This activity uses the image of a pier, extending from land out into the ocean, to represent the idea that education leads the individual to explore the unknown, and brings him or her back to the safety of the "home"-that is, one's inner knowledge and nature.
Read and reflect on the examples of Pragmatism, Idealism, Existentialism, or Realism (PIER), given below. Circle the letter that best represents your own beliefs. Then answer the questions that follow.
- Concepts, skills, and abilities to solve problems and create new knowledge bases that are open ended, grow out of life experiences, and work in a continually changing world to improve society.
- Major ideas, truths, and ideals that can be transmitted as a common bonding and shared cultural heritage from one generation to another as embodied in liberal studies that seek perennial truths and virtues through inquiry and the "great books."
- Ways of knowing that are concerned with constructing the human experience to seek self-actualization of the individual in a caring and responsible environment.
- Basic skills, content information, and abilities that are essential for life choices such as career options and can be directly taught and measured for success in the real world.
Based on your choice, use the following questions as guides for your group discussion:
- What kind of curriculum supports or reflects this knowledge?
- What is the relationship between school and society?
- What is the role of the teacher with respect to the students? To the subjects of instruction?
