Educational philosophy: foundational theories and practices

¶ … Educational Philosophy

Although not old in years and experience, my educational philosophy is fortunately commensurate with the institution I am presently working for as a teacher. This institution is committed to one of the oldest and most respected academic traditions in existence, that of the Jesuit Catholic tradition of rigorous, questioning inquiry in education. It also stresses a strong community service tradition, along with the Catholic faith tradition. It combines justice education with academic excellence. It stresses that students must take pride in their African-American identity, and show pride and respect for themselves and their community by applying themselves to their studies with intellectual engagement as well as with a sense of duty.

This stress upon the great works of the religious tradition may seem to connect the school to the academic tradition and philosophy of perennialism. This educational philosophy advocates the use of original, translated but not abridged, great books of the Western tradition, rather than textbooks. Perrenialism's basic argument is that the original work is the work of genius, rather than the commentary. This stress upon inquiry and examination of basic, great works of text and training the mind is in line with the Jesuit tradition. However, my school and my own belief recognizes that the African-American canon is still evolving, and is an important part of student's lives and other American tradition of great texts. Thus, more contemporary texts are incorporated into the curriculum than might be typical of a perrenialism school.

In line with the thinking of secular educational perennialists, the school and my own educational philosophy emphasizes the importance of learning how to reason, rather than learning facts by rote. Perrenialists argue that accurate, independent reasoning defines the greatest difference between an uneducated mind and an educated mind. The ability to make intelligent choices, rather than obedience, marks the truly good student. My school, which is located in a section of Chicago where students are often challenged in their faith and belief structures with negative influences, thus embodies this aspect of the perrenialist tradition that encourages students to learn how to 'fish for a lifetime,' that is to learn how to learn, rather than to be given a singular meal to feed the student's mind for a day.

Perrenialists tend to de-emphasize facts in curriculum choice. "Since details of fact change constantly, these cannot be the most important. Therefore, one should teach principles, not facts." ("Perrenialism," 2004) Also, the approach that modern perennialists specifically use when teaching scientific reasoning is to stress the acquisition of the scientific method, not the acquisition of scientific facts. They may illustrate the reasoning with original accounts of famous experiments. This gives the students a human side to the science, and shows the reasoning in action. Most importantly, it shows the uncertainty and false steps of real science." ("Perrenialism," 2004) Although my school may stress the need to acquire certain facts to pass successfully through the higher education system, it still embraces perennialism's focus first on the personal development of the learning process, and the acquisition of the empowering tools to learn, along with a stress on great texts, secular and sacred.

Perrenialism also stresses that "since people are human, one should teach first about humans, not machines or techniques. Since people are people first, and workers second if at all, one should teach liberal topics first, not vocational topics." ("Perrenialism," 2004) This may be contrasted with realism, which tends to focus on a realistic preparation for one's likely path in life. Like perrenialism, realism focuses first on the essential skills of learning, but it stresses vocational training and the acquisition of technical and fact-based skills. Our school encourages students to learn how to learn, and to dream in a liberal and principle-based fashion, rather than limiting their aspirations early on in life to a single vocational path. They may change in their interests and ideals -- also, once students learn how to learn, and gain a strong moral foundation and discipline, then all forms vocational learning will seem easy, and can be accomplished in a task-specific fashion, after they gain a job in this ever-changing marketplace.

Unlike the idealistic philosophy of education, my school and my own philosophy of education does acknowledge that not all students are equally willing and able to learn everything -- every student has his or her own unique capacity and set of talents. However, even from a practical standpoint, learning how to learn is better for students then to merely acquire technical skills. Consider how twenty years ago, a realistic, business education encompassed typing and shorthand. It is far, far better to gain a moral and intellectual grounding that will enable a student to grapple with the challenging, dynamic educational and work environment of the future.

In contrast to the credos denoted above, the existentialist philosophy of education "proposes that we should not accept any predetermined creed or system and from that try to define who we are. It aims for the progressing of humanity. Existentialists are in favor of independent thinking," much like perrenialism, but in a far broader sense. Existentialism does not believe that there is any set of core religious principles, or anything like a canon, even a developing canon such as the African-American tradition of literature. "Existentialism is not a set of curricular materials. Rather, it is a point-of-view that influences all that the teacher teaches and how he or she teaches. It engages the student in central questions of defining life and who we are. It attempts to help the student acknowledge his or her own freedom and accept the responsibility for that freedom. It aims to help the child realize that the answers imposed from the outside may not be real answers. The only real answers are the ones that come from inside each person, that are authentically" of that student's own personal beliefs. ("Existentialism," 2004) Although my school and my own philosophy may be more directed than the existentialist one, a philosophy designed more for adults than for children, it does encourage students to recognize that their beliefs may be challenged by society as well as their own impulses, and they must be strong and true to their sense of self and creed.