Teaching Methods In the field of education there are many aspects that teachers have to understand in order to be effective educators. The current essay will compare and contrast the terms philosophy, ideology, and theory applied to the teaching profession. Philosophy is defined as all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts, the sciences and liberal arts exclusive of medicine law and theology. (Merriam-Webster Online, n.d.) Considering the definition how does philosophy apply to the teaching profession? As educators one has the task of teaching subject matter to his or her students. Philosophy encompasses all learning exclusive of those mentioned above, therefore it is easy to state that philosophy and the teaching profession goes hand in hand. Teachers teach content to a student; the student is learning the content that the teacher is teaching them, it is equilibrium; one could question if teaching could exist without the role of philosophy. Heyting, Lenzen & White (2001), explain that the philosophy of education cannot simply be reduced to a technical knowhow. It was also stated that the history of philosophy demonstrates an uninterrupted concern for systematic...

Because philosophers - unlike empirical researchers - are not inclined to simply adopt a specific view of what 'true knowledge' entails, they tend to relate methodological considerations to fundamental epistemological questions. Therefore, differing opinions on methodological issues, and consequently a plurality of methods, seem to be unavoidable. (Heyting, Lenzen, & White, 2001, p. 1)
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Ideology as visionary theorizing, a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture; a manner or the content of thinking characteristics of an individual, group, or culture.(Merriam-Webster Online, n.d.)

Regan (2002) helps clarify and explain the question of ideology through quoting the philosopher Richard Pratte. The question of what is ideology is answered by stating that the term ideology has been obscured by diverse users, yet it is central to current discussions concerning economics and political programs as well as being fundamental to the…