Why Do We Study Philosophy in Education?

Why do we study Philosophy in Education?

Truly and honestly, I have no clue why we must study this intense, complicated subject. There are so many inconclusive reasoningÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s, and all of the philosophies sort of contradict one another. ItÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s truly hard to remember who implemented what and why they think that way and how exactly we are suppose to implement it into our classrooms. Is it something that we do need and have to elaborate on, or is it something just to get us thinking? Perhaps, all of these philosophies relate to how our classroom will be, how our children will respond to different views and aspects of teaching, yet are they vital to the teaching profession in general?

I can sit here and say, Ð'ÐŽÐ'§Oh yes, they are wonderful and IÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ll apply them to my classroom.Ð'ÐŽÐ'Ё However, I think a briefing on what certain philosophies are and how they can be applied in a classroom isnÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦t exactly the best way to run my classroom. Maybe itÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s because I dislike philosophy and donÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦t truly grasp the concepts of itÐ'ÐŽK there are too many what ifÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s. There isnÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦t a concrete answer to things, and personally I think that may confuse me in the end.

Moving on, IÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ll explain a little of these philosophies and why they seem so complex to me. Since philosophy is the Ð'ÐŽÐ'§Love of Wisdom,Ð'ÐŽÐ'Ё I guess IÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦m not one who loves wisdom like I should because philosophy and I do not mesh well with one another.

IÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ll try my best and explain what I learned and/or gained from the philosophies we learned in class, but believe me it wasnÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦t a piece of cake Ð'Ñ"Ð'Ñ"

Starting off we spoke of Idealism, to better understand this theory of idealism; we began with PlatoÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s allegory of the cave. IÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ve taken philosophy before and this was the first thing we reviewed. So I remember this story which to me seemed like an inner struggle within oneself. The basics of idealism are based on the Socratic Method, that being ideas generate knowledge; basically youÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦re critical thinking skills. Thus leading into the idea that humans are rational beings and use the Ð'ÐŽÐ'§power of the mind.Ð'ÐŽÐ'Ё The core of idealism is that the purpose of knowledge is to create an ideal society, teaching that knowledge is absolute and eternal, and that ideas are real. Idealists strive for perfection and excellence and they believe that reality is spiritual and nonmaterial.

The aims of education in idealism are personal development through both the spiritual and intellectual self. The methods in which we use this theory are through the Socratic Method through verbal skills and modeling. The curriculum of choice would be the arts and critical thinking skills. As a teacher your role would be to become a cultural and ethical model and to teach the development of self.

Moving on we touched base on realism. Realism is the universals come by studying the particular. In addition realism states that every object has a purpose and a function, realism also states that you should live your life according to the golden mean. RealismÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s basic teachings are that values exist independently of peopleÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s thoughts. That humans are rational beings and that ideas must be supported by reasoning derived from inquiry. Realism also entails that balance; logic and order are key components in maintaining rationality and harmony.

The aims of education in realism are power of reasoning, and making rational choices. Sounds pretty good to me yet there are some people who arenÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦t fond of this method. Realism is used in education primarily by the scientific method. It is more visual than auditory. When used in a school setting realism applies to your core subjects, the fundamentals of things, and having structure in your classroom. In realism, the teacher is the expert and organizes the content and method of the curriculum.

I also learned that with these two philosophies that they both fail to address issues connected to race, gender and class. I also learned that idealism and realism are based on Ð'ÐŽÐ'§Essence precedes Existence.Ð'ÐŽÐ'Ё

Next we learned about Pragmatism, which focuses on practical results. Pragmatism also states that there are no universals only ones experiences, quite different than Realism and Idealism. Pragmatism causes one to focus on results and consequences, seeing things are merely losing or winning, it does not focus on anything else but that. An interesting concept of pragmatism is that an idea is true and only if it does what you want it to do, and ideas are instruments in solving problems, so if your ideas