Ivy Sheward’s 3-2-1-Blog! Week 6
1st thing I learned: I learned about the philisophical ’isms’:
Idealism: there are ideals that everyone should pursue (sometimes they were unobtainable and unrealistic)
Realism: A Philosophical system often traced to Aristotle who believed that reality could be perceived with one’s senses, and one could abstract concepts from those experiences.
Theistic Realism: A mixture of Realism and Christian theology… combining educational goals and spirituality.
Existentialism: Philosophical system that emphasizes personal responsibility for one’s choices and living an authentic life.
Pragmatism: Philosophical system that believes knowledge is constructed by individuals and groups to solve problems they encounter. (Reality is observed or experienced.)
2nd thing I learned: The teaching ‘isms’:
Perennialism: old and conservative thinking, teacher knows all
Essentialism: focus on the basics, traditional
Progressivism: knowing is found through experiences
Social Reconstructionism: knowledge is subjective, individuals make meaning. Education should challenge inequity and create a better society. Teacher as facilitator.
3rd thing I learned: I learned that there are Inquiry Project Pillars. They are: Authenticity, Academic Rigour, Assessment, Beyond the School, Use of Digital Technologies, Active Exploration, Connecting with Experts, Elevated Communication. These pillars are part of any successful project (though all of them do not need to be achieved).
1st connection I made: I connect to the questions written out on page 234 of the Philosophy of Education reading. My grade eight teacher actually asked my class what goals we want to reach, the best ways to teach us and how she could help us achieve those goals. It made us feel like we had a say in what we were learning.
2nd connection I made: A connection I made is the kind of classroom I was taught in. Through elementary and high school and especially university, I realize that I was taught with a mixture of a little perennialism, progressivism and social reconstructionism. I hope to be a progressive/socially reconstructive teacher.
1 question I still have: I thought I knew what my educational philosophy was but these readings have given me a lot to consider. Do I need to teach using only one ‘teaching ‘ism’ or do they sometimes fit together and work better?
