Introduction

What makes a teacher? Teaching is like a salad. Think about it. If you were to attend a
party for any given holiday, the number of and variations to each salad recipe that might be
present for consumption could outnumber those present at the party. There are so many
different ways to teach, varying circumstances to take into account, and philosophies to
apply to each classroom. And what better way to have a positive impact on the world than
to offer knowledge for consumption? The term ‘teacher’ can be applied to anyone who
imparts knowledge of any topic, but it is generally more focused on those who are hired to
do so. In imparting knowledge to our students, it is inevitable that we must take into
account our own personal philosophies, or pedagogies, and determine not only how we
decide what our philosophies are, but also how those impact our consumers.
What philosophy of education you were educated in and explain what negative things
you can see now?
 “Philosophy has been taught in the theoretical realm rather than the practical sense,”
meaning that the ideas were placed before the teachers without the scaffolding to create a
bridge into the classroom (Roberson, 2000, p. 7). The teachers, as students, were given a
body of thought and expected to translate that into lessons for their own students. 
A philosophy about education requires systematic, critical thinking about educational
practice.
A teacher’s educational philosophy helps the educator interpret, find meaning, and direct
the daily work of the classroom
1. There is no substitute for concrete experience in learning.
2. The focus of education should be the ideas that are as relevant today as when they were
first conceived.
3. Teachers must not force their students to learn the subject matter if it does not interest
them.
4. Schools’ must develop students’ capacity to reason by stressing on the humanities.
5. In the classroom, students must be encouraged to interact with one another to develop
social virtues such as cooperation and respect.
6. Students should read and analyze the Great Books, the creative works of history’s finest
thinkers and writers.
7. Help students expand their knowledge by helping them apply their previous experiences
in solving new problems.
8. Our course of study should be general, not specialized; liberal, not vocational;
humanistic, not technical.
9. There is no universal inborn human nature. We are born and exist and then we ourselves
freely determine our essence.
10. Human beings are shaped by their environment.
11. Schools should stress on the teaching of the basic skills.
12. Change of environment can change a person.
13. Curriculum should emphasize on the traditional disciplines such as math, science,
history, grammar, literature.
14. Something beautiful for one may not be beautiful for you.
15. Schools should help individuals accept themselves as unique and accept responsibility
for their thoughts, feelings and actions.
16. A scientifically developed code is preferred over one that is derived from the history
and culture of particular groups.
17. For the learner to acquire the basic skills, s/he must go through the rigor and discipline
of serious study.
18. The teacher and the school head must prescribe what is most important for the students
to learn.
19. An individual is what s/he chooses to become not dictated by his/her environment.
20. A learner must be allowed to learn at his/her own pace.
What, exactly, are education philosophies? According to Thelma Roberson (2000), most
prospective teachers confuse their beliefs with the ideas of teaching (p. 6). Education
philosophies, then, are not what you want to do in class to aid learning, but why you do
them and how they work. For example, Roberson’s students state they “want to use
cooperative learning techniques” in their classroom. The question posed is, why? “[I]s
cooperative learning a true philosophy or is it something you do in the classroom because
of your belief about the way children learn?” (Roberson, 2000, p. 6). Philosophies need to
translate ideas into action – if you want to use certain techniques, then you need to
understand how they are effective in the classroom to create that portion of your education
philosophy. It helps to have an overview of the various schools out there.
Philosophies of Education have traveled down a tree of branches. The first four support
branches of philosophy are the Idealist school, the Realist school, the Pragmatist school,
and the Existential schools of thought (Ornstein, 2003, p. 99).
Idealism – focuses on a subject-matter curriculum emphasizing the great ideas of the
culture. You must ponder ideas to make them whole (Ornstein, 2003, p. 99).
Realism – A subject-matter curriculum stressing objective knowledge and values. Reality is
objective, meaning everyone should obtain the same results regardless of what he does or
how he consider concepts (Ornstein, 2003, p. 101)
Perennialism – Focuses on human concerns that have caused concern for centuries,
revealed through ‘great works’ (Ornstein, 2003, p. 110)
Essentialism – Rooted partially in Idealism, as well – Emphasizes skills and subjects that
demonstrate the cultural heritage and contribute to society (Ornstein, 2003, p. 110)
Pragmatism – Instruction is organized around problem-solving following the steps of the
scientific method – emphasizes the need to act on concepts by testing them (Ornstein, 2003,
p. 104).
Progressivism – Instruction features problem solving and group activities – The instructor
acts as a facilitator as opposed to a leader (Ornstein, 2003, p. 110)
Social Reconstructionism – Instruction that focuses on significant social and economic
problems in an effort to solve them (Ornstein, 2003, pg.110)
Existentialism – Classroom dialogue stimulates awareness – each person creates an
awareness gleaned from discussion and encourages deep personal reflection on his or her
convictions (Ornstein, 2003, p. 108).
Which is better?
“Philosophy has been taught in the theoretical realm rather than the practical sense,”
meaning that the ideas were placed before the teachers without the scaffolding to create a
bridge into the classroom.

What makes a teacher? Teaching is like a salad. Think about it. If you were to attend a
party for any given holiday, the number of and variations to each salad recipe that might be
present for consumption could outnumber those present at the party. There are so many
different ways to teach, varying circumstances to take into account, and philosophies to
apply to each classroom. And what better way to have a positive impact on the world than
to offer knowledge for consumption? The term ‘teacher’ can be applied to anyone who
imparts knowledge of any topic, but it is generally more focused on those who are hired to
do so. In imparting knowledge to our students, it is inevitable that we must take into
account our own personal philosophies, or pedagogies, and determine not only how we
decide what our philosophies are, but also how those impact our consumers.
Just as in many other walks of life, statistics and studies show that one philosophy of
teaching will prevail over another. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, as
stated in J. Collin’s article (1997), claims that “from 1971 to 1980 there was a steady
improvement in the reading comprehension of nine-year-olds. However, during the
1980s…the scores did not improve and rather declined” (n.p.).
The 1990s brought the topic full circle. It was then that Marilyn Adams, a cognitive
psychologist, wrote a book describing the best methods to teach learning. “Programs that
combined systematic phonics instruction with meaning emphasis seemed to work best of
all” (Collins, 1997, n.p.). The key to reading is that words need to be recognized so the
brain can interpret the meaning behind it (Collins, 1997, n.p.). Thus, putting the two
methods together was necessary for correct comprehension of the concepts presented.
Conclusion
You are ready to graze at a Fourth of July picnic. You walk over to the table, and you see
an array of salads ready for you to dive in to them. How do you pick which ones you want
to sample now or save for later? How do you narrow the choices down?
Educational philosophies are as abundant as salads at any holiday spread. And even though
the difference between one potato salad and the one next to it is an addition of mustard, the
two are by no means exactly alike. Your classes will be just as diverse. You will have
students from all economic classes, with differing levels of English language ability, and all
bringing various and beautiful experiences to your class. How do you reach each
individual?
Knowing who you are as a teacher before you enter the classroom will help significantly.
Teaching is so much more than just the content. Teaching is a learning curve on philosophy
that will never be finished. Just as your classroom will change every year, continue to alter
your philosophies. See what works for you and your students on a collaborative level. In
the words of J. W. Apps, “a working philosophy is never completely developed the ultimate
working philosophy never reached. We’re always moving toward, hopefully, a more
complete, and thus more useful, working philosophy.” (The Educational Philosophies of
Training and Development Professors, Leaders, and Practitioners, pg. 1)
References
Cadenas, H. G. (1999). Revitalize your teaching—four key elements for
success. Contemporary Education, 70 (2), 5-7. Retrieved on January 28, 2008, from
Wilsonweb.com
website: http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?
recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e1e9c442f93fe94fd3dd814f5b54d3854a715b6e9cc14f3538d830
ddf5e8d15a6&fmt=H
Chef Larry’s fall salad with fruit and roasted nut confetti walnut vinaigrette
(n.d.). County Television Network. Retrieved on February 2, 2008, from USASearch.gov
website: http://usasearch.gov/search?v%3aproject=firstgov-images&v
%3afile=viv_896%4031%3ahDAOGw&v%3aframe=viewimage&v%3astate=root
%7croot-20-20%7c0&id=Ndoc22&rpaid=&
Collins, J. (1997, October 27). How Johnny should read. Time. Retrieved on January 28,
2008, from Time.com
website: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987253-1,00.html
Fulkerson, R. (2000). Four philosophies of composition. In E. Corbett, N. Myers and G.
Tate (Eds.), The writing teacher’s sourcebook (4th ed.) (pp. 3–8). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Marchant, V. (2000, May 29). Why not teach next? Time. Retrieved on January 28, 2008,
from Time.com website: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997031-
1,00.html
Ornstein, A. and Daniel Levine. (2003). Foundations of education (8th ed.). Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Pedagogy. (n.d.). Wordnet 3.0. Retrieved February 3, 2008, from Dictionary.com
website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pedagogy
Roberson, T. (2000 September 29). Philosophy of philosophy: making the connection
between philosophy and pedagogy for preservice teachers (Paper presented at Meeting for
the Society for Philosophy and History of Education, Biloxi, MS 2000).
teach. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved February 3, 2008, from
Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/teach
Ganly, S. Educational philosophies in the classroom. Retrieved February 2, 2008, from
Associated Content website: http://www.associatedcontent.com