Teaching and Philosophies

 

    Being a good teacher means changing something in this world to the better and leaving a positive finger print. It is a great chance for each teacher to become a remarkable person just like the philosophers in the past. They left for us many philosophies that are, no doubt, beneficial in teaching and other domains. Bringing the good aspects in philosophies like Realism, Confucianism, Pragmatism, Existentialism, Behaviorism…into education and teaching domain facilitates the process of effective teaching and classroom management.

Realism

    Realism philosophy is a very old one in which it refers to ancient Greek. Its father is Aristotle, Plato’s student, who came up with other opinion in which he believed that knowledge can come from matter. Aristotle believed that ideas are independent from matter yet when matter exists this means that there is an idea behind it. He said that each matter has a universal property that does not changer and a particular one that changes. For example, we are all humans but each human is different from the other one. In other words, the matter can change but its idea cannot. Also he believed that each matter has a spirit within itself which gives it a purpose. The purpose of humans is to think, and by preventing them from thinking they lose their purpose or dream. Aristotle came with the idea of Golden mean which is to have balance in the way of thinking and avoid the extremes. This means that having a good teacher helps the students achieve the Golden Mean. He used syllogism (deductive logic) in order to draw conclusions which means that we should use matter to gain knowledge. Later on, Bacon came up with the inductive method and he said that people should get rid of four idols (idol of the den, idol of the tribe…)

Aims of Education

    Plato and Aristotle reach the same objectives concerning education but in different ways or methods. Both encourage thinking but Plato thought that this happens only through ideas when Aristotle found it better to come through the matter. Realism philosophy encourages creativity and weird ideas. Religious realists believe that the study of matter is important when it increases our knowledge of God. According to them also, a person should learn from the matter a clear idea about the surrounding nature and control the world in general. They tried to reach truths for all times and places. According to Adler, all students have the right to get the perfect way in teaching (questioning) and gain great ideas. The realists said that people need necessary skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic. They also said that new information must be applicable in order to understand it.

Methods

    Many teaching methods can be deduced from the realism philosophy. For example, realism encourages organizing and classifying the knowledge into categories, link the knowledge to the real life, use technology, use lecturing in an organized way, let the students observe, make the students enjoy learning (use games, fun…), don’t give the students the right answer but the way to reach the right answer, let them experience what they learn in their senses.

Curriculum

    The realists found that it is important to start teaching reading and writing in early stages. They found also two types of curricula. The first one is for rich people while the other one is for the poor. Amos claimed that it is possible to learn anything by training the senses (natural powers). Comenius believed that teaching succeeds only with sympathetic teachers and schools full of fun because ideas stay in mind through interest only. 

Teacher’s Role

    The realist said that the teacher should be practical and teach the essential things to his students. Teaching means applying the information after it been presented in a clear systematic way. Moreover, the teacher have to encourage the student to experiment what he should learn and then draw his own conclusion.

    Following the realism philosophy in teaching helps the teacher to have effective teaching by motivating students to learn (fun in teaching) and by letting them come up with the conclusion. Also it is good to be organized in teaching so the student gain this skill unconsciously.

 

Pragmatism

    The roots of this American philosophy are British, European, and ancient Greek. It focuses on the reality of change and that nothing is meant to stay the way it is. They encourage working with the change and believing that truth is relative. They focused on the experience instead of focusing on the matter or the idea. The pragmatists studied the relationship between the culture and the science and that is by believing that scientific thinking can be done in all domains not only in test tubes (Francis Bacon). John Dewey, William James, and Charles Sanders Peirce are Pragmatists who added many ideas to this philosophy. They used the inductive methods in different disciplines. For example, Mead applied it in to psychological and social behaviors while James used it in religious and moral questions. They said that it is not good to disagree anything before experiencing it. According to Dewey, ideas must be related and connected to each other. He said also that education is not preparation for life but it is the life itself because as long as we are alive we are in the learning process. Furthermore, Rousseau claimed that people are good inside, which is different from what the charge says about people born with sin. He said that it is not good for children to sit for a long time learning abstract ideas. The child should experience then learn.

Aims of Education

    Concerning education, Pragmatism focuses on the idea that people are born with white heart so they are all good inside. They said also that education shouldn’t only be academic but also practical. That is by providing the kids at school a similar environment to that in real life. They said that education has 2 related wings: psychology and sociology. As a teacher, he should focus on the growth of minds and spirits of students, be consistent to his decisions, and to train students to be responsible for their decisions and deeds, give the students problems and let them be creative in solving it by encouragement (multiple ways of thinking).

Methods and Curriculum

    According to pragmatism, the students should practice the ideas and take several experimentations and methods because they are different types of learners and their interests change. Also integrating topics and ideas is important for students (don’t isolate). Teaching by activity is better than lecturing and those activities have not to be boring. Students feel motivated to learn when the lesson is real life oriented and not hypothetical. Students like to do and try by themselves instead of sitting and receiving ideas. They claim that the examples must be related to the student’s real life and be authentic. Concerning the curriculum, it should meet the student’s needs. It should be born from the society because the teacher should guide the students without neglecting their needs and interests. Students can choose what to learn so that they feel motivated.

Role of the Teacher

    The teacher in pragmatism is the guider, facilitator, director, he should be an educator and not a trainer (training is used with animals). The teacher should give the students a balance between the non-formal learning from society and the formal education from school. The teacher also allows the students discover and do things by themselves. In addition, according to them, a good

Teacher educate the students according to their needs and interests.

   Motivation is a secret key for effective learning and this is what the Pragmatism Philosophy plays around. When the teacher thinks about how to bring joy to the learning process no one fail or leave school unless he had financial or circumstantial issues. 

 

Existentialism

    This philosophy is about that what exists is the base. It says that the truth is different based on each individual and that there are no external standards but internalized ones. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche said that God died and that religion and science don’t mix. Soren Kierkegaard claimed that people need a “leap of faith” to believe in God. Those and many other existentialists were atheists and didn’t believe in God. Buber wrote “I and Thou” that talks about the relationship between humans. He emphasized on respecting people and not treating them as objects. The same thing is applied with teachers and their students. Jean-Paul Sartre is a more recent philosopher following this philosophy. He believed that we are thrown to this universe without our choice and that we are all free to decide our destiny and that’s why we are responsible.

Aims of Education

    Students should be trusted to choose the good behaviors and avoid the bad ones (after they find them by themselves and know their wants and capability). Also, students should be treated focusing on their positive sides and not in the same way. They should be encouraged to ask questions about good and bad sides of life in order to be prepared to the real life. This means that they should know about stealing, lying, anxiety… Education, according to this philosophy, must be liberated and students must be free. It should emphasize students’ uniqueness.

Methods and Curriculum

    According to existentialism, nothing is not allowed in which students are allowed and encouraged to ask anything. There is an example about a school that has no walls and the students are free to come or not. There, lessons are taught according to the students’ choices and it lasts for four years. Teachers must think as if they are students and vise versa. The curriculum must have no rules, it is free according to the needs of the students. By giving the students the freedom, they will be responsible and hold their consequences.

Teacher’s Role

      The role of the teacher is to play different roles and has wisdom in dealing with students and others because the students imitate him and want to see her doing the right thing at the right time. The teacher also has to teach the students that they are free and encourage them to ask questions and apply this in actions and not only words. The teacher should help the students gain knowledge by themselves through acting as a facilitator or a helper.

    To sum up, the teacher plays a major role in helping the students feel free and responsible at the same time. He is the role model and the flexible person that deals with any situation correctly.

 

Feedback

    A smart teacher takes the best ideas under each philosophy and applies them in his teaching journey. There is nothing called one teaching method, yet it is about mixing as much methods as possible to ensure that the learning process is interesting and fits each and every different student. The students’ types of learning are very different and the readiness to learn too, that is why teaching is a hobby that God gave for certain individuals in order to become remarkable names. For me, I will try to teach through smart questions (Idealism), organize the information (Realism), let my students discover the conclusions by themselves (Pragmatism), and give my students the freedom to ask or choose (Existentialism).