Strauss’s piece, “Is this any way to train teachers?”, challenges the teaching styles of the current education system by examining the RGSE teacher program. She claims that this program only takes the ineffective opinion of charter schools into account, and does not diversify or create a beneficial learning environment. Strauss’s piece can be observed through the lens of a pragmatic progressive educator, as well as someone that adamantly opposes the essentialist view of teaching during the modern historical context. Firstly, a pragmatic progressive educator believes that schooling should promote the future ability for students to learn, as well as the belief that children should learn how to problem solve in a way that connects to their personal …show more content…
For instance, the William Yeats quote that was listed above, can also advocate an idea against essentialism. Essentials argue for the continual testing of students, as well as the continuous pouring of basic knowledge and skills into students (Quantz, 2015, page 79-80). Therefore, when the author negatively comments on educators who fill the pail, she is really referring to essentialist teachers just filling the brains of students with skills that they believe students will need in the future. Similarly, another anti-essentialist example in the text is when she reports “How horrified she would be by the thinking that reduces teaching to test-prep drill and professional practice to a numerical score” (Strauss, 2012, Paragraph 4). Essentialists, as briefly mentioned, focus on testing as a means to evaluate students, as well as believe that teachers are at the center of the classroom (Quantz 2012, pages 79-80). Therefore, by stating that teaching in programs like RGSE reduce teaching to drills and test scores, she is implying that teaching has become impersonal and more like the military; constantly running the same impersonal drills in order to produce the results you want. This point expands on the major criticism of Strauss’s piece that the RGSE program, which follows the instruction of charter schools, is not a helpful learning environment and it …show more content…
For instance, although the piece utilizes numerous rhetorical and personal examples, it does not base its argument off of concrete detail or facts. Therefore, the author is using an apparent use of reason, or in other words, the piece includes rhetoric that might seem reasonable (especially if you are a pragmatic progressive), but actually only has the appearance of using reason (Quantz, 2015, page 28). Therefore, the whole article can be summed up as her opinion as a progressive educator, rather than a factual critique of the RGSE system. To peruse this thought further, the only hard evidence that the author sources is a link that takes you to a video of RGSE teachers at work. However, when I clicked on the link, I was dragged to a page that stated that there was an error and the page I was looking for was removed and no longer existed. Thus, the only non-opinionated part of this article, where the reader can look at the information given and come up with his or her own thoughts, is no longer available. While it is important to realize that this information may have once been available earlier closer to 2012, it is also crucial to realize that in order to apply an empirical eye to the piece, that the reader needs to be able to craft their own thought to the data presented, rather than blindly following the advice and thoughts of the author. Therefore,
Goldstein argues a problem with education policy is, “American policy makers require every public school to use the same strategy…” (261) When facing the problem of inequality in education a teacher needs to be fluid with his or her curriculum. In fact, one of the best ways to allow for fluidity is through peer-to-peer help. Goldstein states, “(teaching hospital model) allows best practices tailored to a specific school to be passed from professional to professional.” (255) Peer-to-peer help not only does this allow for constructive feedback, but also it allows teachers to learn from one another. While policy makers might not know a schools demographics and unique situation teachers in the school will. Thus, teachers can help one another on their unique problem through a collaborative process. Peer to peer help allows for the design of, “creative curriculum materials and to lead school turnaround efforts.” (232) The problems associated with inequality can be thought out and explored through teachers working
Many progressives thought that the greatest way to reform society was through its schools. Public education had grown rapidly since the Civil War. Progressives had new ideas about the purpose of education. Progressive educators believed that children should learn best by contributing in activities where they can work on projects and learn at their own rate. I thought this idea was a better way of learning because memorizing methods were really stressful and many people have diverse ways of learning: visual, hearing, hands on, and etc.
Kozol perceives a war waging between teachers and the public school system (Kozol, 3). Teachers are trapped victims confined to the two purposes public school is attempting to accomplish. Those two goals include “class stratification and political indoctrination” (Kozol, 7). He believes that students should be aware of what is really being taught so they can react accordingly (Kozol, 9).
Webster defines philosophy as a critical study of fundamental beliefs and the grounds for them. In this philosophy, I will be talking about the three great philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. These three philosophers represent the birthplace of Western philosophy.
When we talk about education, we remember our teachers of elementary, middle and high school because they left their mark on our lives, and are who we truly taught things that even we , and we have to our knowledge, is that the main purpose of my philosophy educational. The basis of my educational philosophy pragmatism. The goal of education for pragmatists is the socialization of the individual and the transmission of cultural ideas of man to new generations. In this way, new generations have no need to repeat it step by step, the experiences of their ancestors (Riestra, 1970). The school must be active in developing critical thinking in the learner. This should not be a passive entity in the process of their education, you must learn to learn . The school must prepare students for this interaction with their environment that is always changing.
The article “What True Education Should Do” written by Sydney Harris caught my attention the most out of all of the readings we were given. In his article, Sydney J. Harris, a writer for major Chicago newspapers, is defining what he thinks true education is. There are two different ways of being educated according to Harris. One of those is that students are stuffed with information and the other is eliciting information from inside of the students’ minds. He gives us a quite honest analogy to support his ideas. He states that students are like empty sausage casings and are being “stuffed” with information by our educators.
Which was free the pupil from regulations and authority in the schoolroom. By doing this the dread of failure was eliminated; the curriculum was adjusted to match the mental thought power of the average student. Classes were grouped by age, social status rather than by mental preparedness and also allowing classes to advance at their own rate of progress. Traditional education states school is a preparation for life, whereas Progressive Education says school is only a part of life. Teachers have different roles to perform in each type of educating. Progressive Education declares teachers are leaders that guide the students to do their own thinking of a situation through play and social interaction. Traditional Education implies teaching consists of lectures, worksheets to be informative with strict discipline. Students are required to sit and listen while the teacher discusses the text. Progressive Education is driven by inquiry generated by the student and assessed mainly by benchmarks. The contrast is the traditional way that is straight-forward; based solely on correct answers and is grade oriented. The results of both types of education produced controversial dispute. Both approaches produced some failure. However, new and better ideas were tried. The country has gone mainly with Progressive Education with the idea of producing free and original productive citizens contributing to the good of the country. This thought pattern removed all restrictions from the lives of public school students. It gave the teachers the responsibility of developing the curriculum. Teachers are split on which way of educating is the best. According to William Owen, a lifetime teacher, “Under Progressive Education, authoritative sources and control were lost.” He also said “Original thinking came first over textbooks which became second and discipline became a problem.”(14-15, 53-55)
All six of the major educational philosophies Perennialism, Progressivism, Essentialism, Existentialism, Social Reconstruction, and Behaviorism are in my opinion feasible in the classroom. However, I have chosen Essentialism as the primary philosophy I would like to employ in my classroom for several reasons. Although I think all six would result in learning, which is the primary purpose of education, I think that Essentialism is superior to the other five for my classroom. I feel this way because it embraces the purpose or original goal of public education, it allows lessons to be gauged to all different learning styles, and finally because essentialism employs methods of teaching and discipline that I believe work exceptionally well with my content specialization.
... middle of paper ... ... The teaching methods used in a progressive classroom supports the idea of problem-based learning wherein the students are required to develop original solutions to existing or potential societal problems.
First and foremost, I believe that the teacher should be in control of the classroom. Students are young, and they do not usually know what is best for them. Therefore, the teacher should be the one to choose the lessons and decide what is going to be taught each day. This traditional practice of orienting the class around the teacher is one of the main principles of the essentialist philosophy. To encourage this in my classes, I w...
The use of progressivism in the classroom broadens students? points of views and expands their abilities to understand differences in opinions. Furthermore, it inculcates students with a vast array of knowledge about their surrounding environment and everyone in it. Without the use of the progressive method, it is almost impossible to thoroughly educate children on complex topics such as racism, religion, and people that come from different societies, nationalities, or ethnic groups. A lack of knowledge of this sort le...
Considering the traditional teaching methods and the abundance of test-taking in schools, it is evident that the philosophical theory, Essentialism, has a strong presence in classrooms. Although Essentialism affects policymakers, parents, and the mass public, it most importantly affects the students. By deeply analyzing the issue of an overwhelming Essentialist presence in education, one can conclude that Essentialism is the root of contemporary issues in education.
Essentialism is Essentialism refers to the "traditional" or "Back to the Basics" approach to education.
“Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself.” John Dewey describes and supports progressivism, an education philosophy that I professionally identify with. Progressivism is a student centered philosophy that focuses on experiences, opportunities, and values that enhance a student 's learning and life. The role of the teacher is to act primarily as a facilitator of learning, they encourage and guide students to explore and promote individual development. As a future educator I believe it is important to involve students and allow them to take responsibility for their own learning and achieving their goals. The role of the student is to discover, engage, and express themselves.
... of democracy (Sadker & Zittleman, 2010, p.283). Progressive schools make a connection between school and community and give students a deeper understanding of how working together forms a successful social environment. Progressivism also focuses on analyzing experiences thoughtfully and drawing conclusions objectively, which is a vital skill to have throughout life and makes the students more productive citizens in society. In the words of John Dewey, “it is the business of every one interested in education to insist upon the school as the primary and most effective instrument of social progress and reform in order that society may be awakened to realize what the school stands for” (1897). We must consider the society of our future and how we will educate them, and I believe progressivism is the most effective way to improve the future.