Educational+philosophers

By Brittany Schneiderman

John Dewey was a philosopher, who had a theory on curriculum for students. He felt that it should produce students who would be able to deal effectively with the modern world. He felt the curriculum should include children’s preconceptions and how they should incorporate how the child views their own world. Dewey’s for instincts are social, constructive, expressive and artistic. I agree with Dewey because I feel that this is a way for a child to experience learning in a way that is easiest for them. It gives them freedom to show their individuality and personal experiences. I feel that this is very important in a child’s schooling because it doesn’t trap the child into conforming and it gives them the freedom to express their artistic abilities.

Jonathon Kozol is an educational philosopher that exploits poorly managed schools and urges for equality in districts. He argues heavily about rich vs. poor schools and writes as propaganda to integrate public schools. Typically, he analyzes the amount of money spent on each child in a school. I agree with him because he is speaking out for those who barely have a say in their education. Those children who barely have books and teachers who have nothing to work with need attention to be brought to their situation. I feel that it is important to integrate schools because it gives everyone involved insight to different ways of living, which helps out one in tremendous ways.

Alexa Kaplan EDC 102 Professor Noonan November 2, 2009 From what I understood, I feel that Freire’s emphasis on participation is a big key factor in education and in all schools. From my learning experience, I recall soaking in the most information and understanding when I was able to participate and interact with my classmates and teachers. I also think that his idea on student teacher and teacher-student is something that would benefit school systems as well. Having the students being able to teach other students or even the teacher on knowledge they know creates good discussion and a better understanding of the topic. 2) Aristotle considered human nature, habit, and reason the be equally important forces to be combined with education. A tool he used was repetition to develop good habits. He thought that the teacher was to lead the student systematically. Which stunted the chance of the listeners (or learner) to bring out their own ideas. From what I read, there were things I agreed and disagreed with about Aristotle’s view on education. I liked the importance of education, but didn’t agree with the idea of teaching students systematically. I feel if teaching were done as a step-by-step process that a teacher could not stray from, it would cause the students to become uninterested. Although, Aristotle was also about balancing the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject he taught, which in the classroom today would make a good balance.
 * Paulo Preire**
 * 1)** Paulo Preire was a Brazilian philosopher who commit himself to the cause of education and the poor peasants of his nation. He would collaborate with them to liberate them from the oppression. He developed the idea of “ banking concept of education”. This meant the students would view their education as an empty account to be filled by the teacher. He describes the roles of the students in the classroom as the teacher-student meaning a teacher who learns, and the student teacher, which means a learner who teachers. Freire put emphasis on interactive participation, and thought that participation in any form can lead to an empowerment of poor or marginalized groups.
 * ARISTOTLE**

By Kat Cotta

[] I agree with this educational philosophy. Students often feel as if their school is a prison, because of the tedious process that they, by societal standards, must endure. Also, the mechanical implications in this philosophy statement accurately portray another, perhaps less obvious, viewpoint. There is definitely a standard of student achievement that ultimately pushes the students toward the same goal, and the same “type” of person. This may be costly to the students’ individuality. The writer of the philosophy statement, in my opinion, is correct in stating that each student is an individual, with different strengths and weaknesses. Every student deserves to be able to plan for their future not as a society but individually. I also agree that a community is made up of different types of people, who can aid each other’s weaknesses with their own strengths and learn from other people’s strengths. It is this way of learning that makes a community work well. Every student in a learning community has a common goal of academic success, and they can learn from one another as well their teachers. Treating a school as a community makes students more comfortable in their learning environment. Lastly, I agree that teachers should be seen as guides. I feel that it is essential for academic development for the students to take the time to figure out certain material on their own, knowing they have the teacher to serve as a guide when they are confused.

[] I agree that every individual student has something to add to the classroom. People naturally have common sense and are exposed to different learning experiences. Students can give and take from learning experiences. I also agree that every student is capable of being reached. Teaching takes effort, and some students may be easier to explain the material to than others, but I definitely believe that every student deserves to, and can, be reached. Also, school is one of the key ways that children establish friendships. Therefore, the classroom is not only an intellectual but also academinc setting, and I agree that the teachers should, with the help of parents and other teachers, promote the social aspects of the classroom where appropriate. This is a good way to mimic both the social and intellectual aspects of the real world. Lastly, I agree that varying teaching methods is a good way to reach all students, who learn in different ways. This is the only way to successfully ensure that each student understands the material.

By: Dave Delfino

1) Jean Jacques Rousseau was a big philosopher during The Enlightenment time. He wrote a novel Emile, or on education that he thought was his most famous piece of work. It talks about questions of people in their society and how they fit into it. The first time this novel was put out publically, they burnt it right in front of his face. He wants to describe a system of education that will allow a normal man to learn in our corrupt society. It also includes parenting guides and things to have people be sucessful in our world through education. This book was split up into 5 different books. People looked at him as if he only wanted to change one person, but the more in depth you look, the one person was actually the whole society.

2) Michel de Montaigne was a philosopher during the French Renaissance. When he was a kid, Michel had his education planned out by his father, which at this time, it was very rare for people to go to school. He was put into peasants house, to help him with his social skills at the age of 3. He was sent to a boarding school from elementary school through high school. He mastered the curriculum by the 13th grade. He then studied law and the legal system. His theories were a little more hardcore. He wasnt about the unconditional love, but harsh love. He wanted parents and teachers to teach them knowledge that they can use everyday, no jokes or fun, just all buisness.

Katelyn Reverri Professor Noonan Education 102 Philosophers/Schools of Thought Pragmatists believe that we learn best from experience. Pragmatists also believe that truth is what works. What works for one person might not work for another which also relates to what works in one situation might not work in another. I believe this because your first source of knowledge is things you have experienced when you were younger and growing up. For example to learn the difference between hot and cold you have to experience it for yourself. Someone can tell you a thousand times over but the way you will learn is by experiencing a burn from touching the hot stove or pan. After this experience, you will know to never do this again. In a classroom setting pragmatism believe in solving problems together to gain knowledge and an understanding of a situation. John Dewy was a pragmatist. He believed that humans have to adapt to one another and to their environments. Also that life was a series of events that each event depended on the other. People’s primary source of learning is their own experiences. This is true for children because the best way for children to learn is through experience and being able to express themselves. Also since life experiences are dependent on each other if I a child experiences something that went wrong most likely they will not find themselves in the certain situation again. If a child does something the ends up being positive they will learn a goodei experience from the situation and hopefully continue to learn and do positive things.
 * Pragmatism **
 * John Dewy **

Erika Mondschein: Rudolf Steiner- Steiner considered the foundation of elementary education to be a child's longing to experience the inner authority of a teacher. From 12 years, the young persons awakening forces of judgement and intellect are based on the truth, secondary students should meet opportunities to fulfill their natural idealism. Throughout education, a great importance is placed upon giving freedom for teachers. I believe that when you are a student your experience at school comes from the teacher. Teachers should have the freedom to teach what they want to and to be creative with their style of teaching. As you grow older I believe that your judgement and actions should be based on the truth.

Jerome Burner- He argued that any subject can be taught in soome intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development. He thought student should build up on ideas untill the student has grasped the full formal concept. He felt that this was the best way of learning. Burner also developed the concept of discovery learning which promoted learning as a process of constructing new ideas based on current or past knowledge. I like Burners way of thinking. You should revist basic ideas so then you know each student knows what they are doing. It also is good practice for them. I think being interested in the material is very important because then you become focused on what you are learning. Also I strongly believe that you should be builidng on new relationships throughout your lifespan.

Alissa Becker As a math/science person, realism and pragmatism appeal to me as effective and logical approaches to teaching and learning. In realism, the teacher's role is to develop and encourage the use of rational and/or logical thinking in his/her students, while in pragmatism, emphasis is placed on applying one's theoretical knowledge to real-life situations. In our textbook, Aristotle is described to have “believed that one could acquire knowledge on ideas of forms by investigating matter”, which is what science is based on. John Dewey explained that humans must adapt to one another and their environments, and that the experiences and situations in life make each person unique. Combined, these schools of thought can be used to teach students – especially in the scientific and mathematical fields – to effectively problem solve on paper and in real-life situations. While completing the context statement assignment, it was evident that problem-solving is an area in which students continually struggle. By applying the pragmatists' interdisciplinary approach, difficulties in reading, writing and problem-solving could be reduced and potentially even prevented. However, I realize that while this sort of approach works well in left-brain dominated activities, English and other more qualitative subject areas might not benefit from realist or pragmatic educational practices. I suppose in the end, it's best to have a variety of educational philosophies represented in different subject areas, since not everybody learns or teaches effectively in the same way – that would make us robots, wouldn't it?
 * Pragmatism and Realism**

Ari Orefice John Dewey: John Dewey was a widely known philosopher whose ideas have been very influential as an educator. Dewey believed in experiment. H emphasized that ideas should be tested by experimentation and also that learning is rooted in questions developed by learners, which is known today as progressivism. I believe this crucial to help child learn. I find that children learn best from personal experience. This gives them a freedom to express their individuality. Mary Ellen Chase: Mary Ellen Chase was an American educator and was regarded as one of the most important regional literary figures of the early twentieth century. Chase was a believer of constructivism. Constructivism is an educational theory that emphasizes hands-on, activity based teaching and learning. On the other hand it focuses on the personalized way a learner internalizes, shapes, or transforms information. I believe that constructivism is very effective for children. For some children, they learn best with hands-on activities, to get a better understanding of what is going on through being a part of the learning.

Kelly Hemberger Constructivism This is a theory that is based on hands-on learning. This is said to be a very positive way of teaching with student, when they are able to construct their own way of learning when given the tools to do so. This theory also mentions that teachers need to spend more time creating this environment for kids rather than lecturing. They make a good point in the theory while saying if a child learns more by his understanding rather than trying to understand the teacher’s point of view while they explain it. Constructive thinking encourages critical thinning in schools today. I agree with this theory because it does help a lot for me as a student to learn from action and me acting taking part in the learning. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) He is known to be the father of romanticism. His theory was that children didn’t enter the world with a blank slate but with their own individual qualities. He stood my his believe of humans being good when they are first born but then becoming in contact with society that changes as time goes on. He studies Humanism. Humanism is enhancing the good part of a single person. They also believe that school system takes away from the student teacher relationship, and ends up seeing the students as objects rather than student. The main part of the believes is that education should start with the individuals self and not with world or humankind.

Kylee Mattis Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in the humanistic educational theory. This theory is based on the fact that all humans are born with "goodness" at birth. Those who follow this theory emphasize the individual and refrain from predicted how a child will behave. Rousseau believed that humans become enslaved by institutions and are not free. Humanists believe that education should center around forming a self-actualizing, free thinking student. Progressivism was a focus of the research of John Dewey. The main part of progressivism teaching is allowing students to form questions that they feel are important, and the questions are tested by experimenting. The learners are the ones asking the questions instead of the teachers. Students taught in this manner are taught how to think instead of filling their heads with facts.

Meredith Boyajian I believe Constructivism is a positive way of learning. As a learner, I know that for me, I am a visual learner. As a math major, I need to see out the equations and graphs. Constructivism is an education theory that emphasizes hands-on, activity-based teaching and learning during which students develop their own frames of thought. Certain types of math, this philosophical thought is the best way to teach kids how to development their thinking process, especially for probability and statistics. Prob. Stat has a lot to do with experiments and every time there is not always one answer, so the kids have to do tests, with flipping a coin or pulling out of a hat for example. With doing this, the kids are encouraged to answer their own questions and develop their own thinking frame. Constructivist theorists encourage the development of critical thinking and the understanding of big ideas rather than the mastery of factual information. For a lot of math, there is always one answer, but this philosophical theory will help kids when they need to problem solve or there is more than one answer, and the kids need to realize that there is more than one correct answer.