The end of a chapter, the start of a new beginning

Hi guys! Welcome to my last entry for my EDS 101 course. In this ejournal entry, I will express my belief in the: role of the schools; education goals, curriculum, method of instruction, role of teachers and role of students. I also took again the Inventory of Educational Philosophy (IEP) and I will shortly discuss it here, and lastly, I would also express my significant learning from the course.

Role of School

I believe that the school is a place for learning, but it is not only the choice. There are still lot of choices to choose, like alternative and others. You could just have a formal education and perhaps learning through the schools. It will develop (somehow) your mind as you grow. It will also affect your beliefs in education. And it will hone you as a person. In addition, it is also a venue for interaction which is needed by the student to develop their social skills or socialization.

Educational Goals

For me, my educational goal is that; students should be able to transpose their learning into the real world. Education should help the student and also the teachers to promote societal reform. Education should also promote learning by doing and thus, I aim to see schools as one of the agent of giving the student a free will to choose what to experience and learn from it. I believe also on the same aim of Confucius which is to promote benevolence to the students. With this, we could have a better community and thus, a peaceful society.

Curriculum

I believe that teachers should teach the students the good characteristics of a person. The curriculum content must also promote societal reform and that it should also impose the process of problem solving. Having this kind of curriculum could help us transform our society and promote a child-centered education.

Method of Instruction

For me, teaching method should impose group activities, experiments and actual performances. Students must be exposed in the actual societal problem and direct to have a solution on it. Students must also facilitate their own learning by giving them free will, provided that the teacher would also guide them in their decisions. I should state that, as a teacher, it is your responsibility to inculcate into the minds of your students the importance of their decisions and the effect of it in their learning. Thus, it must not only a passive instruction but rather an active interaction.

Role of Teachers

I believe that a teacher must be the guide of the students in their learning. He/she must also help the student to know their important role in having societal reform. Thus, it is the duty of the teacher to really connect the learning instruction to the reality of our world—to the problems that our society are experiencing. I agree also with the belief of Confucius that we, as a teacher should love and understand first our students for them to have their affection and love to their learning.

Role of Students

For me, students should be the center of the education. They must have a freewill in choosing their learning experience. If they want to pursue arts, then go with it, provided that they will help in transforming our society into a better one. They must also be responsible of their learning process and thus, they should be active participants or driver of their learning. They may also seek help from their teachers. I believe that no man is an island and thus, everybody will be needing help from each other.

Result of IEP

My result is just the same, I am still more of a progressivist and social reconstructivist person. This may be the same but my learning had become clear. I have learned many things about my belief and at the same time about other beliefs. It helps me develop all my claims above and thus, it is really crucial to study educational philosophy. Because with this, you can clearly articulate your beliefs about education.

Significant Learning

Lastly, the most significant learning for me is learning more of my educational belief. It is now clear for me the specific claims of progressivism and social reconsrtuctivism. I was also able to have another principle about education which was affected by the claims of Confucius. But this not end here, knowing the specific claims of my educational belief does not mean that it will always be applicable to all my student. I have learn through my case study that  a teacher, no matter what his educational philosophy is, must be able to adapt to the learning environment of his/her student since after all, student must be the center of education, not the teacher. With this, I could certainly say that, all my learning about my educational philosophy would be brought as I go along my journey as a prospective teacher and as I practice this passion.

 

Thank you for reading my ejournal for my course, I hope I was able to share enough my learning from my course. I hope too, that I was able to articulate my beliefs as it was affected by the different educational belief. Passion would drive us into excellence, thus, be passionate in studying more of your educational philosophy. God bless us all.

On Confucius’ Education

 

 

“a good teacher should first and foremost be passionately and conscientiously committed to his work” –Confucius (Huanyin, 1993)

 

This idea strike me the most upon reading about Confucius’ Education. Indeed a teacher should have the greatest passion in teaching. Since he/she has the responsibility to a child’s mind, one way to help him/her is to inculcate into his/her mind the importance of benevolence. In this ejournal entry, I would share to you my little knowledge, which I got from the various readings, about how Confucius develop his philosophy that made him one of the greatest teacher in the world, what are some similarities of Confucius’ Educational philosophy to our schools, especially here in the Philippines and the things we might or should promote in our schools today.

 

Confucianism started in the time were morality of humans are declining or nothing at all, when there are no peace and the feudalism and castes system were unstable. Confucius, having born that time saw these inhumane activities, thus, he constructed and developed ways to save the humanity. However, at first, nobody believed him, and so he gave up and go back to his country to become a teacher. There he devoted all of his life and became the teacher of over 3000 disciples. (Confucius’ educational thought, n.d.) This is the start of Confucianism

 

With regards to the similarities, for me the greatest similarity of Confucian Educational perspectives is the aim for education for all. Confucius according to Confucius’ educational thought (n.d) Confucius “…taught people of all ranks without discrimination”. Meaning he wants to educate all people. Moreover, his aims of restoring and giving character education also reflects the schools principle.

 

Lastly, for me, we should follow how Confucius aims to produce a morally upright and benevolent child. With this we could have a better country. Another is for the teacher, according to Confucius, (Huanyin, 1993) for a teacher to produce a benevolent child he must first love his/her students. With this, all good things follow. We could relate good things to our students if we have a good relationship to them. Thus, teacher’s love promotes the student to become lovable also.

References:

Confucius’ Educational Thoughts, n.d. Retrieved at http://www.ct.taipei.gov.tw/multimedia/resources/file/346_2_88_20110406174627.pdf

Huanyin, Y. (1993). Confucius (K’ung Tzu). In Prospects, 23(1-2), 211-219. Retrieved at http://www.ibe.unesco.org/International/Publications/Thinkers/ThinkersPdf/confucie.PDF

On the Four Major Educational Philosophies

I had so much fun in studying the Major Educational Philosophies. It made me think of a better approach on teaching. It also made me realize that indeed, my beliefs in education lie in the philosophies of Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism. Now, for my ejournal entry in Module 3, I will share to you some of my insights about the four educational philosophies and about my understanding on it and its implication to me.

INSIGHTS
I really do not agree with the scenario wherein students were obliged to sit in a chair, and put their hand on a behave position on the table for a couple of hours. I feel like I’m a robot when I am doing that. That is why, maybe, I am not fan of the methodologies and educational philosophies of Essentialism and Perennialism. Perennialism focuses on the classical books and teachings of the past, while Essentialism focuses on teaching the basics—how to write, read and solve mathematics. Yes, it is important to know the basic but, for me it is better to teach these basics relative to the learner’s life. I found myself agreeing with what Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism entail. I believe that students learn best when they see the relevance of the topic to their own personal experiences and life and when they, themselves experience the relativity of the topic to their personal life. I can see myself teaching someday into a more democratic way than authoritative. Perhaps, I would let my student realize the importance of knowing how to divide numbers and put it into fraction through a situation where in a piece of cake should be divided equally to the group members. With this, I have not only promoted the problem solving and learning through experience of the Progressivism but I may also encourage the importance of fairness to my students, which would lie on the Social Reconstructionism. On the other hand, when we apply the Essentialism to the situation, I guess, I would teach division using a chalk and a board; perhaps, I would write the division sign and then solve an equation and then have a quiz. Likewise, if we are going to look at a Perennialism method, I guess, the same approach with the Essentialism would be used with just an additional historical background of division from the Great Mathematician of the past. There is nothing wrong with this situation I think, but I prefer of a more participative and active learning than passive learning. This is my preference, and I accept the fact that we would have different preferences. For you, are you an authoritative teacher or a learning teacher?

UNDERSTANDING
In this area, I would just define the four different educational philosophies based on what I have learned from the previous readings that I have. First is Perennialism, when I think of Perennialism, the first word that comes to my mind is classic. Perennialism focuses on the classical works of the past. According to them the importance and relevance of those classical works would not change. Second is the Essentialism, this is the traditional way of schooling, wherein students are ask to sit on a chair and listen to the teacher as they teach the basic knowledge that the student must know. Third is the Progressivism, here, they see more value on the experience of the student. They believe that through problem solving and experiencing the reality, they would learn best. Lastly is the Social Reconstructionism, here, social reform or changes would always be present in the discussion. They believe that the students have this capacity to know what is in danger with the society and to act for reconstruction of the destruction that our society received. Which education philosophy/ies would your beliefs lay? Do we share the same thoughts? I hope so ( Bagley; Cohen, 1999; Parkay, 2013; Schiro, 2007; Simon, Perrenialism, 2000; Simon, Progressivism, 2000a)

IMPLICATION
Upon knowing these things, I was able to identify myself and have deeper understanding on what and how to be like this and that. For instance, I was able to identify myself as a progressive social reformist, wherein I promote experience in learning the societal issues and the meaning of life by using the problem solving as a major tool to know the possible solutions to those problems and learn from it. I may not be totally a Social Reconstractionist since I would just give awareness to my students about the social issues that our society is experiencing. It is their choice whether to act or not. I am still respecting their freedom of choice that is why I am also partly a Progressivist. I would just promote the importance of experience and that’s it, it is up to the student if they would act for a social reform or remain as a student learning and applying the method of problem solving to their life. As long as they are not passive learners, I would support their learning and education. Moreover, I was also able to know the strengths and weaknesses of each educational philosophy. For instance, a passive education leads into one way learning resulting to powerless members of society. This is due to the fact that students just learned the theories and were not able to think deeper on it and apply it in the real life situation. (Am I right? Or left? Haha kidding ) I am not saying that it is not good to know the basics and the theories; this may in fact serve as foundation to a deeper learning. I am just promoting the power of experience in creating a deeper knowledge and learning. I believe that through time, when teachers are ready to accept this democratic approach of learning, more students would become great leaders, business owners, scientist and socially aware and responsible citizen. I believe that if we have a more progressive and social reformist educators, we could have more responsible learners and teachers that do not only depend their learning on the facts of the past and the basic but also on their personal experiences. Do we have the same beliefs?

Things to ponder:

*Students learn best by doing and experiencing the relevance of the topic to their personal life.
*A teacher that is also a learner from the students would promote a good learning communication with the students.
*Sitting for 6 hours on a chair is boring!
*Experience is indeed the best teacher!
*We can achieve social reform if we started the reform from ourselves.
*Teaching is learning

 

 

References:
Bagley, W. (n.d.). An Essentialist’s platform for the advancement of American education.
Cohen, L. M. (1999). Section III – Philosophical Perspectives in Education . Retrieved 2016, from Educational Philosophies: http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html
Parkay, F. W. (2013). Philosophical Foundation of U.S Education (Chap 4). In F. W. Parkay, In Becoming a Teacher (9th edition) (pp. 108-128). Needham Heights, MA: Pearsin Allyn & Bacon.
Schiro, M. S. (2007). Social Reconstruction Ideology (Chap 5). In M. S. Schiro, In Curriculum Theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns (2nd edition) (pp. 133-173).
Simon, L. (2000). Perrenialism.
Simon, L. (2000a). Progressivism.

Four Major Philosophies

The topic for this entry is about the four major philosophies—Idealism, Realism, Existentialism and Pragmatism. Here, I will be going to connect each philosophy to my future self. How would I be if I am an Idealist, or say a Realist, Existentialist or a Pragmatist? What are the implications of these philosophies to my teaching style and belief? We will see.

IDEALISM

The major aim of Idealism in education is self-realization. An Idealist teacher focuses on the character development of the students. But this does not mean that an Idealist won’t develop the mind, they will still develop it, however they have a great focus on the development of the lasting values that a member of society should have. (Ozmon, 2011, & Philosophical roots of Education, n.d.)

If I would be an Idealist, as a prospective teacher, I should have a great knowledge on the subject matter that I would be teaching. I should be of worth to become model, since in realism teachers should be a good model. Furthermore, I would continuously ask questions that will lead to the ideas I want to imply. I would keep on saying “mind over matter”. I should focus on the good will and lead my student in achieving a God-like living. Moreover, I would definitely use the dialectic approach of Plato. I would keep on retaining the classical way of teaching and I should give my students the classical knowledge using the books written in the past. In addition, I would also assume the holistic approach of education, wherein I would focus on the general thoughts that would give the students a wider preview of what the world is. I may also discourage writing notes because I want my student to focus on my lecture, so I that I may stimulate to them the basic ideas that they need. And lastly, I would direct my students in making projects that would stimulate their creative thinking; hence it makes their education take place within themselves.

REALISM

Realists give great value in knowledge. They hold that we are living in world that is real and that we do not make it, and human being can fathom it.  They give emphasis on the use of the five senses in understanding the things we have here on earth. They claim that in order to have knowledge about reality, human being must have a “systematic inquiry” into the things that are present in this world, say government, plants or animals. (Hicks, 2010, & Philosophical roots of Education, n.d.)

Basically, if I would be a realist teacher, I would give emphasis on the systematic analysis such as scientific method. I should focus on the things that we can see, touch, hear, feel or taste. Realists focus on the physical world. I would look at the schools as an essential tool for a student to understand the world he/she is living.  If Idealists are subjective, realists are objective. Thus, teacher should meet the standards that the realist institution sets before he/she can teach in the institution. Hence, I should be competent enough before I teach my lessons, say if I am major in Math, I should be an expert first before I can teach Mathematics. Moreover, if I would be a realist teacher, I would have my focus on the academic activities in my classroom and I would not tolerate any non-academic activities in my class. I would not allow any thing that could interfere the academic learning of my students. Lastly, I and my student should remain competent in our learning.

EXISTENTIALISM

Existentialism promotes a personal way in examining the essence of our lives. They claim that it is your own choice to be on who you are now. Existentialism is all about our personal choice. We create our own definition of what the world could be and the importance of life. We generate our own value, and choose the knowledge we think we need. Existentialists’ main focus in education is making the student aware of their free will or freedom to choose.  (Existentialism [Chap 7], n.d. & Philosophical roots of Education, n.d.)

Certainly, if I opt to become an existentialist I should persuade my student to ask question and reflect about love, death and life. I would allow them to use whatever they want to express their learning, say film making, theater play or musical. I would keep on insisting to them that they are responsible of the choice that they will be doing. In addition, my classroom would be like a freedom room wherein there are spaces that the student may want to choose to have their learning. It is indeed a self-directed education. My role definitely is to facilitate their learning. Moreover, my goals as an existentialist should be; my students should aim to develop their character and make my students’ education a learner-centered education.

PRAGMATISM

Pragmatists focus on use of scientific method. They see education as an experiment wherein students will be dealing with problems of the society. Interaction is one of the main methods of a pragmatist’s education. They believe that the reality is in the making, and is continuously changing. They also do not fix the aims of education because for them, they will “all emerge during reconstruction of experience”. (An introduction to Liberal education [chap 7] n.d. & Philosophical roots of Education, n.d.)

Indeed, if I am a pragmatist teacher, I would have a changing approach in teaching. I may also insist the use of scientific method in solving problems.  I would use the “learning by doing” approach, thus I would not focus on the lecture side but I would focus more on the experiencing side of learning. I would also give more activities that are real life situations for them to be able to solve and learn the problems in real life. I would also be the facilitator of the students’ learning activities. I would let my students share their learning to their classmates and let them learn with each other.

 

INSIGHTS

I think I agree more to pragmatism and existentialism. I still believe that experience is the best teacher. After knowing these major philosophies, I learned that even these four may be different, they also have similarities. One of their similarities is the self-directed learning; I think most of them, except realism, are self-directed. They may have different focus of education but they imply the student-directed learning. For instance; the Idealism imply, self-realization, the Existentialism imply the responsibilities of own self to his/her choice, and the Pragmatism imply the self-directed approach which is the learning by doing. After seeing the difference of these four, I should by now know to respect people with different views on education, because in some point in their principle it is indeed affected by these four philosophies.

References:

Philosophical Roots of Education, (n.d.), 388-424. Retrieved at http://www.wou.edu/~girodm/foundations/philos.pdf

Omon, (2011), Philosophical Roots of Education (Chap 1), 7-38. Retrieved at http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/hip_gb_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0132540746.pdf

Hicks, S. (2010, May 6). Contrasting realist to idealist philosophy, Clip 1-6. [Digital Video] Retrieved at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8ED24C083DD5FCAA

Existentialism (Chap 7), (n.d.) Retrieved at http://teacherweb.com/AZ/UniversityHighSchool/Sudak/Chapter-7A–Existentialism-2.pdf

An Introduction to Liberal Education (Chap 6), (n.d.). Retrieved at http://results.mu.ac.in/myweb_test/MA%20Education-Philosophy/Chapter-6.pdf

 

Educational Philosophy –week 1 (an Introduction)

What have I learned for this week? A lot! I have learned the significance of the educational philosophy and what is it all about. I have also familiarizes  myself with the branches of philosophy and how it significantly  affects a teacher. These things will be further discuss when you continue reading my journey. 🙂

I will divide my blog in three points—my learning, reflections and my evaluation to myself.

First, I will share my learning to you. This is based from the various readings and videos that I have read and watched for two days. I have learned that philosophy greatly affects one’s mind, decision and perceptions. (Parkay, 2013, Ornstein, n.d., Cohen, 1999) For instance, a teacher, believes that experience could be the best source of knowledge  thus, he always make his student experience the lesson that is intended for the week. See how his belief affects his way of teaching in class? That is how crucial the philosophy is in a human being. I have also learned the nature of Philosophy. According to Parkay (2013), philosophy is responsible in identifying the truth, values and knowledge—these are the major questions in philosophy. Knowing these major questions leads me in knowing the branches of philosophy. Parkay (2013) gives three major branches of philosophy; the Metaphysics that is concerned with the reality, the Epistemology which is concerned in knowledge and the Axiology which is for values, it has three sub-branches—the ethics, aesthetics and logic. The three sub-branches of Axiology is concerned with the good vs. evil, the beauty and art and the reasoning respectively. After studying the foundation of teaching, I proceeded in watching Hicks’s (2014) video about the introduction in Philosophy and Education. But to cut the long discussion short, the main key point that I got upon studying module 1 is the crucial role of philosophy in education and the importance of educational philosophy.

After reading and studying the assigned readings, I could definitely say that I was able to meet the objectives of the module. Indeed, philosophy plays an important role in the field of education. As a prospective educator, I should understand the philosophy of education for me to have a clearer view of what the world of education is and how to react on different views of different teachers.  Knowing that teachers are greatly affected by the philosophy that they grasp, I should also know how to find my own philosophy and upon knowing my philosophy, I should also need to know that I am not the only person that has this (my philosophy) philosophy and I may be different with other. Thus, I should learn to respect other’s philosophy. With regards with my belief, the module does not change my belief; it is still my belief that, experience will be the greatest teacher. Yes, this may be a cliche, but I still hold it on since I have experienced it. Maybe, nothing changes with my belief but there is an addition on it. Now, I believe that students would not only need the experience to teach them, there should be a guiding teacher that would help them experience what they ought to experience, with the help of the assessments that the teacher should give—or else, they will just have an abstract learning. I got this from the different philosophical orientation and stories that Parkay (2013) stated.

As part of my evaluation, I would say that it is really a big help to read the supplementary readings that were given in the module. Aside from they give clearer understanding on the given topic, they also give additional information that was not given on other readings. I was also able to answer the study question that was given. Hence, I can clearly say that I performed the task well. But there is always a room for improvement, and in my case, I think I still need to improve the speed and vocabulary, since the medium is English.

That’s all for this week! I hope you get something useful in my blog and I hope that we also live the world harmoniously, not by arguing with our beliefs with other belief but by respecting every one’s principle in life. Thank you for exerting your time and effort reading my blog. God bless us all!

 

Meanwhile in UPOU HQ Library 🙂

 

References:

Parkay, F. W. (2013). Philosophical foundations of U.S. Education (Chap 4). In Becoming a teacher (9th edition), (pp 108-128). Needham Heights, MA: Pearson Allyn & Bacon. Retrieved at http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/hip_gb_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0205625096.pdf

Hicks, S. (2014, June 14). Introduction to the course: Philosophy of education [Digital Video]. Retrieved at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4D15CEFD8356A3D3

Cohen, L. M. (1999). Philosophical perspectives in Education. Retrieved at http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP1.html

Meaning, scope & functions of philosophy of education. (n.d.) Retrieved at http://results.mu.ac.in/myweb_test/MA%20Education-Philosophy/Chapter-1.pdf

Ornstein, A. C. (n.d.) Philosophy as a basis for curriculum decisions. Available at https://wiki.usask.ca/download/attachments/44564505/philosophy_%20curriculum.pdf

An awesome start

Hi everyone! Welcome to my world! This is my official ejournal in my EDS 101 and 113 subject! By the way, I am Lexter Mangubat, an online student taking up Bachelor of Educatoin Studies in University of the Philippines Open University. This is my 7th term in my UPOU stay. And in my subject we are asked to have this ejournal for reflections and diary. So, guys, sit back, relax and enjoy reading my learning in my subjects.

Studying online is not an easy task. You might think that—yes! “it is hard to study alone”, and you’re correct! But not that so hard, like you’re going to die in studying all by yourself. You just need more discipline and all things will follow. For me, studying online is just the same in studying in other formal/traditional school—the only difference is that, we are studying online, while “they” are studying in classroom or with physical contact with their classmate and teacher. Actually, if we were all available, we can also study in a classroom and have a “physical contact” with them. But unfortunately, we are not available and that is the main reason why we opted online, or should I say, why I chose online. And here some of my “to-do-lists” and accomplished tasked in my online study.

In my EDS 101 subject, we are tasked to answer some assessment questions about ourselves. There were four sets of assessments; study skills inventory, self regulation questionnaire, time management skill test and inventory of philosophies of education. I will go over each of them one by one.

First, I took the Study Skills Inventory. Here I was able to determine two major areas that I need to improve, and this is reading the textbooks and note taking. I can somehow accept the result because I am really lazy in reading and note taking. I got 25/30 in textbooks, 15/20 in note taking, 32/30 in memory, 42/40 in test preparation, 45/35 in concentration and 25/20 in time management.

Then, I answered the Self Regulation Questionnaire. I got 204 which signify that I have a low self control. I must admit, maybe sometimes, but I am now trying to overcome this by praying and letting God rule myself.

Next is the Time Management Skills Test. I got an excellent mark here–40! I agree with this :). I know myself that I am very strict with my schedule. As much as possible, I should stick my schedule within the planned time.

With these tests, I was able to know some of my lapses in my 2 years in online studies. I was able to know that I should exert more effort in studying the given textbooks, note taking and self control. I think, by this time, I am exerting more effort in note taking and studying the given modules. In fact, I got a big notebook now to have my notes with my black and red pen and a green highlighter (yey! define effort 🙂 ).

After these assessments, I answered the Inventory of Philosophies of Education. The highest score that I got is 21 in progressivism and social reconstructivism. My lowest score is 20 in perennialism and existentialism. This result reflects my philosophy in education. I believe that education should be experienced, not only through reading the book then memorizing it but, by applying it to the “real world” and experiencing the ups and downs of life. And seeing the results, I think progressivism matches my belief and somehow, upon researching, I think that I am also into addressing the social needs through education. Certainly, I am affected by my cultural beliefs, religion, and education in answering the assessment.

I am done with these tasks including this ejournal and I pledge that I will be a responsible student of UPOU taking up EDS 101. I will do my best to accomplish all the tasks that our professor gives. And I hope that you would join me in learning the Philosophy of Education. God bless us all!