Voices- Educational Pioneers

“The History and Philosophy of Education: Voices of Educational Pioneers” was an incredible read that highlights the major educational philosophies that have helped to create the educational system we have today as well as the philosophical views that I, myself, hold for education. With each educator we learn their stance on the role of the teacher and the learner, their view of the curriculum and their methodology, the purpose or goal of education, and what their major contribution was to education or to our current society. Some of the educators named who I have learned from include, Confucius, Sappho, Socrates, Plato, Charlemagne and Alcuin, Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Aquinas, Christine de Pizan, Erasmus, Martin Luther, John Locke, Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, Herbart, Froebel, Hakadah-Native American, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Webster, Emma Willard, Catharine Beecher, Gallaudet, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B DuBois, Bethune, Ralph Tyler, Maria Montessori, and Paulo Freire. All of these educators, although I cannot entirely relate to each one have influenced the educational system that I am a part of and for that I must simply acknowledge, in part, who they are to education and to me. They are a piece of where our educational system has come from, where it is now, and even where it will be in the future for me and my children.

The first educator/philosopher that I related to was Aristotle. His belief that thinking and reflecting need to be encouraged and then time allowed for the practice of these skills enabled the teachers to acknowledge adjustments for each student. He believed that this would produce virtuous men of society. Cicero believed that time was important to education, taking into consideration the past, present, and even future of the students and of society. Human excellence here was born from an educated place in which a person embodied a cultured and articulate man. I believe that our history is crucial to our education and if we are to create not just citizens of society but education human beings we must know where we have come from, where we are now, and have some understanding of where we want to go. Quintilian’s philosophy supported the “teaching of the liberal arts and moral education within the professional educator of the orator.” Here the teacher is the one that must understand each student’s mental and physical developmental needs and levels. I believe that understand the development or the individual behind each student is crucial to me being able to teach to each child.

Although not entirely I can relate to the philosophies of Jesus and Augustine because they promoted a kind and caring teacher in which happiness is valued and our ultimate path or journey in life is not just here on earth. Who we are and who we are to become is important here as well as it is to me, as I strive to help each student discover a piece of themselves each day. Moving to Pestalozzi’s philosophy, he believed that the “whole child” was important, made up of the head, heart, hand, body, feelings, and intellect. A respectful and caring teacher student relationship is important here as well as to my own view of education. Mann’s philosophical view of education was one in which students are contributing citizens, responsible members of society, moral workers, and education can bring about a unity of body, intellect, and spirit. Here, public education, for every person, was key and was considered the “great equalizer”.

Elizabeth Seton’s philosophy of education really hit home because of the focus on “an educational program under the guidance and inspiration of religion.” This involved a kind teacher who saw or taught students as children of God and included various aspects of the child’s life such as a wholesome diet, healthy recreation in an environment with respect and discipline. The physical and spiritual well being was attended to and made sure that the students were learning more than just academic studies. Dewey initiated “cooperative learning” as well as the belief that education meant interactions with, knowledge of, and diversity (he embraced a multicultural environment) in the academic and social environment. He saw society playing an important role in education as well as the child’s potential for learning and succeeding. Lastly, the philosopher in which I most relate to is Piaget. I believe, as Piaget did, that the child must learn and develop not alone but in a social setting, placing an emphasis on the individual. The use of learning centers, individualized instruction (accommodating for each student’s readiness level), higher level thinking, and the purpose of schooling to helping children “learn to think, to discover, and create” rolls my beliefs into one giant ball of education philosophies.

There are several quotes which I related to the most while learning about each educator or philosopher. These quotes include:
-“We are the sum of our actions, and therefore our habits make all the difference.”- Aristotle
-“School is the workshop where young souls are formed to virtue”- Comenius
-“For it is my opinion that if public education does not take into consideration the circumstances of family life, and everything else that bears on a man’s general education, it can only lead to an artificial and methodical dwarfing of humanity.” – Pestalozzi
-“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”- Mann
-“Education should seek to bring its subjects to the perfection of their moral, intellectual, and physical nature in order that they may be the greatest possible use to themselves and others.”- Emma Willard
- “When so rich a harvest is before us, why do we not gather it? All is in our hands if we will but use it.”- Elizabeth Seton (and this one might be my favorite)
- “Education and work are the levers to uplift a people. Work alone will not do it unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence. Education must not simply teach work- it must teach Life.”- W.E.B DuBois (this one spoke to my philosophical view of teaching children “how” to think not what to think)
- “Every teacher should recognize the dignity of his calling.”- Dewey