1st draft of philosophy of education

Core Values and Vision:
In considering the nature of our world, I believe that people are basically good and that our society would be improved if cooperation was encouraged more than competition. Within our world, there is much diversity which should be celebrated. It is impossible to know or experience everything in one lifetime; therefore, taking advantage of the diversity that exists among us by learning in cooperation with others is essential for maximum learning. Further, I believe that success is not defined by our occupation, monetary worth, or social status, but rather in how we treat others. Those who are truly successful in this life are those who are respectful, kind, and considerate of others.

Purposes of Education:
I see the main function of education to be developing an individual’s intellect, borrowing David Wechsler’s definition of intelligence as the capacity of an individual to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with one’s environment. Education for adults should enhance one’s experiences in all aspects of their life, whether it is work, family, recreation, religion, etc. Education assists individuals in developing their mind and reaching their personal potential. As such, education is not a commodity that should be consumed in moderation. The more education one can obtain the better. Learning is a lifelong process that is never finished.
Currently, our educational system is set up in a way that perpetuates the class distinctions that are already present in our society. Those who already have more resources are able to take advantage of more educational opportunities than those without the same resources to begin with. While I am unsure of how to alter our educational system to provide equal opportunities for education, I believe that we should be looking for a way to move in this direction. Education should be a right for all, not a luxury for a few.

Beliefs about Adults as Learners
What is unique about adult education (as opposed to pre-K or K-12 education) is that more often than not, adults seek out educational opportunities voluntarily. They may seek out educational opportunities that will help them to advance in their career or for a variety of other reasons, but whatever the reason for seeking out the educational opportunity, they have made the choice on their own. This contributes to an important aspect of learning which is that the learner takes personal responsibility for their learning.
As an educator, it is important to ensure that the learning is relevant to the learner’s lives. Learners will be more motivated to learn when they can see the connections between the learning and their current experience or future experiences. In addition, I also feel that it is important for adult learners to have a beginner’s mind. While adults have had more experiences than younger learners, there is always something new to be learned. Adult learners should be open to considering different perspectives and be willing to question their assumptions.

Curriculum and Knowledge
As previously discussed, adult education should enhance every aspect of the adult’s life. As such, the curriculum selected for adult learning should be driven by the learner’s needs. Educators must learn about their students, find out what they expect to learn, and consider the best ways to achieve this desired learning.
In my teaching, I do not intend to present information as the absolute truth. Rather, I intend to teach what Dewey would term “regulative principles.” Learners will be encouraged to question what they think they know and will be given the freedom to assign their own meaning to what is learned.

Beliefs about Teaching
I believe strongly in the value of cooperative learning. Because there is so much diversity among us, we should utilize this diversity as much as possible in our learning. By drawing upon the knowledge and experiences of all who are involved will maximize learning and understanding.
It is also important to take into consideration the various learning styles of our learners. In order to meet the needs of all of our students, we should use a variety of teaching methods, including the use of technology in our teaching. This will keep learners interested and engaged in learning.

Questions

I am finding that I am having trouble articulating my philosophy of education because I feel that I have more questions than I have answers. For example, how can we work toward providing equal access to adult education? How can we stay true to our own philosophy when we are in a situation in which those we are working for or with don't share our philosophy? How can we encourage cooperation in a society that values and supports competition?

first parts of my working philosophy of education

Core Values and Vision:
In considering the nature of our world, I believe that people are basically good and that our society would be improved if cooperation was encouraged more than competition. Within our world, there is much diversity which should be celebrated. It is impossible to know or experience everything in one lifetime; therefore, taking advantage of the diversity that exists among us by learning in cooperation with others is essential for maximum learning. Further, I believe that success is not defined by our occupation, monetary worth, or social status, but rather in how we treat others. Those who are truly successful in this life are those who are respectful, kind, and considerate of others.

Purposes of Education:
I see the main function of education to be developing an individual’s intellect, borrowing David Wechsler’s definition of intelligence as the capacity of an individual to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with one’s environment. Education for adults should enhance one’s experiences in all aspects of their life, whether it is work, family, recreation, religion, etc. Education assists individuals in developing their mind and reaching their personal potential. As such, education is not a commodity that should be consumed in moderation. The more education one can obtain the better. Learning is a lifelong process that is never finished.
Currently, our educational system is set up in a way that perpetuates the class distinctions that are already present in our society. Those who already have more resources are able to take advantage of more educational opportunities than those without the same resources to begin with. While I am unsure of how to alter our educational system to provide equal opportunities for education, I believe that we should be looking for a way to move in this direction. Education should be a right for all, not a luxury for a few.

Summary of and thoughts about readings:

Philosophical Foundations of Adult Education:

This article helped me to understand why articulating one’s philosophy is important. Every one of our behaviors has a purpose or meaning (even if unconscious). By reflecting upon why we do what we do, we come to understand our personal philosophy. Through articulating one’s philosophy, the person cannot help but be more focused in their actions toward accomplishing what they wish to accomplish. We may also come to find that our current actions are contradictory to our fundamental philosophy, creating dissonance and discomfort within ourselves. Once we have identified where our actions contradict our fundamental beliefs, we are then able to examine what is consistent with our beliefs and this facilitates a change in our behaviors to be more in line with our fundamental beliefs.
It seems that my personal philosophy is most aligned with a humanistic view of adult education. There are many aspects of an adult’s life (namely work, family, religion, recreation, service, personal reflection or meditation, exercise etc.). Education for the adult may address one’s needs or desires for learning in any area of their life. Further, with all the demands upon adults, we are likely to seek learning that is relevant to our own lives and experiences. Any learning that is not viewed by the individual as directly relevant to their life is likely to be seen as a waste of time or other resources, and will not be pursued further.
While my view of adult education centers mostly on humanistic ideas, I have also borrowed ideas from several other views. I agree with the liberal education viewpoint in that I believe that a function of education at any age or level is to develop one’s intellect, although my definition of intellect may differ from the traditional liberal view. I also agree that education can aid in social change and can help individuals to become more involved in society (as the progressive viewpoint would encourage). While I do not agree with strict behaviorists that human behavior can be conditioned and thereby controlled, I do believe that we can use positive and negative reinforcements and punishments in an attempt to modify harmful or dysfunctional behaviors toward a more functional behavior pattern. However, we must keep in mind that our efforts to modify behavior will not always yield the result that we may hope for because we cannot ignore the individual’s right to choose their behavior. Finally, I tend to agree with Dewey in that “regulative principles” as he terms it, are the best that we have to live by, but that we should always keep our mind open to the possibility that these regulative principles may not be true in all situations or under all circumstances, and may need to be changed as our understanding of the regulative principle grows.

The Sociology of Adult Education/The Adult Educator and Social Responsibility:

I tend to agree more with conflict theory as opposed to consensus theory of the sociological implications of education. I do not believe that class distinctions are inevitable or justifiable. Our educational system, in my view, is currently set up in a way that perpetuates the class distinctions that are already present in our society. Those who have resources (especially money, but also personal networks, etc.) are able to take advantage of more educational opportunities than those without these same resources. I don’t have a solution as to how we could change our educational system so that all people have the same opportunities for education, but I believe that this is something that we should be working toward. Perhaps one reason that we have not moved further in this direction as a society is that those who are on the receiving end of privileges (and thus are the best equipped to utilize their power and influence to effect change) are actually the least likely to challenge the current education structures that are in place because they may fear that they would not benefit as much as a result of such changes. In a competitive society such as ours, this could be a threat to the monopoly of power and resources that these individuals currently hold. If we could find a way for everyone to reach their own potential (as the individual sees their own potential) would this make the reward of reaching these goals any less significant to the individual? I don’t think so. I see our competitive society as it is today as a forced bell-curve, but I do not believe that this is how our society should be, or that this is the inevitable outcome. I do not see the harm in everyone having equal opportunity to reach their own potential.

To Know As We Are Known

I did not find these articles to be very helpful in discovering and defining my own philosophy. It was interesting for me to read where words such as “fact,” “theory,” and “objective” originated from. However, I feel that what is more important is to look at how educators currently understand these words and the meaning that is currently associated with these words, rather than looking to how these words were used in the distant past. I also felt that the author was insinuating that curiosity is a bad thing. Perhaps I understood the author in a way other than what was intended, but if this is the author’s view, then I am deeply opposed to this. To me, curiosity is a beautiful thing and should be celebrated, even if it challenges our current views or what others would like our views to be. We have seen historically that knowledge is a source of power, and that many times knowledge has been withheld from people because those who possess knowledge feared what may happen if others were to gain knowledge as well. Therefore, in my opinion, curiosity, or seeking knowledge, can be seen as a bad thing only if we are in fear of losing our power as a result of others gaining knowledge.

The Meaning of Adult Education:

I think that Lindeman has done a good job of illuminating a fundamental error in our current educational system in that education can be seen as a “game” and is not a joyous experience in and of itself. Rather, it is seen as a serious of hoops that one must learn to jump through as means of reaching some end that beneficial to the individual, financial or otherwise. Instead, our “hidden curriculum” if not our explicit curriculum should seek to create learners who enjoy learning. We should be focusing less on standardized objectives, and more on individuality and the qualitative experience of learning.