FERMO G.

RAMOS
Ph. D. Educ. Student

EDUC 301 Advanced Educational Philosophy

DR. ISAIAS A. BANAAG
My Teaching Philosophy

Establishing ones own philosophy is vital on the part of teachers like me. there must be
a certain set of principles that must serve as my guidance in every endeavor specially in
teaching and learning situations. As an educator I was equipped with the necessary
understanding on the various educational philosophies which are important factors in achieving
the desired quality of learners in the 21st century. These philosophies include but not limited to
idealism, realism, essentialism, naturalism, pragmatism, progressivism, existentialism,
constructivism and many others. If I would be asked by someone to pick from the
aforementioned philosophies the one which I think is the best, Id rather not choose. This is so
because I believe there is no single philosophy that is best suited to education. I would say that I
prefer a combination of the concepts of almost all the philosophies. Each philosophy has its own
strength as well as weaknesses. I further believe that principles to be applied must always
depend on the situation at hand. Nowadays the trend is progressivism and pragmatism which
are both focused on the child as learner. Surely, educators must not do away with the traditional
philosophies of idealism and rationalism because these are the philosophies toward imposing
proper behavior on the students as well as effective classroom management.
My philosophy about the school is somewhat akin to John Deweys progressivism. The
school must not teach the students what they must learn. Rather, the school must teach the
students how to learn. The school must teach the students to be responsible for their learning.
On education, my philosophy is that education must be holistic (Idealism and
Rationalism). It is holistic in such a way that there should be a systematic delivery of learning.
The students must be taught how to analyze and synthesize. In addition, the importance of
reason must be emphasized. Education must provide the students the notion of good life, truth,
and beauty by emphasizing the existence of things.
On students, my philosophy is somewhat similar to existentialism. Students must be
responsible for their own learning. And so, they are what they choose to be. The essence they
create is the product of their own choices. The students must understand that the most
important kind of knowledge is about human condition, and the choices that each of them has to
make.
On the teaching and learning process I believe the concepts and principles of
pragmatism is best to use. The learning experiences must be action-oriented. There must be
the so-called learning by doing. The teacher is not the authoritarian leader but rather a friendly
facilitator of activities. The learning that the students must gain should have emphasis upon the
practicalities of life. Further, the emphasis of the activities is on integration and experimentation.
Lastly, as to curriculum I think it is ideal to follow the pragmatist and progressivist view.
The curriculum, in order to be effective must be based on students interest. It must be
integrated and interactive. It must provide students with action oriented experiences that will
promote responsibility among them. The curriculum must not only enhance the students
intellect but must focused also on developing skills.