John Locke

1630-1704

Liberalism

Locke believes that at birth, the human mind is a sort of blank slate on which experience writes. In Book II Locke claims that ideas are the materials of knowledge and all ideas come from experience. The term ‘idea,’ Locke tells us "...stands for whatsoever is the Object of the Understanding, when a man  thinks." (Essay I, 1, 8, p. 47) Experience is of two kinds, sensation and reflection. One of these -- sensation -- tells us about things and processes in the external world. The other -- reflection -- tells us about the operations of our own minds. Reflection is a sort of internal sense that makes us conscious of the mental processes we are engaged in. Some ideas we get only from sensation, some only from reflection and some from both.

We cannot create simple ideas, we can only get them from experience. In this respect the mind is passive. Once the mind has a store of simple ideas, it can combine them into complex ideas of a variety of kinds. In this respect the mind is active. Thus, Locke subscribes to a version of the empiricist axiom that there is nothing in the intellect that was not previously in the senses -- where the senses are broadened to include reflection.

Uzgalis, William, "John Locke", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2003 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) URL://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2003/entries/locke/.

http://www.applestar.org/capella/Educational%20Philosophers.pdf

Thomas Aquinas

1227-1274

Theism

He incorporated Greek ideas into Christianity by showing Aristotle's thought to be compatible with church doctrine. In his system, reason and faith (revelation) form two separate but harmonious realms whose truths complement rather than oppose one another.

http://www.applestar.org/capella/Educational%20Philosophers.pdf

Aristotle

384-322 BC

Realism

Aristotle believed in the direct observation of nature, and in science he taught that theory must follow fact. He considered philosophy to be the discerning of the self-evident, changeless first principles that form the basis of all knowledge. Logic was for Aristotle the necessary tool of any inquiry, and the syllogism was the sequence that all logical thought follows. He introduced the notion of category into logic and taught that reality could be classified according to several categories—substance (the primary category), quality, quantity, relation, determination in time and space, action, passion or passivity, position, and condition. 

Aristotle also taught that knowledge of a thing, beyond its classification and description, requires an explanation of causality , or why it is. He posited four causes or principles of explanation: the material cause (the substance of which the thing is made); the formal cause (its design); the efficient cause (its maker or builder); and the final cause (its purpose or function). In modern thought the efficient cause is generally considered the central explanation of a thing, but for Aristotle the final cause had primacy.

http://www.applestar.org/capella/Educational%20Philosophers.pdf

Plato

428-348 BC

Idealism

He saw education as the key to creating and sustaining his Republic. He advocated extreme methods: removing children from their mothers' care and raising them as wards of the state, with great care being taken to differentiate children suitable to the various castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of the city and care for the less able. Education would be holistic, including facts, skills, physical discipline, and rigidly censored music and art. For Plato, the individual was best served by being subordinated to a just society.

Plato recommended play method at elementary level; student should learn by doing. And when he/she reaches the higher level of education, his reason would be trained in the processes of thinking and abstracting. Plato wanted motivation and interest in learning. He was against the use of force in education."Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind." According to Plato "Do not then train youths by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each." Plato wanted a place where children love to go and stay there and they play with things which enhance their education by playing. Plato gave importance to nursery education, as nursery education plays a vital role in the education of man and it helps to build his moral character and state of mind "The most important part of education is proper training in the nursery."

http://www.applestar.org/capella/Educational%20Philosophers.pdf

Socrates

469-369 BC

Taught his learners by asking questions (Socratic or dialectic method). He often insisted that he really knew nothing, but his questioning skills allowed others to learn by self generated understanding.

http://www.applestar.org/capella/Educational%20Philosophers.pdf

My Philosophy

The two major trends in educational reform are the “management” approach to education, which is a sophisticated expression of traditional/conventional philosophy, and the learner-centered or “open” school. Learner-centered views focus on the learner’s motivational drives and needs. Newer methods of education are characterized by more extensive and intensive student involvement, individualization of instruction, a greater variety of instructional techniques, openness of classroom structure, relevance to everyday life, and removal of causes of failures.  

        

As one of the educator I have a philosophy in terms of teaching on how I’ll manage my student in teaching them a right one and also in classroom situation. Teaching is very challenging profession and very important to everyone since the world started when we open our eyes our parents teach us how to speak until we became a better person. I believe that learner-oriented teaching promotes learning that is both useful and meaningful.

As a teacher, it is my responsibility to know who my learners are, what kinds of knowledge and experience they bring to the class, and what they want to achieve so that I can teach a curriculum that fits their needs and yet leaves enough room to accommodate topics that emerge from class discovery.  By assessing where my learners are with respect to our mutual learning goals, I can provide the scaffolding they need to build connections between what they already know and the new understandings they seek to create.  I embrace case based teaching and other active learning activities because they stimulate intellectual camaraderie, argumentation, and cooperative problem solving and lay the groundwork for life-long collaborative practice. Through this strategy we can motivate the student to stay longer in the class and show more interest of the topic given.

In my classroom situation my student will experience being a constructivist they learn from their teacher and their topic that we give to them and they will learn also through their experience and practices in the classroom management.