LaurenN.

Graniela

FoundationsofEducation

Dr.PatrickPritchard

PhilosophyofEducation

Ibelievethatchildrenshouldbeabletopursuetheirownhappiness.Ibelievethat
childrenneedtobeofsoundbodyandspiritinafunctionalenvironment,becauseissued
childrengrowuptobeissuedadults.Ibelievewearesocialcreaturesandneedtolearn
howtointeractwithoneanother.Ibelievechildrenneedtolearntheyhavethepowerto
makechanges.
Ibelieveittakesacommunitytoraisechildren.Whatmakesteachingsocomplex
isallthepartiesinvolvedinteaching.Teachingisacollaborativeprocesswhich
involves:thestudents,theparents,theteachers,andthecommunity.Ifalltheseparties
shareinparticipating,communicating,andunderstandingoneanother,thewholegoalof
schoolisachieved.Childrenneedguidanceinboththehomeandinschool.Thesetwo
aspectsmustformapartnershipinachildslife.Itisnotdonesoeasily.Ateacherisa
childssecondadvocateandnurturerwhentheylackanyoneelse.
IsupposeifIhadtochooseonephilosophytodescribemybeliefs,Iwould
chooseComeniusPansophism,whichadvocatestheunificationofallknowledge
combinedwithsocialreformtomakeitaccessibletoallpeopleallovertheworld1.
Thereneedstobeabalanceandunificationofknowledge.Theworldhassomuchto
offer,therearepositivesandnegativesinall,weneedtouseeverybitofpositivewecan
find.Themoreroundedweare,themoreunderstandingweare.Thisaidsusin
becomingmoretolerant.


PanosphismAppliedtoChildrenLearning
RitaTenoriobelievesforstudentstobesuccessfultheyneedtobeliterate:
verbally,numerically,technically,socially,politicallytheymust/also
beskilledplannersandorganizers,skilledcommunicators,and/analytical
andglobalthinkers.(Ayers,172).
Childrenneedtobeskilledinmultipleways.Onecannottrytofocusonjustoneaspect
oflifetoteach,becauselifeifmultifaceted.
Armstrongwritesthatthedefinitionofintelligenceistheabilitytorespondto
newsituationsandthecapacitytolearnfromonespastexperiences(Armstrong8).
Everyonehasabitofeachoftheintelligencesinthem:linguistics,spatial,musical,
bodilykinesthetic,logicalmathematical,interpersonal,andintrapersonal.Gardners
modelofthesevenintelligencesisbackedbytonsofresearchincludinganthropology,
psychometrics,biographicalstudies,animalphysiologyandneuroanatomy.These
intelligencesaresonatural,yetsocietyhasbeenforcedtogobyIQandotherinadequate
testingtomeasureintelligences.Thishasledtopeoplesnaturalabilitiestobeignored,
smothered,andunderdeveloped.Thereforeteachersneedtohelpdevelopeachofthese
intelligences,especiallypraisinganddevelopingstudentsontheironeormorespecial
intelligence.
Thereneedstobeabalancebetweentheemotionalbrainandtherationalbrain.
Educatorsmustunderstandthis.Onecanbebooksmart,butemotionalilliterate.One
mustalsobeabletorelatetopeoplealongwithbeingintelligenttosuccessfullyhold

certainpositionsinlife,tosuccessfullycopewithlifeevents.Rationalityisnotalways
enough.Itisgoodtohaveabalanceofbothrationalityandemotionalitytousein
situations.PeterSaloveyandJohnMayerlistanumberofemotionallyintelligent
abilities:KnowingonesemotionsManagingemotionsMotivatingoneself
RecognizingemotionsinothersHandlingrelationships(Goleman,43).
Intheearlystagesoflife,theamygdalaformsquickly,soemotionalmemoriesare
imprintedearlyoninchildhood.Thismeansthecaretakerandinfantrelationshipsare
crucial.Aninfantoryoungchildsamygdalalearnskneejerkreactionsearlyon,
includingdangerous,destructivebehaviorsuchasabuse.Sochildrenneedhealthy
environmentstothrive.Iftheylackthisenvironmentteachersneedtoprovideitfor
them.
Somepeoplearebornwithmoreactivityontherightbrainfrontallobe,which
leadsthemtobemoresomberordepressed.Childrenwhoarebornwithoveractive
amygdalaecanbemoretimidand/oranxious.Ifadultscancatchcertainnegative
temperamentsandnegativeemotionsearly,theymaybeabletocarefullyhelpguide
childrendownabetterpath.
Unstablechildrenbreedunstableadults.Everymomentinachildslifecounts:
wecanhelpmakethemintoasuccessfuladult,orbreakthemintoanegative,unhappy,
unsuccessfulperson.SoEducatorshavethedutytohelpshapenotonlytherational,
academicfeaturesofthebrain,butalsoachildsspecialintelligence(s)andemotional
intelligence

PansophismAppliedtoTeachingPhilosophy
Ibelieveallofthebelowphilosophiesfeaturesomeimportantaspectofwhatan
educationshouldconsistof.
Perennialismstressestheimportanceofthepast.Thepastformsthefuture,and
someoftheoldisstilltrueoftoday.Toreadtheoldscholarsbringsappreciationand
understandingofthepastandcanhelpprogresstothefuture.Thereneedstobeabalance
betweenthepastandthefuture.WithProgressivismIheartilyagreewiththe
acknowledgmentthatthereischangeintheworldandtheneedtohavetheskillstoadapt
tochange.Wearetousepreviousknowledgeandwithexpandinguponit.This
philosophystatesthatwearesocialcreatures.Weneedactiveandcollaborative
interactivelearninginschoolbecauseweneedtohavecollaborativeinteractionsoutside
ofschool.Knowledgelearnedinschoolshouldbeapplicabletotherealworld.Iam
attractedtothebeliefinthisphilosophythatthereisnocompulsiontofocusonone
discretedisciplineandcombineseveraldifferentsubjects2.Iamalwayssoexcited
tofindothersubjectsIhavelearnedabouthelpingmewithothers.Muchoflifeis
interconnected.Progressivismalsostressesthatlearningshouldnotbefullybasedon
textorteacher.Childrenneedtobeabletolearnandexpandupontheirinterestthrough
freeactivity,learningthroughexperience.
TheaspectofBehaviorismIcanagreewithisthatoneisshapedbytheir
environment,butIbelievethisisonlypartlytrue.Childrentendtodobetterwhenthey
haveapositiveenvironment.TherearepartsofExistentialismthatappealtome.Thereis
recognitionofeachpersonasanindividual,showingstudentsdifferentpathssothatthey

maydecideonwhattheypersonallybelieve.Everyonehasthereopinionsonwhatis
rightandwrong.Byshowingstudentsallfacetsofanyparticularconcept,theprosand
thecons,theycanunderstandcauseandeffect.Hopefullybyhavingadeeper
understandingtheywillpursueavenuesthatarentcompletelyselfishanddetrimental.
Thereisbeliefineducationofthewholeperson.Thereisencouragementoncreativity
andimagination.Thereisemphasisofoneononetimewiththeteacher.Thereisbelief
inselfpacedanddirectedlearning.Theselfpacedlearningcanbemanagedbutonlytoa
deeperextentwithcertainsubjects,suchasexpressivesubjects.Learningcannotbe
rushed.
Reconstructionistapproachisimportantaswell.Childrenneedtobesocially
aware.Theyneedtoknowtheyhavethepowertochangetheworldtheylivein,andone
waytheydothatisthroughintelligence,intelligencethatisvastandvaried.Thisshould
notbethesolepurposeofeducation,butapartofit.
SofarIhaveyettofigureouthowIwouldliketoapplythesephilosophies,but
havedecidedthatperhapstheConstructivistapproachcanworkwellwithscientific
discoveries.Constructivismisbaseduponchildrensexperiencing,buildingupontheir
ownthoughtsandknowledge,thenreflectingandcollaborating.Thisisperfectfor
Sciencestudy.Throughthisonemaycometounderstandhowthechildrenthink,aid
themincriticalthinkinganddiscoveringontheirown.Inmyclassroomwewillopenly
explorequestionsandconceptsposedbybothmyselfandstudents.Iwillprovidethe
studentswithmaterialstohelpthemexternallyexploreandquestionsthatevokecritical
thinkingsoastointernallyexplorethesubject.Thenwewillcombineourknowledge

thathasbeentestedtodrawupconclusions.Theylearnthroughexperience,reflection,
andcollaboration.Oncewegooverwhatwehavediscoveredwecanapplythis
knowledgetoexistingtermsandtheories.Wethenusethesenewlylearnedtermsand
theoriesaswedofurtherexploring.
Fortacklinglearningwewillexplorequestions,includingthoseofthestudents.
Wewillcultivatethequestionstobecomepursuableanswers.Wemayjournalour
thoughts,thendiscussasagroupourideas.Thenwemayusehandsonexperiments,or
experiencethroughfieldtripsorvideos.Then,morecollaboratingonobtainedexperience
andknowledge,testingwhetherthisknowledgemaybeapplied,andreflectonwhatwas
learned.Thenwemayjournalwhatwehavelearnedafterdiscussion.Laterweapply
thisknowledgewhenreviewingandlearningfurther,whileintegratingexistingtermsand
theories.ThroughexperiencetheylearntheWHY,andthroughcollaboration,theycan
buildupontheknowledgeofothers.
ToworkagainstthecriticismofConstructivism,suchascollaborationcancause
somevoicestobedrownedout,thestudentsjournalthoughtsonthequestionsbefore
discussion.Thiswaytheymaybetterexpresstheirviews.Wecanalsogoaroundthe
classroom,askingthateveryonesharetheiridea,whileIaddthisideaonalistwewill
usecollaboratively.SothatImaybecomeaccountableformychildrensprogress,
evaluationsmaybedonethroughstudentsjournalingandmyreadingoftheirprogress.
Wemayalsocompleteprojectstobeevaluatedattheendofeachsegmentlearned.
Theremaybeoccasionalnonstressfulquizzes,whichwillbeposedasLearning
Answers.Thewordanswerhasamorepositiveconnotation.Ihopetoevokethe

feelingthatthestudentisprovidingananswertowhattheyhavelearned.Theyhavethe
powertoprovidetheanswers.Theyarenotbeingtestedoftheirworthandknowledge,
theyalreadyholdtheanswers.Ifaftertheseevaluationsitseemsthestudenthasnotfully
graspedconcepts,thenwereviewtheWHYofwhatwasincorrectabouttheirthoughts,
andperhapswhytheybelievedtheiranswerwascorrect.Thisiswheremorequestions
areasked,moreresearchisdonebythestudent,andwewilldiscoverwhattheydonot
grasp.Ofcourseindoingallofthis,aswithallofclassroomactivities,Iwillcreatea
positiveenvironmentforideasandbeliefsfromtheentireclassroomcommunity.We
helpeachotherratherthancriticize.
ThebenefitsofConstructivismareofcourse,theactivelearningofthestudents
andconcentrationonthinkingandunderstanding,insteadofpassivelearningand
memorization.Collaborativeworkteachesthemhowtolistenandworkwiththe
opinionsofothers.Studentsgettoexploretheirnaturalcuriosity.Theycultivateskills
thatarebeneficialtoreallife.

Conclusion
Whatisundoubtedlyofthegreatestimportanceisteachingstudentshowtolive
lifeforthepresentandthefuture,usingalltheknowledgewehave.

References
ArmstrongPH.D,Thomas.1999.7kindsofSmart:IdentifyingandDevelopingYour
MultipleIntelligences.NewYork.Plume.

Ayers,William.1995.ToBecomingaTeacher:MakingadifferenceinChildrensLives.
NewYork,London.TeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniversity.
Goleman,Daniel.2006.EmotionalIntelligence.NewYork.BanthamBooks.
FromHandouts:
1

NewWorldEncyclopediaJohnAmosComenius.

www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Comenius
2

MajorEducationalPhilosophiesProgressivismintheSchoolHouse.