8 Philosophies

Essentialism- Essentialists basically believe in teaching the things they see as being essential to a student's success in the real world. Subject matters that these would include are reading, writing, history, and language. Essentialists believe that mastering these skills are very important in the real world. Lectures, memorizing, and tests are the main teaching strategies that essentialist teachers use.

Behaviorism- Behaviorism is all about student behavior and how the teacher can promote good student behavior in the classroom. In this philosophy, the teacher's job is to promote a positive learning environment where the students can learn and be successful. Positive reinforcement is a big part of a behavioralist approach.

Perenialism- This philosophy looks heavily at the past and the great works of the past. This philosophy could be used a lot in a literature class, math classes, and obviously history classes. A big point in this philosophy is getting students to understand how and why these classics are still relevant and why these ideas haven't changed over time.

Positivism: This philosophy looks a lot at students actually gathering evidence for themselves and using that evidence to come to decisions and conclusions. A big part of this is for students to gain the ability to be able to analyze different things and to be able to come to conclusions about these things. A lot of it has to do with observation.

Progressivism- This incorporates a lot of the scientific method. Much like positivism, this philosophy encourages students to think for themselves. In this philosophy, teachers don't give their students the answers, but rather give them the tools to be able to find the answers themselves. This philosophy is obviously very student centered.

Humanism: This philosophy puts a lot of the focus on the individual, and the relationships that students build. In humanism, students have a say in their school work. Perhaps what book they are going to read, or how they are going to present their understandings. A lot of this philosophy has to do with students sharing their opinions as well as their goals.

Constructivism- Constructivism involves a lot of hands on work for the students and a lot of critical thinking for the students. Student do a lot of questioning in this philosophy, especially questioning their understandings or beliefs. A lot of this happens with class activities where students get the opportunity to share out to the class.

Reconsturcionsim- This philosophy deals a lot with the world around the students. It looks a lot at current social issues and what some potential solutions may be. Students are really encourage to work on their problem solving skills in reconstuctionsim.

My philosophy on teaching I believe most closely falls under reconstrucionsim becuase I believe that as a social studies teacher the most important things for students to understand is what's going on around them. Yes, we learn from history, but we can't learn from history if we can't connect events from the past to things that are happening today. More socially aware and socially active students is what my goal is to accomplish as a teacher.