Help

Chad Haefling EDU-215 Professor Tim Florian 7/29/2012 What experiences did you have as a student that you now understand were rooted in historical education philosophies' One thing that I remember from my school years, is the amount of lectures and organization. I now know that this would be called essentialism, and thought up by William G. Counts. He believed that for students to learn and be able to prepare for the world outside of the school, they needed a certain amount of organization and discipline inside the classroom. He believed that the teacher needed to show authority to the students, so they would know what was expected of them, and would basically know who was the boss. Another thing that I remember was the amount of hands on I received in my school curriculum. Whether it was science class, music class, or computer lab, I always received a hands on education. This I now know that this incorporation of an idea was thought up by John Dewey. He believed that students remember what they do. He believed that a teacher could stand in the front of a classroom and show a class how to do an experiment, but if you were to place the materials in the student’s hands and have them do it, they would remember more about the process of completing the experiment. This is one thing I am very thankful for in my education, throughout my education I have always had a lot of hands on, which in return has helped me understand and retain more of what I am learning. What are the primary characteristics of the teaching profession' Explain how they have been impacted by the evolution of educational philosophy' The following are the primary characteristics of the teaching profession: Clear objectives-good teachers are well organized and have clear ideas about their daily teaching plans, assignments, and grading policies. Second, command over subject-those seeking excellence in teaching continue to gain additional knowledge of their subjects and instill this desire in their students, too. Third, great expectations- without holding a grudge against underperformers, good teachers always push their students to strive for their goals. They will always motivate them to trust their own abilities, take chances, and experiment with different approaches. Fourth, positive attitude- instead of complaining about students' lack of abilities and manners and teachers' long work hours, good teachers accept all of these as challenges. They know that humiliating students or intimidating them is not in their students'—or their—best interests. Fifth, student evaluations-student assessments help good teachers evaluate their contributions to students' progresses and improve. I know that many of these have been impacted by educational philosophy. I know that 100 years ago, our testing standards were very different from our standards today. Years ago they would have test over certain subjects and move on. Today, we have our regular tests for students, but we also have state standardized tests now, which may result in a decrease or an increase in money that your school receives from the state, depending on how high you score on these tests. I also know that teachers are starting to receive raises, based on test scores. So, not only are these test scores affecting the students and the school system, but they are also starting to affect the individual teacher. One last thing I would like to bring up is student evaluations. Years ago, students would be thrown in the same class and be expected to do as well as the other students in their class, but today we have a different way of thinking. Certain students may have handicaps, or learning deficiencies and it is up to teachers to detect these and teach accordingly. This allows every student to learn to the best of his/her ability. We also have special education classes now that will help a special needs child get the individual attention that he/she needs to be able to grasp the information. These are a couple of changes that have taken place due to the history of educational philosophies. I must say that these have been very important changes.