My Educational Philosophy

ALBIN BAILLO CAIBOGMAEM

Is education preparation for life? This is a common question that usually comes to my mind when I hear the saying “Education is the key to success”. If education really is the key to success; it would mean that learners are sent out to school in order to prepare them for their future. But how sure are we that our learners are going to be successful in the future? Is their performance in school a good basis of their future success? Are educators fortune tellers?

The world nowadays is a battleground and life is like a battle, it believes in the survival of the fittest. In order to stand among the rest and win the battle of life, one should be equipped with education. Therefore, education does not only ensure our survival in this world but it also makes our life worth living. To make the statement clear, we could say that, “Education is not a preparation for life but education is life itself”. That is a famous quotation from famous American philosopher John Dewey.

When he said that education is life itself, precisely Dewey wants to highlight the fact that education is a process in which we learn throughout our life. It begins in our mother’s womb and it continues until we take our last breath. It is so closely integrated in our every moment that it becomes almost synonymous to life.

The process of education usually begins with the development of one’s mind. It replaces an empty mind with an open one. A child begins to recognize the voices of his parents while he is still inside of his mother’s womb. As he goes out, his senses became more active, he loves to see the sun shining brightly, to feel the wind that touches his skin, to smell the fragrant flowers, to taste the food that he will be taking in, and hear the different sounds that surrounds him, this things are to be considered his first experience.

Afterwards, he learns to talk and keep on asking questions that merely starts with “what” and “why” and curiosity begins. The mind of the child opens up and the horizons of his knowledge widens. Then he will be sent out to kindergarten and then to school wherein he is introduced to the concepts of science, geography, history, mathematics, computers and many more. The knowledge that he learns doesn’t only give him spirit to value life but also teaches him to learn from the past and build the present to create a better future.

And now after finishing the phase of a child, a grown individual chooses his vocation and what follows is the fulfillment of his ambitions and goals in his life. It seems that in every step of his life, learning is in its place. The experience that one gains while tackling the complexities of life is the best education that one can get.

Taking into account, John Dewey applied pragmatist philosophy in his progressive approach and he believes that man learns through practice and experience. The quote that he had uttered – “Education is not a preparation for life, it is life itself” is likely to be pragmatist in nature. It wants to emphasize that the focus of pragmatist philosophy is on the reality of experience. Indeed we consider experience as the best teacher since this variable can lead to the changes of an individual as a whole.

In some way, I am in favor with the pragmatist’s philosophy and I’m also in favor with the teachings of Charles Sanders Peirce who believes that thought must produce action, rather than linger in the mind and lead to indecisiveness.

In order to measure that an individual has learned, he has to draw out his knowledge from his brain and form it into action. Lesson objectives are in the form of behavior that comes as a result of experience. I’m also in favor with the view of the pragmatist that we learn best through applying our experiences and thoughts to problems, as they arise. Learning is indeed best if an individual knows how to apply what he learned for it will create a new experience in his part.

This is a common problem here in our country for students in the classroom could not easily apply what they learn for the some teachers are idealistic in teaching their students; they keep on feeding them not thinking that some can’t get their point for they can’t relate it to their lives. Lack of facilities could also lead to poor performance of the students since they are unable to see what the real objects are, some schools precisely don’t have mock-ups for the things that could not be afford to be brought to the class. Pragmatists are experimentalist, that they give more importance to action than ideas. Of course actions are product of ideas.

Pragmatism is a good philosophy to be considered but as I see through the details of the said “thought”, I myself could say that pragmatism has its disadvantage or its flaws. The pragmatist philosophy is opposed with the predetermined truth because according to them “reality is constantly changing”. What is real now may never be real tomorrow. Construction of the curriculum could be difficult because the curriculum to be constructed must make the individual gain all the knowledge from life experiences. This can be difficult to attain since different individuals have different experiences although some has same. Pragmatism also has no fixed aims for education.

They emphasis that aims of human life always change with the changing times, places and circumstances. No specific aim of education can be predetermined which holds true and good to all children at all times, places and situations. The method “learning by doing” could not be applied as always in different subjects in our country for our schools lack facilities especially in public schools.

Pragmatism denies the bookish knowledge because according to the pragmatist view, man is a social being. He gains more and more knowledge through personal experiences than he gets from books. “Pragmatism is a method only”. It is one of the demerits of the pragmatic philosophy. Pragmatism is good if applied in school but the curriculum should be flexible.

In pragmatist point of view, education must be a responsibility of the state, education is a right for every individual, so the state should shoulder the responsibility. And if the state refuses to do so, it will lead the nation to suffering. It is for the state to make the child capable and confident to meet the problems and challenges of life successfully. The school in the pragmatic point of view should be a “miniature of society” where child gets real experiences to act and behave according to his interest, aptitude and capacities. Therefore, the state should make education the most important priority among all in order to help school to perform well.

Every teacher should have the knowledge of the different philosophies in order for him to cater the needs of his learners. Teachers should be open-minded and use the philosophies of life for the sake of the children – the people of the next generation. Watching our learners as they achieve in their goals in life, gives a good impact to our lives.

There are many philosophies to be considered for education and for me; all of these have its good implication towards education. These philosophies help teachers in the making of the lessons, method for teaching as well assessment in the part of the learning.

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