Kessler’s Philosophy of Education
The dictionary defines the word philosophy as the general principles or laws of a field of knowledge, activity, etc. I, myself define philosophy as my beliefs, values, and opinion on a subject. Specifically in this paper, the subject I will be speaking about is my philosophy of education. What is my philosophy of education you might be asking? I will answer this question as well as talk about many other aspects of education. These aspects include the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of public education, method, and curriculum.
The first aspect of education I am going to talk about is the nature of students. I agree with Rousseau that people are born innocent, neither good nor evil. I also agree with Rousseau in that a person’s environment determines whether they are good or evil. For example, if you grow up in a stable home with a family with good moral values and beliefs, then you are most likely to have those same morals and beliefs and be a good person. However, if you grow up in a family with no morals and no standards and grow up in a home of crime, then you are more likely to follow in your family’s footsteps and be an evil person. I also believe that not all people are born with the same intelligence. Everyone is different; no two people have the same intelligence. Different people can grasp certain things easier than others can. Some people are just born good at doing something while others have to work a little harder to achieve a certain goal.
The nature of knowledge is either relative or absolute. I feel that the nature of knowledge is relative. I believe, as Rousseau does in that each person needs to construct his or her own knowledge rather than memorizing something. I think it is important to learn from experience, not just learn from memorizing a map, or memorizing science or geography. People need to create their own knowledge and they can do this by learning from experience. I myself always found it easier to learn from my own experiences rather than to sit and try to memorize something and then apply it.
The book, Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, by James H. Jones, was one of the most influential books in today’s society. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment study began in 1932 and was terminated in 1972. This book reflects the history of African Americans in the mistrust of the health care system. According to Colin A. Palmer, “James H. Jones disturbing, but enlightening Bad Blood details an appalling instance of scientific deception. This dispassionate book discusses the Tuskegee experiment, when a group of physicians used poor black men as the subjects in a study of the effects of untreated syphilis on the human body”(1982, p. 229). In addition, the author mentioned several indications of discrimination, prejudice,
Prior to the beginning of the study, the doctors decided to withhold the official diagnosis from their patients. Instead, of telling the patients that they were infected with syphilis they chose to tell them they had bad blood. This was a decision made as a group, however, the provider’s individual reasoning was different. Miss Evers wanted to tell them
Rousseau stated “there is no original sin in the heart of man” so how else can he explain immorality that plagues mankind if it is not from a desire to please others (Roussseau 10). If people would stop trying to please everyone else and focused simply on their own needs, then maybe there would be less crime. Rousseau also believes that people are not naturally selfish and the concept of being selfish is taught through society (16). In order to combat this the only way Rousseau knows of is to use negative education for the first 15 years of a man’s life and to leave out morality until he is 15 so that the man can understand reasoning rather than trying to reason with a child who does not understand reasoning and end up in an endless cycle. Rousseau wants the child to learn to live by necessity rather than obedience so that he will never question the tutor’s authority since the tutor is simply there to ensure the child does not die. It is the tutor’s job to speak as little as possible so the child can come to his own
Jean Jacques Rousseau in On Education writes about how to properly raise and educate a child. Rousseau's opinion is based on his own upbringing and lack of formal education at a young age. Rousseau depicts humanity as naturally good and becomes evil because humans tamper with nature, their greatest deficiency, but also possess the ability to transform into self-reliant individuals. Because of the context of the time, it can be seen that Rousseau was influenced by the idea of self-preservation, individual freedom, and the Enlightenment, which concerned the operation of reason, and the idea of human progress. Rousseau was unaware of psychology and the study of human development. This paper will argue that Rousseau theorizes that humanity is naturally good by birth, but can become evil through tampering and interfering with nature.
Even to present day the there is still a bias among doctors when it comes to treating and diagnosing of black people.The things that kill black the most are preventable and curable Washington says“that blacks are not dying of exotic, incurable, poorly understood illness nor from a genetic disease that target them only but rather from common ailments that are more often prevented and treated among whites than among blacks”(Washington 2006). The most experiment that show how true this statement is the Tuskegee syphilis experiment sponsored by the government of the United States. In this famous experiment, black was infected with the bacteria that causes syphilis.This ...
A multitude of medical ethics were broken during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, including lack of informed consent, withholding treatment, and deception. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “The study was conducted without the benefit of patients’ informed consent.” Also, Yoon shed insight
The Tuskegee Study was carried in and around Tuskegee in Macon County, Alabama, from 1932 to 1972. The United States Public Health Service (USPHS) initiated the study to gather more information about the effects of untreated syphilis in African American males. The subjects comprised of 399 African American males who were presumably in the late stage of syphilis which was not contagious. These subjects only received some initial treatment after which they were kept on aspirin and iron tonic under the assurance of being treated. The study also consisted of 200 controls who were subjects without the disease. They, too, were cared for and administered similar medications. (Reverby, S.M., 2009)
The study took advantage of an oppressed and vulnerable population that was in need of medical care. Some of the many ethical concerns of this experiment were the lack of informed consent, invasion of privacy, deception of participants, physical harm, mental harm, and a lack of gain versus harm. One ethical problem in this experiment was that the benefits did not outweigh the harm to participants. At the conclusion of the study there were virtually no benefits for the participants or to the treatment of syphilis. We now have
The medical researchers of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study failed to gain the proper informed consent by explaining to the subjects they had a diagnosis of syphilis. Rather, the researchers decided to deceive the men to believe they were receiving special treatment from the Us Public Health Service for their “bad blood”...
In the Tuskegee Study, individuals were mostly only informed that they had “bad blood,” as the communication of the details of syphilis in a way that the medical community understood it was thought to be too complicated or scary for them to understand, according to the “Miss Evers’ Boys” film (Woodard). Rather than giving them insufficient information about their medical condition, taking the time to educate them on what was presently known about their medical state in a way that they understood was arguably the more ethically responsible
Jane Eyre has been acclaimed as one of the best gothic novels in the Victorian Era. With Bronte’s ability to make the pages come alive with mystery, tension, excitement, and a variety of other emotions. Readers are left with rich insight into the life of a strong female lead, Jane, who is obedient, impatient, and passionate as a child, but because of the emotional and physical abuse she endures, becomes brave, patient, and forgiving as an adult. She is a complex character overall but it is only because of the emotional and physical abuse she went through as a child that allowed her to become a dynamic character.
The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, has a plot that is filled with an extraordinary amount of problems. Or so it seems as you are reading it. However, it comes to your attention after you have finished it, that there is a common thread running throughout the book. There are many little difficulties that the main character, the indomitable Jane Eyre, must deal with, but once you reach the end of the book you begin to realize that all of Jane's problems are based around one thing. Jane searches throughout the book for love and acceptance, and is forced to endure many hardships before finding them. First, she must cope with the betrayal of the people who are supposed to be her family - her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her children, Eliza, Georgiana, and John. Then there is the issue of Jane's time at Lowood School, and how Jane goes out on her own after her best friend leaves. She takes a position at Thornfield Hall as a tutor, and makes some new friendships and even a romance. Yet her newfound happiness is taken away from her and she once again must start over. Then finally, after enduring so much, during the course of the book, Jane finally finds a true family and love, in rather unexpected places.
When penicillin was discovered in 1940 and was the only cure for syphilis at that time. The participants form Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment were excluded from many campaigns that were taking place in Macon County, Alabama to eliminate venereal diseases (Person Education, 2007). This experiment lasted forty years and by the end 28 of the men had died directly of syphilis, 100 were dead of related complications, 40 of their wives had been infected, and 19 of their children had been born with congenital syphilis (info please, 2007). The directors of this experiment used ethical, interpersona...
When analyzing contemporary issues in education, it is very important to ask why and how the issues arise. Some of these problems are obvious to the mass public, and some require a more in-depth analysis. One of the less obvious issues in education is the current philosophy in the classrooms. One may ask the questions, “Why is the philosophy of education important? And, why does it matter to me?” To put it simply, the philosophy imbedded in the goals of education and teaching methods in a classroom affects the students’ futures. This topic was chosen because the philosophy in schools is often overlooked as the absolute core of educational issues. Many students understandably struggle with sitting in a classroom, uninterested. In addition to the constant stress and pressure of having good grades, students often ask why the given curriculum must be learned.
Rousseau believed that education should teach the pupil mastery of self to live a virtuous life in a world which is not perfect (Fingerman, & Lang, 2004). He believed that proper environment and guidance form a tutor will guide the student through the learning experiences. The experiences of the results of right and wrong rather than physical punishment are learning tools. This view is shared by modern psychologists. He advocated for developmentally appropriate education to match the need to the child at every stage of its development.