Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Chapter 1/What are Philosophies? 2

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

Contributors to the Philosophy of Education

Written by: Jennifer Dodson (Wolfgirl95)

There have always been philosophers of education, such as Plato and Confucius. There are three main philosophers that have influenced contemporary education. These philosophers have become the framework of many standards and ways of teaching throughout the United States and in other countries as well. In this article, the three main philosophers who will be discussed are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget.

The first great contributor to education discussed is Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau was born in 1712 in Geneva, France to a family of the bourgeois class. His father was a watchmaker. His mother died shortly after he was born. When he was still a young adult, he left France, and as a result of differences with the rulers of France, he lived most of his life outside of France. Interestingly, “Rousseau’s personal qualifications as an educational theorist were minimal” (Palmer, 2001, Fifty Major). He did not have much formal education, and he left his five children at the doorstep of an orphanage. However, in 1762, his work Emile, or On Education, was published (in the same year that the Social Contract was published) (Palmer, 2001, Fifty Major). In this book about a young boy growing up in the country, Rousseau explains that “The aim of education...is to learn how to live, and this is accomplished by following a guardian who can point the way to good living. The growth of a child is divided into three sections, first to the age of about 12, when calculating and complex thinking is not possible, and children, according to his deepest conviction, live like animals. Second, from 12 to about 15, when reason starts to develop, and finally from the age of 15 onwards, when the child develops into an adult” (Wikipedia, Rousseau). At first this sounds harsh, but Rousseau goes on to explain that children are by nature good but become corrupted by the adults around them. That is where the important philosophy comes into play. Rousseau “…held that knowledge comes from the senses, and that children should engage actively with a well-ordered environment” (Palmer, 2001, Fifty Major). Initially, this concept was not well received. However, now that different learning styles have been acknowledged, modern teachers often provide more hands-on learning activities for students, instead of standing in front of the classroom and lecturing all day.

The next philosopher that greatly influenced education is John Dewey. Dewey was born in 1859 in Burlington, Vermont. He graduated in 1879 from the University of Vermont, and he taught many subjects, including science and algebra at a high school in Pennsylvania (Palmer, 2001). He then wrote three philosophical essays which were put into the Journal of Speculative Philosophy (Palmer, 2001, Fifty Major). After this publication, Dewey became very interested in philosophy and decided to attend a graduate program in the area of philosophy at John Hopkins University. He then went on to write many more publications; one of the major publications that walked hand-in-hand with education was Democracy and Education (Wikipedia, Dewey). “For Dewey, it was vitally important that education not be the teaching of mere dead fact, but that the skills and knowledge which students learned be integrated fully into their lives as persons, citizens and human beings” (Wikipedia, Dewey). This philosophy goes along with Rousseau’s philosophy on education in that instead of a teacher merely reciting the textbook, he/she should go in-depth with the students and let the students get hands-on experience. However, Dewey’s philosophy differs from Rousseau’s philosophy in that teaching certain skills and concepts should be put into such a way that it relates to the “real world.” “For Dewey, philosophy and education render service to each other. Education becomes the laboratory of philosophy. Society should be interpreted to the child through daily living in the classroom, which acts as a miniature society” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2006).

The last philosopher of education that will be discussed is Jean Piaget. Piaget was born in Neûchatel, Switzerland, on August 9, 1896. “He gained his Ph.D. in biology from his local university in 1918, when he also published an intellectual novel, Recherche” (Palmer, 2001, Fifty Modern). After this, he went on to write many more books and over 500 papers, and in 1929 he became the Director of the International Bureau of Education. In 1955, Piaget also became the first Director of the International Centre for Genetic Epistemology. “Piaget’s account of education is dependent on his epistemology. The link between them is knowledge and development as normative facts” (Palmer, 2001, Fifty Modern). Piaget was stated to have said: “Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society (whereas) for me, education means making creators, even if there aren’t many of them, even if one’s creations are limited by comparison with those of others” (Palmer, 2001, Fifty Modern). He believed that educational facilities were turning children into conformists, instead of individuals, and because that was such a radical idea of focusing on the child, his theory was not accepted (Wikipedia, Piaget). However, as more new teachers enter the classroom, this idea is becoming more acceptable.

Rousseau, Dewey, and Piaget all had somewhat different philosophies, but two ideas that they all had in common was nonconformity and a focus on the student with hands-on experience. With the technology front overwhelming education today, this focus on hands-on applies more and more. As we advance in teaching, these philosophies will walk together with modern teachers.

Sidebar: “Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me and no one else, education means making creators. . . . You have to make inventors, innovators—not conformists” (Wikipedia, Piaget).

Essay Question

How do the philosophies of these great thinkers compare to each other and how do they contrast to each other?

Multiple Choice Questions

1. If you wanted to teach your students that people with lots of education are not the only one capable of great success, what philosopher could you use as a prime example?

a. Jean Piaget b. Jean- Jacques Rousseau c. John Dewey

2. If you taught first-grade and your friend taught in High School, there would be some important differences between your students and hers. Using Rousseau's philosophy, how could you explain the differences between the two groups of students?

a. young children behave like children b. young children behave like conformists c. young children behave like animals d. young children behave like mimics

3. What subject would you teach if you wanted to teach the same subject as Dewey?

a. Philosophy b. Spanish c. Physical Ed. d. Algebra

4. Dewey wanted to get across a concept that was shared by other philosophers regarding education. What concept was this?

a. Hands-On approach b. Hands-Off approach c. Conformism d. Socialism

5. If you taught your class using Piaget's philosophy, what do you NOT want your students to become?

a. innovators b. creators. c. conformists d. behaviorists

Sources

Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 2006. “Progressive education.” http://search.eb.com/ (September 16, 2006).

Palmer, Joy A. (2001). Fifty Major Thinkers on Education: From Confucius to Dewey. London. Routledge.

Palmer, Joy A. (2001). Fifty Modern Thinkers on Education: From Piaget to the Present. London. Routledge.

Wikipedia. “John Dewey.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey ( September 21, 2006).

Wikipedia. “Jean Piaget.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget. ( September 21, 2006).

Multiple-Choice Answer Key

1.b 2.c 3.d 4.a 5.c

	Rate This!