Danielle Jones Ashley Johnson

 Essentialism  Perennialism  Progressivism  Existentialism  Social Reconstruction

This philosophy emphasizes the importance of transferring knowledge, information, and skills from the order generation to the younger generation. 2 types of philosophies: Essentialism & Perennialism

 William Bagley an American educator popularized the term essentialism.  Strives to teach students the accumulated knowledge of our civilization through core courses in the traditional academic disciplines.  Aim to instill students with the essentials to academic knowledge, patriotism, & character development.

 Urge that traditional disciplines such as math, science, history, foreign language & literature also known as the core curriculum.  Maintain that classroom should be oriented toward the teacher, who should serve as an intellectual and moral role model for the students.  Expect that students will leave school possessing not only basic skills and an extensive body of knowledge but also disciplined, practical minds, capable of applying schoolhouse lessons in the real world.

 Perennial means “everlasting”.  Perennialists education focuses on enduring themes & questions that span the ages.  School is organized around books, ideas, and concepts.  Perennialists believe that the goal of education should be to develop rational thought and to discipline minds to think rigorously.

 This philosophy is less authoritarian, less concerned with the past and “training the mind,” and more focused on individual needs, contemporary relevance, and preparing students for a changing future.  3 types of philosophies: Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, & Existentialism.

 John Dewey refined and applied pragmatism to education, establishing what became known as progressivism. Dewey saw education as an opportunity to learn how to apply previous experiences in new ways.  Progressivism is the educational application of a philosophy called pragmatism.  Organizes schools around the concerns, curiosity, and real world experiences of students.

 In this type of classroom you will not see a teacher standing in front of the classroom teaching, instead the students will be working in small groups.  Progressivists build the curriculum around the experiences, interest, and abilities of students, and encourage students to work together cooperatively.

 Encourages schools, teachers, and students to focus their studies and energies on alleviating pervasive social inequities and, as the implies, reconstruct society into a new and more just social order.

 A social reconstructionist teacher created lessons that both intellectually inform and emotionally stir students about the inequities that surround them.

 This philosophy places the highest priority students directing their own learning.  Asserts that the purpose of education is to help children find the meaning and direction in their lives, and it rejects the notion that adults should or could direct meaningful learning for children.

 In this classroom, subject matter takes second place to helping the students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals.  The curriculum often emphasizes the humanities as a means of providing students with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their creativity and self expression.  Their learning is self paced & self directed.