Using the Pioneer Educators to Create Your Own Philosophy
The Situation
You have volunteered to be part of a team putting together an interactive computer-based tutorial for the professional development of teachers in your school district. The topic of the program is "developing and acting on your personal philosophy of education." You are part of a small group that is assigned to create plans for a short historical overview section of the program. You have been told by the programmers that your part of the program can include only ten photo or graphic images. Each one may be accompanied by fifty or fewer words of text. In response to these limitations, your small group has decided to include photos or drawings that illustrate the ideas of ten key educational pioneers. Each image will be accompanied by a one- or two-sentence description of that person's educational philosophy and some questions designed to help teachers link that philosophy to their own concerns in today's world. Here are six of the descriptions, written by a colleague:
Locke: I emphasized the importance of learning by the senses. Do you agree with me that sensory and hands-on learning is important? If so, how would you include more of these kinds of learning activities?
Pestalozzi: I emphasized the importance of transforming schools into homelike, emotionally secure places. I still think that many children are victims of insecure homes and communities. Do you agree with me? If so, what do you think schools should do?
Froebel: I believed that each child has an inner spiritual core that needs to be nurtured by teachers. Do you think that schools pay sufficient attention to a child's spiritual development?
Spencer: I argued that individual competition brings forth a person's best efforts and leads to social and economic progress. I still think that the best and brightest, the gifted students, are held back by the group. Do you agree with me that schools should be challenging arenas of competitive activities?
Montessori: I believed that children prefer learning in an orderly and structured environment. Today, I fear that some schools lack the structure needed for learning. Do you agree with me? If you do, how would you create more orderly learning situations?
Piaget: I believed that children learn by encounters with their environments and that classrooms should be rich in materials that stimulate these learning situations. If you agree with me, how would you create these kinds of classrooms?
Thought Questions
- Do you believe the descriptions prepared by your colleague accurately capture the essence of each pioneer's view? Would you change any elements of the descriptions? Are there any further questions you believe teachers should ponder, based on these descriptions?
- Create similar descriptions and questions for four other pioneers described in this chapter: Comenius, Rousseau, Dewey, and Illich.
- How would you answer each of the questions posed in the above descriptions?
- Describe photos or images that you think would effectively illustrate each of the descriptions of a pioneering philosophy.
