The book talks about two different types of philosophies in education.
There is teacher centered and student centered. Essentialism is the first teaching
centered philosophy. The teacher must have a common core of information and
skills (subject matter) and focuses on teacher-centered instruction. Behaviorism
is the second teacher centered philosophy. This says that one’s behavior is determined
by environment, not heredity. The third is positivism. This means that thinkers
did not attempt to go beyond observable, measurable fact. It limits knowledge
to statements of observable fact based on sense perceptions and investigation
of objective reality. Perennialism is the belief that schools should teach
ideas that are everlasting. “All’s fair in love and war” has been around for a
very long time, whether you believe it or not. This is where teaching avoids fads
or new ideas and sticks with what has worked in the past. Lastly, reconstructionism
focuses on addressing social questions and a quest to create a better society
and worldwide democracy. The curriculum highlights social reform as the aim of
education.
Next are the student-centered philosophies. Humanism works to enhance
the innate goodness of the individual. It does away with group-oriented
education and focuses solely on the individual. “Humanists claim that as
educators attempt to predict the behavior of students, they turn individuals
into objects to be measured. Next, constructivism works with hands-on, activity
based teaching and learning that develops personal meaning in the instruction
process.
The last philosophy I mentioned is probably the one I best identify
with. When teaching health, there are so many different activities that can get
students involved in the classroom or in an outside environment. I truly believe
that students learn best when they can move around and work with their hands.
Obviously this isn’t the case with every student but it is by far my favorite
way to teach.
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