PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Philosophy of Education

Philosophy of Education

Thesis Statement

A personal educational philosophy offers particular insight into educational learning and instruction as pointed out in Driscoll. By having various educational philosophies to follow, it allows for different aspects of learning to be brought into the learning environment.

Introduction

It was indicated in Driscoll that “evaluating various learning theories for their validity and usefulness ultimately becomes a matter of developing a personal theory of learning and instruction” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 411). It was recommended in Driscoll that when developing a personal theory of learning, it should be conveyed in a specific professional context. This means one should utilize their professional experiences when coming up with their personal educational philosophy due to the expertise they may have in a specific area or grade level for example (Driscoll, 2005).

Discussion

Pragmatism

The proposition that pragmatism is now becoming the legitimating theory of American liberal education suggests that close attention to where the educational enterprise is headed is not only warranted but might be, in fact, a transformative act. To this end, Rollins College president Rita Bornstein and Robert Orrill, executive director of Academic Affairs for the College Board, decided to convene a conference of college presidents, faculty and administrators to discuss the future of American liberal education.

An invitational colloquy, "Towards a Pragmatic Liberal Education: the Curriculum of the 21st Century" will include papers presented by experts in a number of fields and several moderated sessions. In addition, there will be small "teams" from approximately 35 colleges and universities. In the majority of cases, these "teams" will include the institution's president. Finally, a number of educators and organizational leaders have been invited because they have a particular interest in the evolution of liberal education.

Charles Eliot, (president of Harvard during the late nineteenth century), made a break with the classical tradition, and John Dewey took this break as a given in his own thinking about the further reform of American liberal education. Furthermore, it is this same break that Robert Hutchins sought to reverse and undo in a debate with Dewey that reverberated in the educational community throughout the first half of the 20th century.

In addition to these considerations, Eliot wrote that the meaning of liberal education has sometimes in its history "quietly undergone many serious modifications" and that, at other times, conditions have changed so forcefully that its meaning had "to be fundamentally and openly changed." The heart of the matter for those attending the Rollins colloquy in February 1997 is perhaps whether it is one of these latter moments that we are entering at the close of the 20th century.

Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that impractical ideas are to be rejected. Pragmatism, in William James' eyes, was that the truth of an idea needed to be tested to prove its ...