Education Philosophies
...ally be redefined and rediscovered to keep up with that change. To learn and grow, a person has to experience events on their own and then realize what they did and learned. That is why progressives are considered to be “problem solvers.” The progressive person believes that people are naturally exploring and inquire information from their own explorations. When faced with a challenge or obstacle, they will try to find a way to overcome it. Progressive educators believe that students should get an education with themselves, rather than with the subject matter. This is not saying that subjects and curriculum do not matter, but progressives feel that students’ interests and concerns are more important. This is probably one of the best ways to teach. If students are interested in what they are doing, they will want to learn more and concentrate on what they are trying to solve. Therefore, a progressive teacher’s emphasis is on inductive thinking and problem solving. If a teacher poses a problem based on student interests, it will help heighten their motivation to solve the obstacle. As a teacher, you then help them by encouraging the students to develop strategies to solve the problem they are dealing with. To do this, students should start with simple study projects and gradually learn more ways to “investigate” until they find several problem-solving strategies. It is best for the teacher to be a facilitator and not just present the information or be a “taskmaker.” Teachers help children do what they want to do. This allows the students to be creative and resourceful. The curriculum for a progressive educator is primarily centered on students’ interests in real problems and interdisciplinary solution seeking. Formal, traditional knowledge is not of great importance. There is really no defined subject matter that a student must learn. The students gain their knowledge by realizing the ability they have to solve human problems. Progressives also believe that a student can learn from electronics just as easily as from Latin. Since we have all these technical advances in the U.S., we should benefit from them and allow children to learn how technology can assist them. Therefore, the focus for a progressive educator is teaching students how to think rather than what to think. They still use traditional subject matter, but they use...