Reflection
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School
Grand Canyon University *
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Course
120
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
1
Uploaded by ElderRain12701
Reflection
Educational philosophies and theories have greatly impacted the manner in which children acquire their
education. There are traditional or progressive ways a teacher is able to run their class. Essentialism and
perennialism are philosophies that would fall under the traditional teaching strategies category. They
each view the teacher as the center of the class. Essentialism curriculum revolves around the students’
age and grade level rather than highlighting the students' individualized needs or interests (Tupas &
Pendon, 2016). The course emphasizes the rudimentary elements of learning as well as other core or
‘essential” values that encourage students to be good-standing citizens. The next philosophy mentioned,
perennialism, focuses on teaching material that could be used well into adulthood (Krutka, 2016).
Students are taught how to use their critical and rational thinking skills to help their minds further
develop. Books, ideas, logic, and concepts are the stars of the curriculum for a perennial teacher (Tupas
& Pendon, 2016). Teachers utilize older books that still relate to the current times of society like ‘To KIll a
Mockingbird’ or even ‘Moby Dick’, which leaves a lasting impression on learners. Perennialism and
essentialism are mainly used in public schooling to maintain uniformity. Having these two philosophies
as a guideline also makes sure that all students are learning everything, they need to know in order to be
successful in all aspects of life.
Flipping the page to the more progressive philosophies of education, there is existentialism and
progressivism. Rather than the classroom being teacher-centered, these philosophies are student-
centered.
In a progressivism classroom, students learn from doing things own their own. This teaches
students to be more self-sufficient but giving them the opportunity to conduct experiments and
participate in group activities or projects (Lynch, 2016). Progressivism promotes a democratic
environment where the students are able to determine the curriculum with no reining authority (Krutka,
2016). Existentialism also allows students to decide their educational path. This philosophy focuses on
the students’ individualized uniqueness and helps them to appreciate it as it’s valuable. Many private or
Montessori schools use progressivism and existentialism. However, no matter which philosophy is used,
they all track back to Jean Piaget’s theory about the stages of development children undergo. Piaget
researched on his own children to determine the development stages he coined. By using the
philosophies mentioned as well as Piaget’s theory teachers have blueprints on how to best service
students.
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