The Profession Module 1

Teaching
YOUR PHILOSOPHICAL HERITAGE

LEARNING OUTCOME:
After reading this module, you are expected to:

• summarize at least seven (7) philosophies of education and draw their implications to
teaching-learning.

The Existential Question

We are heirs to a rich philosophical heritage. Passed on to us are several philosophies of various
thinkers who lived before us. These thinkers reflected on life in this planet. They occupied
themselves searching for answers to questions about human existence.
These essential questions come in different versions. “What is life?” Who am I? “Why am I here?
“or “What am I living for?” What is reality? “Is the universe real? “What is good to do?” How
should I live life meaningfully?” and the like. In the school context, these essential questions are:
“Why do I teach?” How should I teach? What is the nature of the learners?” How do we learn?”

An Exercise to Determine Your Educational Philosophy

Find out to which philosophy you adhere. To what extent does each statement apply to you? Rate
yourself 4 if you agree with the statement always,3 if you agree but not always,2 if you agree
sometimes and 1 if you don’t agree at all.

Statements 1 2 3 4
1. There is no substitute for concrete experience in learning.
2. The focus of education should be the ideas that are relevant today as when they
were first conceived.
3. Teachers must not force their students to learn the subject matter if it does not
interest them.
4. Schools must develop students’ capacity to reason by stressing on the
humanities.
5. In the classroom, students must be encouraged to interact with one another to
develop social virtues such as cooperation and respect.
6. Students should read and analyze the Great Books, the creative works of
history’s
finest thinkers and writers.
 7. Help students expand their knowledge by helping them apply their previous
experiences in solving recent problems.
8. Our course of study should be general, not specialized, liberal, not vocational,
humanistic, not technical.
9. There is no universal, inborn human nature. We are born and exist and then we
ourselves freely determine our essence.
10. Human beings are shaped by their environment.
11. Schools should stress on the teaching of basic skills.
12. Change of environment can change a person.
13. Curriculum should emphasize on the traditional disciplines such as Math,
Natural Science, History, Grammar, and Literature.
14. Teacher cannot impose meaning, students make meaning of what they are
taught.
15. Schools should help individuals accept themselves as unique individuals and
accept responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
16. Learners produce knowledge based on their experience.
17. For the learner to acquire the basic skills, he must go through the rigor and
discipline of serious study.
18. The teacher and the school head must prescribe what is most important for the
students to learn.
19. The truth shines in an atmosphere of genuine dialogue.
20. A learner must be allowed to learn at his own pace.
21. The learner is not a blank slate but brings past experiences and cultural factors
to learning situation.
22. The classroom is not a place where teachers pour knowledge into empty minds
of students.
23. The learner must be taught how to communicate his ideas and feelings.
24. To understand the message from his students, the teacher must listen not only
to what his students are saying but also to what they are not saying.
25. An individual is what he chooses to become not dictated by his environment.

Interpreting your Scores

If you have 2 scores of 4 in several of the 7 clusters, you have an eclectic philosophy which means
you put the philosophies together. If your scores are less than 4, this means that you are not very
definite in your philosophy. Or if your scores are less than 3 in most of the items, this means your
philosophy is quite vague. After you have gotten an idea on the philosophy, let us know more about
them.
 SEVEN PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

1. ESSENTIALISM

Why Teach?
This philosophy contends that teachers teach for learners to acquire basic knowledge, skills and
values. Teachers teach “not to radically reshape society” but rather” to transmit the traditional
moral values and intellectual knowledge that students need to become model citizens.”

What to Teach?
Essentialist programs are academically rigorous. The emphasis is on academic content for students
to learn the basic skills or the fundamental R’s-reading, writing, arithmetic, right conduct- as these
are essential to the acquisition of higher or more complex skills needed in preparation for adult
life. The essentialist curriculum includes the “traditional disciplines such as Math, Natural Science,
History, Foreign Language and Literature. Essentialists frown upon vocational courses or other
courses with watered down academic content. The teachers and administrators decide what is most
important for the students to learn and place little emphasis on student interests, particularly when
they divert time and attention from the academic curriculum

How to Teach?
Essentialist teachers emphasize mastery of subject matter. They were expected to be intellectual
and moral models of their students. They are “fountain” of information and as paragon of virtue,
if ever there is such a person. To gain mastery of basic skills, teachers must observe “core
requirements, longer school day, a longer academic year. With mastery of academic content as
primary focus, teachers rely on the use of prescribed textbooks, and drill method and other methods
that will enable them to cover as much academic content as possible like the lecture method. There
is a heavy stress on memorization and discipline.

2. PROGRESSIVISM

Why Teach?
Progressivist teachers teach to develop learners into becoming enlightened and intelligent citizens
of a democratic society. This group of teachers teaches learners, so they may live life fully now
not to prepare them for adult life.

What to Teach?
The progressivists are identified with need based and relevant curriculum. This is a curriculum that
responds to students’ needs and that relates to students’ personal lives and experiences.
Progressivists accept the impermanence of life and the inevitability of change. For the
progressivists, everything else changes. Change is the only thing that does not change. Hence,
progressivist teachers are more concerned with teaching the learners the skills to cope with change.
Instead of occupying themselves with teaching facts or bits of information that are true today but
become obsolete tomorrow, they would rather focus their teaching on the teaching of skills or
processes in gathering and evaluating information and in problem-solving. The subjects that are
given emphasis in progressivist schools are the Natural and Social Sciences. Teachers expose
students to many new scientific, technological, and social developments, reflecting the
progressivist notion that progress and change are fundamental. In addition, students solve
problems in the classroom like those they will encounter outside of the school and house.

How to Teach?
Progressivist teachers employ experiential methods. They believe that one learns by doing. For
John Dewey, the most popular advocate of progressivism, book learning is no substitute for actual
experience. One experiential teaching method that progressivist teachers heavily rely on is the
problem-solving method. This makes use of the scientific method. Other hands-on-minds-on-
hearts-on teaching methods used are field trips during which students interact with nature or
society. Teachers also stimulate students through thought-provoking games and puzzles.

3. PERENNIALISM

Why Teach?
We are all rational animals. Schools should therefore, develop the students’ rational and moral
powers. According to Aristotle, if we neglect the students’ reasoning skills, we deprive them of the
ability to use their higher faculties to control their passions and appetites.

What to Teach?
The perennialist curriculum is a universal one on the view that all human beings possess the same
essential nature. It is heavy on the humanities, on general education. It is not a specialist curriculum
but rather a general one. There is less emphasis on vocational and technical education. Philosopher
Mortimer Adler claims that the Great Books of ancient and medieval as well as modern times are
repository of knowledge and wisdom, a tradition of culture which must initiate ach generation”.
What the perennialist teachers teach are lifted from the Great Books.

How to Teach?
The perennialist classrooms are “centered around teachers”. The teachers do not allow the
students’interests or experience to substantially dictate what they teach. They apply whatever
creative techniques and others tried and true methods which are believed to be most conducive to
disciplining the students’ minds. Students engaged in Socratic dialogues or mutual inquiry sessions
to develop an understanding of history’s most timeless concepts.”

4. EXISTENTIALISM

Why Teach?
The main concern of the existentialists is “to help students understand and appreciate themselves
as unique individuals who accept complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and actions”.
Since “existence precedes essence”, the existentialist teacher’s role is to help students define their
own essence by exposing them to various paths they take in life and by creating an environment
in which they freely choose their own preferred way. Since feeling is not divorced from reason in
decision making, the existentialist demands the education of the whole person, not just the mind.

What to Teach?
In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety of options from which to choose.
Students are afforded great latitude in their choice of subject matter. The humanities, however, are
given tremendous emphasis to provide students with vicarious experiences that will help unleash
their own creativity and self-expression. For example, rather than emphasizing historical events,
existentialists focus upon the actions of historical individuals, each of whom provides possible
models for the students’ own behavior. Moreover, vocational education is regarded more as a
means of teaching students about themselves and their potential than of earning a livelihood. In
teaching art, existentialism encourages individual creativity and imagination more than copying
and imitating established models.

How to Teach?
Existentialist methods focus on the individual. Learning is self-paced, self-directed. It includes a
great deal of individual contact with the teacher, who relates to each student openly and honestly.
To help students know themselves and their place in society, teachers employ values clarification
strategy. In the use of such strategy, teachers remain non- judgmental and take care not to impose
their values on their students since values are personal.

5. BEHAVIORISM

Why Teach?
Behaviorist schools are concerned with the modification and shaping of students’ behavior by
providing for a favorable environment, since they believe that they are a product of their
environment. They are after students who exhibit desirable behavior in society.

What to Teach?
Because behaviorists look at “people and other animals as complex combinations of matter that
act only in response to internally or externally generated physical stimuli, behaviorist teachers
teach students to respond favorably to various stimuli in the environment.

How to Teach?
Behaviorist teachers ought to arrange environmental conditions so that students can make the
responses to stimuli. Physical variables like light, temperature, arrangement of furniture, size and
quantity of visual aids have controlled to get the desired responses from learners. Teachers ought
to make the stimuli clear and interesting to capture and hold the learners’ attentions. They ought
to provide appropriate incentives to reinforce positive responses and weaken or eliminate negative
ones.

6. LINGUISTIC PHILOSOPHY

Why Teach?
To develop the communication skills of the learner because the ability to articulate, to voice out
the meanings and values of things that one obtains from his experience of life and the world is the
very essence of man. It is through his ability to express himself clearly, to get his ideas across, to
make known to others the values that he has imbibed, the beauty that he has seen, the ugliness that
he rejects and the truth that she has discovered. Teachers teach to develop in the learner the skill
to send messages clearly and receive messages correctly.
What to Teach?
Learners should be taught to communicate clearly-how to send clear, concise messages and how
to receive and correctly understand messages sent. Communication takes place in three ways-
verbal, non-verbal and Para verbal. Verbal component refers to the content of our message, the
choice and arrangement of our word. This can be oral or written. Non-verbal component refers to
the message we send through our body language while paraverbal component refers to how we
say what we say-the tone, pacing and volume of our voices. There is a need to teach learners to
use language that is correct, precise, grammatical, coherent, and accurate so that they can
communicate clearly and precisely their thoughts and feelings. There is need to help students
expand their vocabularies to enhance their communication skills. There is need to teach the
learners how to communicate clearly through non-verbal means and consistently through para-
verbal means.

There is need to caution the learners of the verbal and non-verbal barriers to communication. Teach
them to speak as many languages as you can. The more languages one speaks, the better he can
communicate with the world. A multilingual has an edge over the monolingual or bilingual.

How to Teach?
The most effective way to teach language and communication is the experiential way. Make them
experience sending and receiving messages through verbal, nonverbal and para verbal manner.
Teacher should make the classroom a place for the interplay of minds and hearts. The teacher
facilitates dialogue among learners and between him students because in the exchange of words,
there is also an exchange of ideas.

7. CONSTRUCTIVISM

Why Teach?
To develop intrinsically motivated and independent learners adequately equipped with learning
skills for them to be able to construct knowledge and make meaning of them.

What to Teach?
The learners are taught how to learn. They are taught learning processes and skills such as
searching, critiquing, and evaluating information, relating these pieces of information, reflecting
on the same, making meaning out of them, drawing insights, posing questions, researching, and
constructing new knowledge out of these bits of information learned.

How to Teach?
In the constructivist classroom, the teacher provides students with data or experiences that allow
them to hypothesize, predict, manipulate objects, pose questions, research, investigate, imagine,
and invent. The constructivist classroom is interactive. It promotes dialogical exchange of ideas
among learners and between teacher and learners. The teacher’s role is to facilitate this process.
Knowledge isn’t a thing that can be simply deposited by the teacher into the empty minds of the
learners. Rather, knowledge is constructed by learners through an active, mental process of
development; learners are the builders and creators of meaning and knowledge. Their minds are
not empty. Instead, their minds are full of ideas waiting to be “midwife” by the teacher with his
skillful facilitating skills.
Summary
We have a very rich philosophical heritage. But only seven philosophies were discussed here:
essentialism, progressivism, perennialism, existentialism, behaviorism, linguistic philosophy, and
constructivism. The rest are assigned to you as research work. The seven philosophies differ in
their concepts of the learner and values, in why do we teach (objectives), what should be taught
(curriculum) and how should the curriculum be taught (teaching strategies). However, there exist
also some similarities among the philosophies. These you will see more as you proceed to the
activities.

Notes: Philosophy is your attitude, viewpoint, thinking, way of life, values or beliefs. Linguistics
is the study of language and how language works. Heritage is something that you inherit.

Test Your Understanding of the Philosophies

Test I. Directions: Answer each with a YES or NO. If your answer is NO, explain your answer in
a sentence.

● Essentialism
_____1. Do essentialists aim to teach students to reconstruct society?
_____2. Is the model citizen of the essentialist the citizen who contributes to the re-building of
society?
_____3. Do the essentialist teachers give up teaching the basics if the students are not interested?
_____4. Do the essentialist teachers frown on long academic calendar and core requirements?

● Progressivism
_____1. Do the progressivist teachers look at education as a preparation for adult life?
_____2. Are the students’ interests and needs considered in a progressivist curriculum?
_____3. Does the progressivist curriculum focus mainly on facts and concepts?
_____4. Do the progressivist teachers strive to simulate in the classroom life in the outside world?

● Perennialism
_____1. Are the perennialist teachers concerned with the students’ mastery of the fundamental
skills?
_____2. Do the perennialist teachers see the wisdom of ancient, medieval, and modern times?
_____3. Is the perennialist curriculum geared towards specialization?
_____4. Do the perennialist teachers sacrifice subject matter for the students’ interests?

● Existentialism
_____1. Is the existentialist teacher after students becoming specialist to contribute to society?
_____2. Is the existentialist concerned with the education of the whole person?
_____3. Is the course of study imposed on students in the existentialist classroom?
_____4. Does the existentialist teacher make heavy use of the individualized approach?

● Behaviorism
_____1. Are behaviorists concerned with the modification of students’ behavior?
_____2. Do behaviorist teachers spend their time teaching their students on how to respond
favorably to various environmental stimuli?
_____3. Do behaviorist teachers believe that they have control over some variables that affect
learning?
_____4. Do behaviorist teachers believe that students are a product of their environment?

● Linguistic Philosophy
_____1. Do linguistic philosophers promote the study of language?
_____2. Is the communication that linguistic philosophers encourage limited to verbal language
only?
_____3. Do linguistic philosophers prefer the teacher who dominates discussion to save time to a
teacher who encourages dialogue?
_____4. Is the curriculum of the linguistic philosopher open to learning of as many languages like
Mother Tongue as possible?

● Constructivism
_____1. Does the constructivist agree to a teaching methodology of “telling”?
_____2. Do constructivists believe that students can construct knowledge?
_____3. Do constructivists approve of teaching learners skill to learn?
_____4. Do constructivists believe that meaning can be imposed?

Test II. A. Directions: Test your mastery. You may need to research further to gain mastery. The
first exercise in this lesson may help. (an exercise to determine your philosophy in life)

To which PHILOSOPHY does each theory of man belong?

A person:
__________1. Is a product of his environment?
__________2. Has no universal nature.
__________3. Has rational and moral powers.
__________4. Has no choice; he is determined by his environment.
__________5. Can choose what he can become.
__________6. Is a complex combination of matter that responds to physical stimuli?
__________7. Has no free will.
__________8. Has the same essential nature with others.
__________9. Is a rational animal.
__________10. First exists then defines himself.
__________11. Is a social animal who learns well through an active interplay with others?
__________12. Is a communicating being.
__________13. Is a maker of meaning?
__________14. Is a constructor of knowledge?