Lesson Plan Essay

In modern times in that location are opposing views about the practice of rearing. There is no oecumenical agreement about what the young should learn either in intercourse to virtue or in relation to the best life nor is it assort whether their education ought to be directed more towards the intellect than towards the character of the individual. And it is non legitimate whether genteelness should be directed at things efficacious in life, or at those conducive to virtue, or at non-essentials. And in that location is no agreement as to what in fact does tend towards virtue. perishforce do not all prize most highly the same(p) virtue, so naturally they differ also about the proper training for it. Aristotle wrote that passage more than 2,300 years ago, and today pedagogs are still debating the issues he raised. Different approaches to resolving these and other fundamental issues have given ascension to different schools of thought in the philosophy of education. We wil l examine phoebe bird such(prenominal) schools of thought Essentialism, Progressivism, Perennialism, Existentialism, and Behaviorism. Each has many supporters in American education today.Taken together, these five schools of thought do not exhaust the discover of possible educational philosophies you may adopt, but they certainly endow hefty frameworks from which you can create your own educational philosophy. Essentialism Gripping and enduring sakes much grow out of initial learning efforts that are not harmonic or attractive. William Bagley Essentialism refers to the traditional or Back to the Basics approach to education. It is so named because it strives to instill students with the essentials of academic noesis and character development.The term essentialism as an educational philosophy was originally popularized in the 1930s by the American educator William Bagley (1874A1946). The philosophy itself, however, had been the dominant approach to education in America from t he bases of American history. Early in the twentieth century, essentialism was criticized as being too pie-eyed to prepare students adequately for adult life. But with the launching of Sputnik in 1957, interest in essentialism revived. Among modern supporters of this position are members of the Presidents steering on Excellence in Education.Their 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, mirrors essentialist concerns today. chthoniclying Philosophical Basis (American) essentialism is grounded in a conservative philosophy that accepts the societal, political, and economic structure of American society. It contends that schools should not try to radically reshape society. Rather, essentialists argue, American schools should transmit the traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge that students consume to become feigning citizens.Essentialists believe that teachers should instill such traditional American virtues as respect for authority, perseverance, fidelity to duty, considera tion for others, and matter-of-factity. Reflecting its conservative philosophy, essentialism ten(tends to accept the philosophic views associated with the traditional, conservative elements of American society. For example, American culture traditionally has l)placed tremendous idiom on the central importance of tile physical world and of appreciation the world through scientific experimentation.As a result, to convey chief(prenominal) knowledge about our world, essentialist educators emphasize didactics in natural recognition rather than non-scientific disciplines such as philosophy or comparative religion. The Essentialist classroom Essentialists urge that the most essential or basic academic skills and knowledge be taught to all students. Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, outside(prenominal) language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum. Essentialists frown upon vocational, lift-adjustment, or other courses with irrigate down academic content.Elementary students receive instruction in skills such as writing, reading, measurement, and computers. Even plot of land learning art and music, subjects most very much associated with the development of creativity, the students are required to master a body of development and basic techniques, gradually moving from less to more complex skills and circumstantial knowledge. Only by mastering the required material for their grade take aim are students promote(l to the next higher grade. Essentialist programs are academically rigorous, for both slack and fast learners. The report A Nation at Risk reflects the essentialist wildness on rigor.It calls for more core requirements, a longer school day, a longer academic year, and more challenging textbooks. Moreover, essentialists maintain that classrooms should be point around the teacher, who ideally serves as an intellectual and moral role model for the students. The teachers or administrators deci de what is most important for the students to learn and place picayune emphasis on student interests, particularly when they divert time and guardianship from the academic curriculum. Essentialist teachers focus heavily on achievement test rafts as a means of evaluating progress.In an essentialist classroom, students are taught to be culturally literate, that is, to possess a working knowledge about the people, events, ideas, and institutions that have make American society. Reflecting the essentialist emphasis on technological literacy, A Nation at Risk recommends that all high school students complete at least(prenominal) one semester of computer science. Essentialists hope that when students leave school, they will possess not only basic skills and an extensive body of knowledge, but also disciplined, practical minds, capable of applying schoolhouse lessons in the real world.Progressivism We may, I think, discover certain common principles amid the variety of progressive sc hools now existing. To imposition from above is unlike expression and cultivation of individuality to external discipline is opposed costless activity to learning from texts and teachers, learning through experience to acquisition of detached skills and techniques by drill is opposed acquisition of them as means of attaining ends which make direct vital appeal to preparation for a more or less remote future is opposed making the most of the opportunities of present life to statistics and materials is opposed acquaintance with a changing world. John Dewey Progressivisms respect for individuality, its high regard for science, and its receptivity to change harmonized surface with the American environment in which it was created.The person most responsible for the conquest of progressivism was John Dewey (1859-1952). Dewey entered the field of education as a liberal social reformer with a background in philosophy and psychology. In 1896, while a professor at the University of Chica go, Dewey ounded the famous Laboratory School as a testing ground for his educational ideas. Deweys writings and his work with the Laboratory School set the stage for the progressive education movement, which, beginning in the 1920s, has produced major lasting innovations in American education. The progressivist movement wound up schools to broaden their curricula, making education more relevant to the needs and interests of students.Its catch waned during the 1950s, particularly after the 1957 launching of Sputnik by the Soviets prompted schools to emphasize traditional instruction in math, science, foreign languages, and other defense-related subjects. In the late 1960s and 1970s, under the guise of citizenship education and educational relevance, many of Deweys ideas enjoyed a regenerate popularity that decreased again during the education reform movement of the 1980s.