Educational Problems in Philosophical Perspective - Research Paper Example

Educational Problems in Philosophical Perspective Educational Problems in Philosophical Perspective Humans like to think in polarities; either this or that. The brain doesnt easily digest gray areas. But then reality hits and the person realizes that only black or white do not decide everything, one starts justifying that theory cannot be wrong. Practical work however, is always a challenge and forces people to compromise on their theories. The case with educational philosophy is no different. Educational history also suffers the same fate as with any ideology. It is an old argument that education means developing the inner self, while the opposite opinion states that education is a nurturing process that is supposed to overcome the natural impulses. John Dewey summarized this debate in his book Experience and Education (2007). According to Dewey the practical affairs at school surround the debate between the traditional and progressive education. The traditional view of education is based on the premise that education is a body of information and skills crafted in the past hence schools are supposed to transfer to the new generation (Dewey, 2007). Many develop standards in the past like moral training, such as developing habits in the students confirm to these rules. The normal pattern of a social institute is in sharp contrast to the schools. For instance one can imagine the environment in an ordinary schoolroom. It includes time schedules, classes, exams, rules etc. Hence there is a general pattern that is found in the organization. In comparison, the environment at home where families live and communicate with each other, is completely different from the picture of a school classroom just portrayed. Regardless of which side the debate goes there is no denying that the main aim of education is to equip the youth for future responsibilities. Education aims to make them successful in their lives. This is achieved through imprinting information and skills in the minds of students, whenever they are understanding any instructional material. However, there are certain dependent factors that come along with this approach. For instance most of the knowledge and skill is based on past research and experience. Therefore the students must adhere or show certain characteristics to be able to incorporate this knowledge. For instance Dewey (2007) lists obedience, receptivity and docility as the primary desirable traits that a student must possess in order to acquire knowledge in a traditional manner. Under this system of delivering information and educating the students, books hold the primary essence of knowledge. The textbooks contain the wisdom of the authors who wrote them in some time in the past for future generation. The teachers are the cognitive part of the education system that connect the books to the students. They are the indispensable bridge between pupils and bookish knowledge. They add on their experience and skills into the information so the students can better interpret the knowledge delivered to them. This paper is not an attempt to take sides with either traditional or with the progressive style of education. It is not to support even the traditional mode of education because the rise of new education (more commonly known as the progressive education) schools is the proof itself that there is some discontentment with the status quo of educational system (Dewey 2007). The progressive educational system criticizes the traditional approach. The main argument of progressive approach against the traditional approach is that it imposes knowledge, skills, and most importantly the rules on the students. The argument against the traditional approach goes on to say that the method of imposing these rules to young students expects them to behave more maturely, when it requires certain time period to move towards better behavior. The gap between the natural instinct of a young child and mature behavior is so wide that the conventional methodology forces them on the child but the result is that the skills appear as foreign to the young pupils. It is also a self-fulfilling prophecy because when something does not exist naturally it has to be imposed to make a permanent mark. This also pressure on the teachers because they have to deliver this knowledge and rules to the students. Dewey (2007) goes on to say that there are good teachers that use certain artistic devices to sugarcoat their forceful teaching methodology. Hence they have a mechanism to present a better face to the public. The gap between adult behavior and the abilities of young students is huge. The conventional mechanism makes the student dull because what does not come naturally becomes difficult for them. Their active participation reduces in studies. Education or the process of learning in this context means delivering knowledge from the pages of the books to the young people. It also means that the knowledge that is written in the books comes from the elders who wrote those books. The traditional education system assumes that what is being taught is static, meaning that it is assumed that it will not be contested or questioned. This approach completely rejects the procedure followed in the past to reach the conclusion. The traditional approach also does not give enough emphasis on the future possibilities regarding the knowledge base being delivered. From a philosophical perspective the same scrutiny can be applied to the new education system. This with certain principles and guidelines can be extracted to learn more about the methodology followed in this system. Continuing the same aspect of polarization the progressive education system opposes imposing rules. It opposes imposing rules from above and encourages expressing and cultivating individuality. It opposes external discipline and supports free activity. It gives far more weightage to learning through experience rather than through text and teachers. It opposes acquiring skills through drill and supports acquiring them as a means of attaining ends (Dewey, 2007). Patty Smith Hill (1868-1946) was an innovative thinker. She became famous for her progressive educational methodology. People would come from all over the world to Louisville Training School to learn tricks of her trade (Puckett & Diffily, 2004). She was aware of the chasm between the traditional and the progressive approach. However she was not just one-sided because she fully understood the benefits of traditional education system. She was looking forward to some happy means of striking a balance between the free plate and painful dictation (Puckett & Diffily, 2004). It was her innovative thinking that set the trend of using building blocks and other manipulatives in preschool classes. The dissatisfaction with the traditional education system was evident everywhere throughout the United States and it was foreseeable that soon there would be an upsurge looking for an alternative. When the kindergarten movement started gaining momentum, the progressive education movement emerged as the new philosophy redefining the purpose of schooling and education (Puckett & Diffily, 2004). John Dewey was its front-runner who fully understood why the conventional approach will become useless in future. On the surface everything looks perfect for progressive education movement. It was doing well in terms of results in schools and it was eradicating the drawbacks of traditional education system. However, eventually the movement started declining and almost died in the 1950s. The hub of formulating new strategies of progressive schooling, The Progressive Education Association, ended its operations in 1959 (Berube & Berube, 2007). The problem with the progressive education movement was the same as with any great philosophies. The progressive education movement became dubious and misinterpreted over time (Berube & Berube, 2007). For instance the vocational division of the US Department of Education in 1940s redefined the social development of a young as “life adjustment” (Berube & Berube, 2007). The counterrevolution by conservative critics was also a huge factor that contributed to the demise of the progressive education movement. Despite dying in the 1950s, the progressive movement did highlight the loopholes existing in the traditional education system. The more intriguing aspect of this movement was including philosophy into educational system. Dewey knew that great philosophers have always shown considerable interest in the problems surrounding education; there exists a strong relationship between philosophical means and the necessity for education (Westbrook, 1991). This is why it is so important to understand the problems surrounding the education itself. It is not only confined to either traditional or to the progressive, it applies to both. John Deweys philosophy does not target the whole approach of traditional education. It scrutinizes this approach regarding a few factors such as the emphasis on acquiring knowledge to rote memorization, he favored experience over engendered learning (Knappe, 2008). The critical link between education and philosophy it so crucial that it defines everything. For instance philosophical targets are usually surrounding a vision of leading a better life or an ideal society. Keeping this premise intact the guided education is now broadly conceived as the praxis of the philosophy (Westbrook, 1991). The philosophy revolves around needing an ideal life but its real animation lies in the hypothesis of experience and is only realized when experience validates it. This realization requires that a persons dispositions should be made so that his desires should be directed towards achieving this experience. The philosophy of education goes beyond achieving the ideal life. For instance, in very simple terms philosophy is a concept that is based on knowledge and life but it is also an attempt of understanding experience in various perspectives (Bhattcharya, 2002). It is this understanding that creates the concept of unique philosophical issues in educational perspectives. To compare the philosophies of education in the past with the future it would be better to term the modern education as liberal education .When it comes to the modern education the philosophy of education is interpreted as the journey where the pupil does not arrive at destination but travels with a different point of view (Hare & Portelli, 2013). It means that an educated man should not be satisfied by acquiring only a repertoire of redundant skills. Acquiring the skills developed in the past only served a slot in a persons life. In more open terms it served the needs of the company that the person is applying at for the job. Liberal education on the other hand transforms the perception of a person about the problems, life opportunities, and how interest can add to the daily experiences affect person (Hare & Portelli, 2013). The frame of reference hardly exists in the modern philosophy of education. Any problem or skill is considered in its own and not compared or related with the past. This new perspective of education philosophy makes a person aware of new interests and needs. And the most important thing is that elements of the knowledge need to be tested according to a diverse dynamic, and this should be a way of life (Hare & Portelli, 2013). Psychology, philosophy, sociability and comparative studies of education dont necessarily educate a person and adorn him with skills that are useful in a given practical situation, however this philosophical view equips the person with new perspectives. To elaborate, the problems one faces in education as well as opportunities one sees, can be understood and resolved using this modern perspective of educational philosophy. The educational theory can give the students liberal education so that the teachers’ perspective, based in practice, becomes more intelligent, capable of fine tuning, morally and ethically sensitive, and gives the person better analysis of educational problems (Hare & Portelli, 2013). This way different context of educational practice also get incorporated into the equation. The educational theory is justified by the same premise as liberal education. When a teacher reflects upon teaching according to secular education it is akin to educated citizens discussing public affairs intelligently (Hare & Portelli, 2013). But despite modern philosophical perspective education or the liberal education theory, there still exists a gap between theory and practice. For this reason the need arises for such educational theory that shrinks the gap between practice and theory. But one thing is certain that synthesizing a teachers capability for reflecting will eventually widen the gap. For instance the teacher will continue to teach according to ineffective activity: doing individual model education. But this reflection is never about the problems of teaching the class. The problem is always targeted towards the individual learner. The only thing that is always under discussion is the student’s interests, weaknesses and strengths, but not the teaching methodology. The future of progressive education movement would not be the same as its present. The movement itself was dynamic. It was trying to incorporate a change into a philosophical perspective of education. The future holds many more changes in educational perspectives because the needs and dynamics of the society keep changing. Experience-based learning is gradually taking over the rote learning process. It is already evident in techniques such as simulation games where a pilot learns to fly a plane without stepping into the real machine. Another example of the changing perspective of education is the practice of andragogy, which is the craft of making adults learn. Malcolm S. Knowles (1913-1997) spearheaded the andragogy technique. He carefully studied the history of adult education in the United States. He put his efforts in developing a distinctive conceptual basis for identification. It was due to his efforts the notion of andragogy became widely popular. His perspective on education methodology was oriented towards human relations. His philosophy was; learning itself is a skill that needs to be learned. According to Knowles adult education (andragogy methodology) should be oriented towards achieving at least the following goals (Smith, 2002); 1) Acquiring a mature understanding of self. The adults should be aware of their own interests, goals, capacities and motivations so they can create an image of their own self in and objective manner. Self-respect and acceptance should be their prime motivator while working for improvement. 2) Developing love, respect, and acceptance for others. This is the base of human relations therefore adults need to have the understanding of distinguishing people and ideas. There exists a very fine line between challenging ideas and threatening people, the adults need to respect this night. 3) Developing a dynamic attitude towards life. Adults should be okay with accepting change and should consider themselves dynamic species. Acquiring new habits and your experiences should be there every part of life. 4) Reacting to causes and not to the symptom. Symptoms are not solutions the solutions lie in the causes. It is obvious to apply this method to the physical world because otherwise no machine would operate but there is still a huge need of applying this principle in human relations. 5) Acquiring the necessary skills for achieving their true potential. Each person has a unique capabilities and once realized they will significantly contributes to the growth of self and eventually of the whole society. But to achieve these potentials there are certain skills needed for this for instance social, recreational, civic, vocational, artistic etc. hence the goal of education should be to equip an individual with the skills so that they can fully use their capabilities. 6) Understanding the values in human experience. Adults are supposed to be familiar with the culture and heritage of knowledge. This will make them understand and respect different opinions and values and hence this will bind the society together. 7) Understanding this the society and acquiring skills in starting a social change. Democracy requires that the people participate in decision-making process. Therefore it is required for a healthy functioning society that every janitor salesman politician or a housewife shoot now at least some part of the government and economic affairs so they can intelligently contributes towards better functioning society. Adults learn differently from the children which is why there is a distinctive feel of understanding in the adult learning process. The concept of andragogy has been in practice since 1830s but it was Malcolm Knowles that made it popular for English language readers (Smith, 2002). This debate makes it obvious that andragogy should be considered a part of modern educational philosophy. Knowles also stressed on the concept of self-experience, ability to learn new things and motivation. Hence it can be safely predicted that the future will belong to an individuals own experience of learning. There will be more questions and cynical view of the past experiences, however, this critical approach toward education will only enhance learning and will incorporate diversity in the knowledge base. References Berube, M. R. & Berube, C. T. (2007) the end of school reform. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Bhattacharya, S. (2002) Philosophical foundation of education. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. Dewey, J. (2007) Experience in education. Indianapolis: Simon and Schuster. Hare, W. & Portelli, J. P. (2013) Philosophy of education: Introductory readings. Brush Education. Knappe, B. (2008) Barbara Morgans Photographic Interpretation of American Culture. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Puckett, M. B. & Diffily, D. (2004) Teaching young children: an introduction to the early childhood professional. NY: Cengage Learning. Smith. M. K. (2002) Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy. The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm. Westbrook, R. B. (1991) John Dewey and American democracy. Cornell University Press. Read More