What is the purpose of schools?
Educational philosophies raise questions about the role of teachers and students in a classroom. As a gist, the philosophies can be divided into student-centric or teacher-centric. If the role of the teacher is central, it is called a traditional setup. If the student is the center, it is called progressive (krutka, 2016). The Philosophies that I found interesting are:
(a) Existentialism (Sharpes, 2013) that asks the eternal question, 'what does it mean to be human?' Through this question, I have come to a sense of awareness that surpasses everything concrete in life. I find that when I go to a classroom with this awareness, the day goes in a flow.
(b) Progressivism (Lynch, 2016) where teachers allow students to develop their own individuality instead of dominating their own persona. Here I use and allow the space to be one's own self. As a math teacher, I do not raise the kids in a space where math is dominating. Rather their persona and its expression are more important to express itself than pushing one's own self to one side for excellence in math.
(c) Vedanta in education ( Western philosophies of education, n.d., pp.21), Vedic period in India when the purpose of education was to open the third eye, the source of illumination. This aspect comes to me through thinking or reflection. I am a deeply reflective person and that has helped me to develop and retain sensitivity in myself. My students are a part of it as they help me to reflect on myself and grow as a person on day to day basis.
I have always been drawn to progressive philosophies, but I have also found a leg stuck on traditional philosophies! There is a need to grow to systems that give freedom. But there is also conditioning that holds me back. There is also a seeker in me that is exploring the meaning and purpose of human life and seeks to find my own answers. In principle, I subscribe to progressive systems. These systems allow me best to explore my own true nature and gives me a breathing room to allow students to explore themselves too. It is a safe space where the errors of nature are tolerated in an ever-present focus on living a life true to oneself. However, I also admire the self-discipline that is brought into life using traditional philosophies. I can say that as of now, I am a wanderer, drawn to several philosophies as an explorer and waiting for the inner illumination to place them in order for me to use them to educate with my own mental structure. So I can say that I am an Existentialist with an eye to Vedanta with Progressivism as the ground for practice.
References
- Krutka, D. (2016, June 02). 5 Educational philosophies. [Video File] https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=3H0DbcDbIbs&feature=emb_logo (12:09)
- Lynch, M. (2016, November 03). Philosophies of education: 3 types of student-centered philosophies. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from http://www.theedadvocate.org/philosophies-education-3-types-student-centered-philosophies/
- Sharpes, D. K. (2013). Modern educational philosophies. In Advanced educational foundations for teachers: The history, philosophy, and culture of schooling (pp. 399-430).
- Western philosophies of education. (n.d.). In S. Sikhauli (Ed.), MA.Edu.Philosophy (pp. 49-55). Retrieved March 3, 2018, from https://www.academia.edu/34327764/M.A._Edu._Philosophy
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