Philosophy of education - Essay Example

As a contemporary educator, what ideas from the past do you include in your philosophy of education? Though I am a contemporary educator and well understand the relevance and importance of the influx of new ideas and technologies on the cause of education, still there is no denying the fact that improvements in the field of education have always been subservient to a chronological flow of ideas and philosophies and the present state of education will be lacking and incomplete if it does not cull out priorities from the philosophies of the yore. It goes without saying that there always existed a salient linkage between education and philosophy. With the fresh economic challenges being faced by the contemporary societies, a fresh debate has emerged in Western Europe as to how the citizens of the future will maintain the coherence and meaningfulness of the state in times when the new educational ideas fail to sustain commensurate levels and potency of employment and the eventual consequences of the dwindling employment rates on the evitable sustenance and survival of peaceful states (Sommers & Morisi 2012). The recent protests in Greece, Spain and Cyprus have added a tinge of urgency to these concerns. In that context it will be apt to claim that I being a contemporary educator do feel that I owe a strong allegiance to the ideas and philosophies of the pioneer educators like Aristotle and John Dewey which not only have a thorough influence on the contemporary educational theories, but also have a benign and salubrious influence on the mindset of the future citizens, enabling them to be able to grapple with the emerging socio-economic challenges in a healthy and poised manner. Aristotle happened to be a philosopher whose interests were expansive and wide ranging though at present there is only a fragmentary knowledge of his views and ideas on education. The essential thing about Aristotle’s philosophy of education is that he was an astute thinker who walked his talk and whose philosophy of education having evolved from a pragmatic enquiry into the nature of things had a profound influence on my theory of education (Rosler 2005, p. 298). One simply cannot disassociate philosophy from the actual life of a thinker and in that sense Aristotle happened to be a seasoned scholar, who was a pioneer as far as confabulating philosophical musings on the issues of education, is concerned. Aristotle was a philosopher who inspired and will continue to inspire the generations of educators by the lucidity and pragmatism of his ideas on education. Aristotle happened to be a controversial thinker who lived in difficult times and hence his philosophy of education happens to have a close correlation with the requirements of the contemporary education systems. Though there is only a scrappy access to his work On Education, still it is possible to construct a working knowledge of Aristotle’s ideas on education by correlating it to his other existent works. Aristotle considered education to be a Central aspect of human life (Dovre 2007). Aristotle placed education and human fulfilment side by side and believed that an educated person happened to be a fulfilled person (Palmer 2007). In that context I do believe that the purpose of education is to bring about a measure of stability and poise into the human life, thereby allowing the young minds to be able to deal with the challenges and resentments brought about by the current socio-economic environment in a balanced and restrained manner. Culling from Aristotle’s ideas on education I do believe that the overall purpose of education is to endow the human spirit with a measure of confidence and stability that could eke out its way amongst the challenges thrown by the contemporary life with their accompanying complexity. Aristotle put forth the argument that the thought and philosophy of educators need to be marked by a clear philosophy of life (Bergman 2007). In that context it need to be mentioned that Aristotle never considered a viewpoint to be monolithic and believed that a philosophy of life essentially happened to be an approach towards life which happened to be able to pursue an ever evolving course in tandem with the actual life that happened to be fluid and ever changing. I thoroughly agree with this premise in the sense that it is my firm belief that in today’s globalized world when the emerging technologies are leading to a scattering of the local employment opportunities around the world, the students of today are more than ever required to grapple with change. It goes without saying that there is nothing permanent except change and it is utterly difficult to manage and pursue change. In that context, supporting the typical Aristotelian dogma of engendering a stable philosophy of life, I believe that the purpose of education is to impart a stable core to the personality of the contemporary students that enables them to pursue the challenges they comes across as mature and balanced adults. The other thing that fascinates me regarding Aristotle’s philosophy of education is the stress he laid on all round and balanced development of nascent personalities. It does need to be mentioned that my philosophy of education draws out much from the challenges that I feel the contemporary students may be required to grapple with, when they come in actual contact with the contemporary realities in real time. In the light of these facts it does need to be mentioned that the personalities of contemporary students need to be empowered with a salubrious mix of knowledge, skills, and emotional stability so as to allow them to chart the course of life in a fulfilled and happy manner. So the purpose of education is to touch and chisel every facet of a student’s life, allowing one to acquire the skills and capabilities required to make one a worthy contender in the contemporary employment market, at the same time imparting to one a personality that is emotionally intelligent and does not divest its relationship with emotional sensitivity, empathy and compassion as one faces the heat of friction rampant in the political and economic times marked by strong recession and economic meltdown. Aristotle laid down stress on education by reason and education by habit. By education by habit he meant learning things by actually doing them and education by reason he meant understanding the reasons behind things. In that context I strongly feel that there ought to be no dichotomy between knowledge and practice. The students need to have a direct engagement with facts and ideas they learn so that when they are required to face life in real time, the ideas acquired by them evolve into pragmatic skills. The other pioneer educator that will continue to have a marked influence on my philosophy of education is John Dewey. John Dewey came down heavily on the authoritarian approach of the conventional education systems that laid more stress on the knowledge they imparted to the students and side stepped the actual experiences had by the students in the course of education (Levinson 2007). In that context John Dewey brought to the forefront the actual experiences which a student goes through in an educational setup (Ord & Mark 2011, p. 13). In the light of this thought I believe that a student does not merely happen to be neutral putty in the hands of the educators. The actual experiences of a student have a lot to do with the salient parameters like one’s family experience, the culture one belongs to, the surrounding political and economic environment and the accompanying socio-economic setup (Dewey 1997). I believe that these parameters have a lot to do with the way a student interprets one’s experiences in an educational set up. Hence an education system simply does not afford to overlook the background, thoughts and experiences of a student while imparting education. Education essentially needs to pursue an approach that has a firm grounding in the actual experiences that a student already had and the experiences that one is going to have in an educational setup. This brings in a measure of sensitivity in the education system thereby making the students more accommodating and cooperative. Besides an education system that is responsive towards the actual experiences of the students in a way has a salubrious impact on the emotional framework of the students and the sensitivity inherent in the system brings in a measure of emotional maturity, empathy and compassion into the approach of the students as they face tough and challenging situations in the real life in real time. The other concept that immensely influenced me is John Dewey’s idea of social control (O’Neill 2006). The social control in this case does not happen to be a set of rules and mores that are forced down to throat of the students but rather a way of doing things that accumulates collective sanction and is followed to bring in a coherence and stability into the system. However, in the current times when the young minds are required to grapple with complex socio-economic problems, if not taken care of in the course of education, they may shun social control as being intolerable and may make them engage in activities that are disruptive and illegal. The recent London Riots are a testimony to the fact that if social control is not introduced in the lives of the students through a benign and tolerant education system, students may shun the idea of social control during challenging times and may end up getting disruptive and radicals under the pressure of incumbent challenges and situations. I believe that an educator needs to use the authority extended to one by the superiors and the system in a lucid and benign manner so that one comes out as being a representative of the collective interests of the students. Students learn more by example. In that context if the students are taught to exercise control and the accompanying ideas of social restraint and poise in a tolerant and responsive scenario, one could certainly accept them to exercise restraint and respect social control as and when it is required of them. A classroom scenario provides the students with the atmosphere and the experience that is the main source of control and engenders within them a respect for the benign social control while they are receiving education. The education system is expected to come across complex challenges in the times to come in the light of the emerging scenarios and technologies. I believe that when it comes to my philosophy of education that thoughts and views of Aristotle and John Dewey will continue to have a marked influence on it. Reference List Bergman, R 2007, ‘Aristotle for Contemporary Moral Educators’, Journal of Research in Character Education, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 71-74. Dewey, J 1997, Experience and Education, Free Press, New York. Dovre, PJ 2007, ‘From Aristotle to Angelou: Best Practices in Character Education’, Education next, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 38-40. Levinson, MH 2004, ‘The Education of John Dewey’, et Cetera, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 293-294. O’Neill, L 2006, ‘From Fallacy to Integrity: Dewey’s Call for Philosophy of Experience’, Journal of Thought, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 73-74. Ord, J & Mark, L 2012, ‘The Substance Beneath the Labels of Experiential Learning: The Importance of John Dewey for Outdoor Educators’, Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 13-19. Palmer, JA 2007, Fifty Modern Thinkers on Education, Routledge, London. Rosler, A 2005, Political Authority and Obligation in Aristotle, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Sommers, D & Morisi, TL 2012, ‘Employment Projections through the Lens of Education and Training’, Monthly Labour Review, vol. 135, no. 4, pp. 13-23. Read More