Assembly Line Education

I think most schools follow the philosophy of realism, accepting that reality exists with or without us and we can observe it. Schools organize information into subjects in order to teach children, furthermore there is a set curriculum that teachers follow and students must learn.  Students have no control over their education and are tested to ensure they have learned the predetermined information.  Also schools teach subject matter in a deductive and inductive manner. For me the philosophy that I would like to see more in schools is existentialism, however due to standardized testing I think this philosophy is least prevalent.  With the philosophy of existentialism it is hard to measure with tests also teachers today have specific curricula they must adhere to which doesn’t allow for the students to take responsibility for their own education.  While I do understand that it is important for students to learn certain basic things, I found myself agreeing with this philosophy.  We all only have one life, shouldn’t we decide what we want to do and learn.  I believe in each individual’s right to be whomever they choose and unfortunately I believe our society really inhibits certain aspects of who we are as an individual.  With existentialism I believe students may be able to better pursue who they are and what they want to do; by allowing students to decide what to learn they would be able to develop the content knowledge and skills required to work in the area that interests them the most. If schools did follow this philosophy more it would create a more student-centered approach.  Also I think students will enjoy school more when learning about things they are interested in and therefore will actually get more out of their education than if they were force fed a bunch of knowledge they have little interest in.

 

I think the theory most prevalent in schools today is essentialism which ties very nicely into the philosophy of realism.  Students are required to acquire a set level of skills in all subject matter and cultivate this knowledge and skills in order to be competitive citizens.  Essentialists are the reason that academic standards for students have risen and students are now required to obtain content knowledge at a set level in which is measured by standardized tests.  They use these tests to assess how much students are learning as well as how well teachers are doing their jobs.  I don’t think these tests accurately portray students’ knowledge or teacher’s capabilities as each state has different tests and requirements making it very hard to compare results.  All of this contributes to the inefficient education system as it currently stands.  The theory I would like to see used more in schools is progressivism as it accentuates the philosophy of existentialism.  With this theory students can learn more in their areas of interest rather than being required to learn about subject matter that doesn’t interest them at all.  Also this theory uses a more hands on approach in learning that focuses on completing projects, peer discussions and other activities all of which foster a differentiated instructional approach to the student-centered curricula.  With the student-centered curricula, differentiated instructional approach, existentialism philosophy, and progressivism theory combined, I think students will actually be more competitive in the global economy.  Students will develop skills and knowledge that interests them and learn how to apply this knowledge and skills in the outside world.  This will create self-sufficient individuals with the ability to adapt to the ever changing world.  When we tell students what to do, learn, as well as what is important, we remove from them the ability to make decisions for them self.  Without the ability to make conscious decisions we fail to prepare them for a changing world and we set them up for failure.

Resources:  

 Ornstein, A., Levine, D., & Gutek, G. (2011). Foundations of education. (11 ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.