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One of the most successful methods is finding out what an applicant’s philosophy of education is; and whether it stood well with his/her school. Philosophy comes from two Greek words, Philips (love) and Shops (wisdom). In its general sagacity, Philosophy means, a love or craving for knowledge. As a young teacher I have come to experience many kinds of classroom segregation; stereotype and constructs within our society, and the education system. This hinders nation development and human resource capabilities; therefore, it has motivated me to formulate my own philosophy of education around the concept of creating nation builders.
Through firsthand experience, I see where a child that lives in troubled communities usually follows its common lifestyle, some of which are usually not worthy of glorification and does nothing to boast nation growth and stability. In support of this view, (John Dewey 1 944) states: “education is the continual circulation of social life”. By this Dewey meant that education is stipulated by individual societies or culture, and what they value, and how they transfer this set of knowledge and beliefs to their successive generations.
Just like the Greek Philosopher (Plato 427-347 BC), Dewey believed that humans are born with unfilled minds which need to be nurtured and molded. The Philosophies of Progressivism teach us that: “The school is a microcosm, of the larger society’. Therefore; taking into consideration this philosophical fact, then, it is clear we cannot yet determine what these children bring into schools, but we surely can control what they take with them from there.
My objective is to educate students about the importance of self mobility, and nation building with reference to how participating in constructive activities will contribute to there well being and that of their children to come. My aspiration is drawn from several philosophical theories and ideas, however, for this paper will be mostly concentrating on a mixture of conventional and modern ideas such as; Pragmatism, Idealism, Realism, Humanism, and of course Futurism. To facilitate a logical sequence and for clarity purposes: will now look at each idea in details and then associate each with the education and learning process.
Pragmatism: What determines our actions? (A 20th Century philosophical idea) This philosophical movement was started by the Americans, notably: Charles S. Price William James and John Dewey. They proposed the idea that people generally show signs of their thoughts through means of their physical action; therefore, for the Pragmatists, we think in the interest of our daily lives and the outcomes of our actions. The Pragmatists further stipulate that actions without thought behind it, is meaningless. In essence the term Pragmatism itself has roots in the word practical, suggesting the way thoughts manifest or work through action. O believe children are intrinsically willing to learn, and that is why as a teacher; it should be a priority to make ones self fully informed and aware of al the various external barriers that prevents children from reaching their full potential. Most of the Jamaican school children are not from communities that promotes nation building. In fact a lot Of these children have relatives one or few that linger on the road Sides, prematurely smoking and drinking, wasting their man power and lives away. Most children are unaware of the detrimental effects to their country, when the human resource is not fully sustained and in an effective manner.
It is true however, that humans live by what they learn Cohn Dewey 1944) therefore, it is in the intention of this Hess to counter children’s social conditioning and provide alternative view on life for themselves and the country at large. Our children should know that they control the society, and what they think or expect of the society will be what the society gives them in return. Therefore, if they work hard and patriotically, then they will be able to contribute physically or mentally to nation building. And thus a safer crime free and affordable life for us all.
Humanism The Humanists have made three major impacts on the education system, in that they proposed: free schooling, open classrooms and intolerance to allure. (Michael Manley 1971) opines ‘every developing society must aim at free, compulsory, universal education as its highest national priority’. The humanists emphasizes and envisions a world, where humans are highly advance and self reliance, they view humans as the most perfect and dominant being in the world; therefore, we must strive to reach a level where all our potentials are fully tap into.
Human sits reject the ideas of super natural beings and wishful thinking, instead they suggest that we continuously educate and advance ourselves cause in the end, only our abilities can help us. We have all seen the many problems associated with been dependent, we depend on other countries to provide us with: food, energy and entertainment. The more dependent we become as a nation, is the poorer we get: Therefore; as a teacher one of my philosophy of education is to teach children about self reliance, and commerce, therefore; encouraging students to become productive adults.
As our Jamaican philosopher and national hero, (Marcus Graver) mentioned, “sitting down allowing the other nations to run away with everything, you will come a bunch of consumers”. Repeatedly we all witness where the seller becomes richer, and the buyer becomes poorer. According to the scriptures “the rich will become richer, and the poor become poorer’. Idealism: In a sociological sense, idealism emphasizes how human ideas especially beliefs and values, shape society. The Idealists rejects material reality, and for them our realities OCCUr through the mind because it is what interprets stimuli and dictate to us an understanding.
Since this is so, the Idealists curriculum emphasizes lectures/debates/discussions and other mental recesses in order for us to reach logical conclusions of our environmental truths. Like the Idealist, I think every child is unique and therefore one child’s reality may not coincide with that of his peer. For instance, one child may view the drink bottle as half full; while is counterpart may believe to himself that the bottle is half empty. In other words, according to the Idealists when we discuss and debate our views, we can reach logical truths.
Idealist sees the world as purely mental and spiritual, therefore; reality only exists in the mind. O agree with the Idealists, in the sense that what we mentally conceive will determine our actions in life. For instance, take a child who beliefs that he/she is a good for nothing and worthless person, that child if continues to have such a mind set; will never rise to his full potential and become an asset to his community and country. In contrast though, if that child should become exposed to alternative and inspirational outlook on life, he/she will strive to convert that positive energy into meaningful societal contributions.
Most children are not motivated by their direct community and household embers to achieve their utmost. Therefore; I believe as a teacher that the school should promote discussions and lectures that stimulate a healthy mind. Realism: The Realist proposes that the universe exists and will be present whether or not there is a human mind to conceive it. In other words, absolute truth rest in the connection between the real world; its laws, natural order and our perception of stimuli. In fact the Realists contend that what we know comes from the real world.
Thus from the Realist prospective, children should not just be fed with information; but rather be given the opportunities to go out investigate, analyze and interpret things for themselves. I strongly feel that the curriculum of the realist should be widely promoted in our classrooms, because as many prominent educators would say, hands on materials promote higher learning and appreciation of things in the environment. For instance, as teachers we should practice events such as careers day, whereby; children gets to experience the real life situation of being doctors, policeman, pilots, soldiers, teachers, farmer etc.
These things will intrigue children, and titivated them into working hard academically and other wise, to have a career in such fields; hence, leading to nation building. Futurism: Many of our people especially the youths do not see for themselves a bright future. Therefore, Futurists are advocating for social and political reforms, where the younger generation can live free of social, religious and political injustices. As proposed by the Futurists, the use of curricular subjects such as economics, psychology, sociology and political science can create awareness and thus positive changes may occur for a better future.