Voices

I was impressed with how thorough this overview of educational philosophies was. It was organized in a way that made sense--it could have been grouped by most common attributes or by categories like "existentialism" and "pragmatism" but the choice to make it a timeline was a good one, I think. That way, not only do we get to see what the prevailing educational ideas of a certain time were, but we can see how they grow and change over the centuries. I was also interested to see some of the teachers on this list--Jesus and Native Americans particularly. I didn't apply any of their teaching strategies to my own philosophy, but I was interested to read about their values from an educational perspective. It seems the authors spent some time rooting around through passages in the bible and researching Native American social structure in order to write a pretty comprehensive and concise summary of their educational beliefs. It made the summaries of the other great thinkers seem more informed, as well.

As for my personal favorites, I think that in order of their greatest help to my personal philosophy, it would have to be Piaget, Counts, Froebel, and Aquinas.

I liked Piaget's pragmatic approach to student learning, and his belief that content of a higher level of thinking should be introduced when the student is intellectually mature enough to get the most from it. His emphasis on cooperation also falls in line with my own ideas, though i don't think it is quite as essential to the "real exchange of thought and discussion" as he might.

Counts' idealization of the teaching profession is an important idea. I liked how earnest he is in his belief that teaching has the most direct effect on mankind. As teachers we are responsible for educating future generations, who will be responsible for making the decisions that shape future societies. I think that this can be considered the most important profession of all.

Froebel is like me in that he rejects the idea of a child being able to be "shaped or bent" or starting off with a blank slate. His introduction of early childhood teaching tools and activities stem from a belief that every child has their own unique talent, something that I agree with. the quote "In play a child reveals his own original power" is one that I can really get behind. It emphasizes my belief that students all have unique qualities, but they must exercise them in order to bring them to the surface.

Aquinas' ideas on character development made an impression on me, especially the importance he places on giving students the opportunities to make good choices. I believe that each student has the "potential for knowledge" of Aquinas' vision, but that it must come from their interactions within their lives. I also appreciated the idea that if one "accustoms" students to being virtuous, they will remain virtuous throughout their lives. I think this idea is a little lofty and foolishly optimistic, but it is a hopeful idea nonetheless. Being a good role model to your students would be a good way to work this into your classroom without acting as though you know what it takes to be virtuous (hint: no one does.) There are some glimpses of the idealistic "teacher knows the truth" attitude in Aquinas' philosophies, however, and I am not sure I agree with everything he stands for.