Education Philosophy

          

This idea of place-based, student-centered, and self-directed learning falls under the topic of progressive education. Its philosophy is as follows: an education which “emphasizes the development of the whole child: physical, emotional, and intellectual. Learning is based on the individual needs, abilities, and interests of the student. This leads to students being motivated and enthusiastic about learning.” (Cornell, Dave, PhD.) If students are being talked to five days a week for eight hours a day instead of being talked with, then how much do they truly value their own education? The student-centered instructional approach “placed the student (learner) in the center of the learning process.” (Collins and O’Brien, 2003.) Cornell lists several “student-centered learning examples” for students to take part in, including “classroom debate competitions, science-based solutions to environmental problems, problem-based learning” for medical students, dissections of frogs or other animals, and many more. Teaching this way changes the core of an instructor’s pedagogical method, or the way information is broken down and presented. 

      This leads to classrooms structured by Maria Montessori’s philosophy. “The Montessori method of education… is an approach to classroom learning that emphasizes independence and choice.” (Ruhl, Charlotte.) When she became a Doctor of Medicine in Rome, she worked with “developmentally delayed) children, which inspired her to then study educational theory. Just as importantly, she realized that instilling the desire to learn into young children paved the way for the rest of their education. “She decided to modify her educational method to suit all individuals, regardless of their developmental ability… Montessori observed how free choice allowed the students to develop a deep sense of interest in the activities they engaged in…” (Ruhl.) It’s no wonder the Montessori Method has been adopted worldwide to help learners reach their fullest potential. 

If a variety of activity options are given to a child, they will be more engaged when they are granted the option to choose. “Children are seen as born scientists where they create hypotheses and conduct experiments to discover fundamental principles and relationships between factors in the environment.” (Cornell.) This view was held by the Reggio Emilia movement, an educational philosophy formed in () after World War II. It is quite the utopian view that is strictly pro-respect and anti-war. This view on education included directing children through hands-on, exploratory projects rather than having them work their way through a fixed curriculum. Resources, (land to host the first preschoolers of the Reggio Emilia school, money to support their efforts, food to sustain them, and the skills to teach them,) were all provided by the local community. (Reggio Emilia Education: Sprouts Video.) Although this was likely more draining on the parents of these preschool students as more involvement was necessary, the results seemed to be worth it. This philosophy celebrates and uplifts a child's “innate sense of curiosity” and “endless imagination,” which allows educators to hone on an individual’s interests to create “a rich learning environment.” It emphasizes project-based learning, even using discourse during playtime as an educational moment; in these situations, it is believed that the best thing a teacher can do is stand back and observe as children work out their differences, while giving minimum input to allow the argument to remain civil. The goal of difficult situations such as this and other open avenues for debate is to allow children to ask thought-provoking questions about life because there are “endless ways to solve problems.” This is a natural way to further a child’s understanding of difference of opinion, therefore preparing them to respond appropriately in real-world situations. Healthy debates have the power to keep a child up to speed with their emotional skills, adaptability, and maturity. To achieve this, “it’s necessary to let teachers step aside and let conflicts happen.” The point of the Reggio Emilia format is to bring out the “researcher, builder, and designer” buried beneath each child. The question may be raised of how a student’s learning can even be graded by using this learning method. With Reggio Emilia, instructors seem to be more inclined to record observations than they are to assign a specific letter or number grade. They instead “document projects through pictures, videos, or written observations” and even recorded “transcripts of conversations” that occurred amongst students. These observations are actually meant to be displayed for all students to see, admire, and reflect upon for examples of experiences. In the Reggio Emilia format, failure isn’t discounted but instead valued “as a part of the learning process.” 

There were many more philosophers who contributed to the idea of a non-traditional education. A couple of these included John Locke (1632-1734) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), who both lived during the Enlightenment Period. This was also known at the Age of Reason, where the ideas of reason, individualism, and skepticisms arose in everyday matters; science, politics, philosophy, and education. 

Locke argues that all children fundamentally have the qualities of “curiosity, pride, desire for liberty,” and yearning for “dominion.” (Gianoutsos.) His method of teaching, to raise children to have good virtues, starts from birth before they even set foot in school. “Thus, the work of parents is two-fold: award esteem or disgrace in response to a child’s action and transfer that love of esteem towards a broader concern for others.” While Locke recognizes a child’s natural desire to develop rationality to ultimately blend into the mature, adult world, he also emphasizes the importance of curbing the longing for dominion in a child, or the thirst for power, total ownership, and control. 

Rousseau, on the other hand, has a far more naturalistic approach to early childhood education. “Unlike Locke, he does rely on social expectations to train children.” This doesn’t mean that Rousseau denies the fact that people must overcome vices to develop good judgment but points out that children thrive while following their “natural inclinations,” such as new starts to a plant finding their ways around obstacles to reach sunlight. His approach to education is a bit more abstract; he values environments that “foster liberty” rather than man-made societal constraints. Therefore, when faced with conflicting political norms rather than natural instincts and reactions, he chose the latter. He insists that “making a man” is far better than “making a citizen.” This may come off as Rousseau advocating for a generation raised as uncivilized barbarians, but it may also be seen as a recipe for freethinkers who aren’t as affected by political ideas until they’re mentally mature enough to entertain the provided pros and cons.

One last philosopher worth mentioning for their contributions to progressive learning is John Dewey (1859-1952), who was also a psychologist. He encourages experiential learning, which means students “actively engaging with the material rather than passively listening to lectures or memorizing facts.” (Main.) Dewey’s theory also celebrates how open dialogue can bring about powerful discussions in the classroom. If students are to have a meaningful learning experience, there should be room for their personal life experiences to be considered. His views are straightforward and logical; that students should be able to “think critically and bring tangible skills into the world. If students are faced with a real-world problem to discuss as a group as to what possible solutions may be they are more likely to be engaged, especially if it’s an issue they are passionate about. Schools have been recognizing the importance of real-world preparation in education, but the delivery methods can always be improved upon. Afterall, students aren’t released into the freedom of adulthood to memorize more facts, but to solve day-to-day problems relating to finances, difficult social situations, organization, health, fitness, finding their passions in life, and more. Why can’t these things be discussed more often in classrooms?