Essentialism:
The following is a definition of
Essentialism found online: "a doctrine that certain traditional concepts,
ideals, and skills are essential to society and should be taught methodically
to all students, regardless of individual ability, need, etc."(Essentialism,
N.D.) In other words this theory focuses on the basics; teaching the most
crucial parts of the subjects.
In Apps "Toward a Working
Philosophy of Adult Education" essentialism is said to have developed from
both idealism and realism. The idealism part containing subjects such as
history, foreign language, and classics; the realism part containing subjects
like math and science.(Apps, J. 1973)
Perennialism:
It was early in the twenty first
century when perennialism began to form, rooted in ancient teachings such as
those of Plato and Aristotle.(History of Education Journal 1951) An online
encyclopedia conveys some very key points of Perennialism: "Perennialists
believe that one should teach the things that one deems to be of everlasting
importance to all people everywhere. They believe that the most important
topics develop a person. Since details of fact change constantly, these cannot
be the most important. Therefore, one should teach principles, not facts. Since
people are human, one should teach first about humans, not machines or
techniques."(Perennialism, n.d.) So in an ever changing world where each
day scientific findings disprove one another and new, more efficient formulas
for math emerge, it is the main beliefs or philosophies of these subjects that
need to be taught in order for the students to fully grasp the concepts.
"The focus of learning in
Perennialism lies in activities designed to discipline the mind. Subject matter
of a disciplinary and spiritual nature such as the content of mathematics,
language, logic, great books, doctrines must me studied whether used as such or
not."(Johnson J. 1969)
Progressivism:
Progressive education is "A set
of reformist educational philosophies and methods that emphasize individual
instruction, informality in the classroom, and the use of group discussions and
laboratories as instructional techniques."(Progressive Education, n.d.)
This theory uses personal experiences as a means of education.(Apps, J. 1973)
There is no absolute knowledge, like we have discussed in class, things are
constantly changing just as the definition of learning. Take our ECI 301 class
as an example, we are putting progressivism into action; when we write these
wikibook articles and share personal experiences we are using this theory.
Existentialism:
"Existentialism is a philosophy
concerned with finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice,
and personal responsibility. The belief is that people are searching to find
out who and what they are throughout life as they make choices based on their
experiences, beliefs, and outlook. And personal choices become unique without
the necessity of an objective form of truth. An existentialist believes that a
person should be forced to choose and be responsible without the help of laws,
ethnic rules, or traditions." (Existentialism: A Philosophy, n.d.) In
relation to education, self-fulfillment should be the students inspiration to
do well and in turn the teacher's job to help them develop such a
mentality.(Apps, J. 1973)
"To begin, it rules out three
conventional notions: that education is primarily an agency of society, set up
to perpetuate a cultural heritage; that it is a pipeline of perennial truths;
and that it is a means for adjusting to the young to life in a democratic
community. In place of these, let education exist for the individual. Let it
teach him to live as his own nature bids him, spontaneously and
authentically." (Kneller, G. 1961) What Kneller is saying here is that
education should not be looked at as a task, but instead as an opportunity.
