1. Philosophy of Education
Chapter 6

2. Teacher-Centered Philosophies
Essentialism…the accumulated knowledge of our civilization, the essentials
Core curriculum: math, science, history, foreign language, literature
Writing, reading, measuring, and computing at the Elementary level “Essentialism in Action” video

3. Perennialism A close cousin to Essentialism
Focus on enduring themes and questions that span the ages
Great Books…works by history’s finest thinkers and writers
The Goal…develop rational thought, serve as a sorting mechanism for the best and the brightest leaders
Universities for the pursuit of truth, not a training ground for future careers

4. Student-Centered Philosophies
Progressivism…schools organized around the concerns, curiosity, and real world experiences of students
Students form meaningful questions and strategies for answering those questions
Progressivism is the educational application of Pragmatism…to see if the idea has merit, test it, if it works, it has merit
Dewey…social learning has meaning and it endures

5. John Dewey Facing an ever changing world, use the scientific method:
Become aware of a problem
Define it
Propose hypotheses to solve it
Examine the consequences of the hypotheses in the light of experience
Test the most likely solution
Video “Progressivism in Action

6. Social Reconstructionism
Focus studies and energies on alleviating pervasive social inequities
Video “Social Reconstructionism in Action
Paulo Freire
Jane Roland Martin…the three Cs: caring, concern, connection
Transform schoolhouses into schoolhomes

7. Existentialism
Importance of student perceptions, decisions and actions
Rejects any source of objective authoritative truth other than the individual
“Existence precedes essence.” (Sartre)
Summerhill…A.S. Neill

8. Psychological Influences on Education
Constructivism…knowledge constructed by each learner through interpreting and reinterpreting a constant flow of information
Built on the work of Piaget and Vygotsky…stages of development and scaffolding…linking prior knowledge to new information

9. Behaviorism
Free will is an illusion, human beings are entirely shaped by their environment
Alter the environment, you alter the behavior
Behavior modification
Assertive discipline

10. Classical Western Philosophy
Socrates…exemplar of human virtue…the pursuit of wisdom, Socratic method, Idealism
Plato…founded the Academy, the world’s first university
Parable of the Cave
Aristotle…Realism
The Golden Mean…virtue lies in the middle ground between extremes

11. Subdivisions of Philosophy
Metaphysics…the origin and structure of reality
Epistemology…the nature and origin of human knowledge, valid from illusory paths to true knowledge
Ethics…what is of value
Aesthetics…what is beauty
Logic…how do we reason