My Personal Philosophy of Teaching within Education- Existentialist - Essay Example

My personal "philosophy of teaching within education- existentialist” There is an inter relation between philosophy and education as various schools of philosophy have immensely contributed to modern educational practice. Schools of philosophy such as idealism, naturalism, realism, experimentalism, pragmatism and existentialism have made their implications on the teaching-learning process. Each of these theories has their own merits and demerits and one can never say that any one of these philosophies of education is complete or consistent enough. Even though educational practice integrates good aspects of all these theories, teachers and practitioners of education tend to prefer one theory over the other based on individual perceptions. As a teacher, I would stand for existentialist philosophy of teaching within education as it “emphasizes on individual existence, freedom, and choice” (Existentialism: Philosophy, philosophers, readings, articles). As a teacher, I strongly believe that education should enhance the personal identity of each student; it should foster the learners’ free thinking and personal level of responsibility and, in my opinion, the existential philosophy best suits these primary goals of education. My interest in existentialism prompted me to find out the various definitions on the school of philosophy. Existentialists believe that ‘existence precedes essence’ and state that “man exists and in that existence man defines himself and the world in his own subjectivity, and wanders between choice, freedom, and existential angst” (Existentialism: Philosophy, philosophers, readings, articles). It is evident from the definition that the existence of each man is subjective and each one needs to resort to self-definitions on issues like freedom, choice and existential anguish. The existential anguish stems from the alien, isolated and absurd existence of man, and only through overcoming these obstacles the learner can develop an authentic self-what Nietzsche calls as the sovereign individual. One of the major draw backs of present day education is that it fails to develop original and free thinking in the learners. Usually, there is a tendency among students to move with the current, and learners are very easily influenced by the society and the people who are around them. Unless and until students are left free to think in their own unique way, I am sure that nothing creative or original will come from them. Divergent thinking should be promoted in the class room and for this the individuality and uniqueness of each student is to be taken into account in the teaching-learning process. My understanding of the existential philosophy of education has convinced me that it “emphasizes the uniqueness and freedom of the individual person against the herd, the crowd, or the mass society” and that it lays stress on “individual responsibility, individual personality, individual existence, and individual freedom and choice” (Existentialism). Every learner has to see and experience the world through his/ her eyes and the primary objectives of schools should be to promote this understanding among the learners. As Ron Kurtus rightly puts it, “existentialism believes in the personal interpretation of the world. It is based on the view that the individual defines reality, truth and goodness” (Kurtus 2001). Thus, existentialism holds that schools should only act supporting roles so as to make the students understand their existence and place in the society. The existential philosophy appeals to me the most because it pays special importance to individual responsibility; it maintains that students have the primary responsibility for each of their deeds. This is very well observed by Webster when the author states that an inherent aspect of existentialist philosophy is the notion of freedom of choice and responsibility and postulates that the individuals themselves are responsible for their inward, subjective existence. According to him, the existential perspective “considers that the individual who exercises personal freedom of choice must also be willing to accept responsibility for these decisions. The challenge then, as many existential writers have identified, is that individuals find it difficult to accept that they always have possibilities and are free to choose between them” (Webster). Similarly, existentialists value the individuality and personality of each student as they believe that each individual has a unique existence of one’s own. As such, existentialism, in my opinion, is learner centered and it promotes individual free thinking and does not promote a teacher dominant class room where the teacher imposes his/her ideas on the learners. The modern concept of teacher as a facilitator or resource person has its roots in existentialism. For the existentialists, “The teacher should not seek to exert his/her personality, his/her ideas on her students. Rather, s/he is to act as a resource person, a helper to students when they need assistance in developing understanding of a subject or the solution of problems. The teacher must encourage their creativity, their discovery, their inventiveness, but he/she should not attempt to direct them or impose her will on them” (Existentialism). The existentialists also hold that the learners should be given freedom to choose the curriculum of their interest. Unlike the pragmatists who stress on the importance of reason, the existentialists give ample emphasis on the emotions and feelings of the learner. Al the above mentioned facts reinforce the validity and effectiveness of existentialist philosophy in the educational practice. In propagating existentialism as my favorite philosophy of education as a teacher, I do not want to negate that there are many who regard the philosophies of the school as too much pessimistic today. Existentialism, as a philosophical school on education, has been subject to severe criticisms. The critics of the theory argue that it is not possible to individualize the educational curriculum for each student as it would lead to anarchy and lack of common frameworks. They argue that man lives in society and so education should prepare one for social living. The existentialists’ belief -that the only certainty is death- is considered to be too much pessimistic. Similarly, the existential anguish, stress on the absurdity of human existence, alienation from the world, and their association of existence with nothingness have all resulted in adverse criticism towards their philosophies. However, I do believe that there is an existential anguish, feeling of alienation and uncertainty in every modern man’s mind due to unseen factors like globalization. In this regard, the ideas of Scott Webster offer solution to the existential angst. According to Webster, “becoming alienated can often manifest itself through feelings of anxiety or angst. Having ones world dismantled and reconstructed in a perpetual unfinished state by so many global others, produces so many possibilities that individuals must remain uncertain as to how the new world order is to emerge - or even if any kind of order is to emerge at all” (Webster). Thus, in my opinion, existentialism is the only school of education that addresses the learners’ inner feelings of anxiety, alienation, uncertainty, possibilities and crises, and offers them a way to get through them. To conclude, it can be said that the concept of ‘existential crisis’ assumes great significance in the modern world where every one is forced to live through his/her existence in a world of uncertainty. Knowledge of one’s alien and absurd existence and the resultant existential crisis is an essential prerequisite for change. In this respect, Webster perceives existential crisis as “a crisis because it offers a potential turning point to change the meanings that one has and the way that one relates to these. It is existential because it produces angst characterised by feelings of doubt and uncertainty, and it individuates in that the meanings decided upon become ones own for which one becomes responsible” (Webster 2004). To conclude, this is the essence of the existential philosophy of education and I am sure that any teacher who values the individual choice and responsibility of his/her learner will be favoring existentialism as the most suitable philosophy on educational practice. As I perceive, education should be based on the individual interests of each learner and students should have the right to select or choose the curriculum that they learn. Existential perspectives of education best offer this freedom of choice to the learners and I am confident that the positive implications of the philosophical school outweigh criticisms over its philosophies. I strongly believe that education should be learner centered and each learner should have a thorough knowledge of his own unique individual existence which forms the core of existential mode of the teaching learning process. Works Cited Webster, Scott. Existentialism: Providing an ideal framework for educational research in times of uncertainty. Retrieved December 14, 2008, from http://www.aare.edu.au/02pap/web02086.htm Kurtus, Ron. 26 February 2001. Philosophies of Education. School for Champions. Retrieved December 14, 2008, from http://www.school-for-champions.com/education/philosophies.htm Webster, R. Scott. (2004). “Changing Pre-Service Teachers Purposes of Education through Existential Crises”. Australian Journal of Education. 48. 1. Existentialism. Retrieved December 14, 2008, from http://www.geocities.com/riceharvest/existentialism.htm Existentialism: Philosophy, philosophers, readings, articles. Thecry.com. Retrieved December 14, 2008, from http://www.thecry.com/existentialism/index.html Read More