. 2017, eric.ed.gov/?id=eD593579.

Theodore, Peter A., Dr. “Essentialism.” The Foundations Of Education Web,

www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/essentialism.html#:~:text=Essentialists%20bel

ieve%20that%20teachers%20should,need%20to%20become%20model%20citizens