ALAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD

(AIOU)

ASSIGNMENT No. 02

Course: Philosophy of Education

COURSE CODE: 8609 (2)

SUMMITED BY: ABDUL MAJEED

ROLL NO: CE605110

PROGRAM: B.ED (1.5 YEARS)

SEMESTER: Spring, 2022

Question n0. 01 What kind of curriculum Aristotle supported to be

taught to the children? Discuss its features.

When a child is born the strength of its body will depend greatly upon the quality of its food.

People who desire that their children should acquire a warlike habit, feed them chiefly with

milk, as being best accommodated to their bodies, but without wine, to prevent any
distempers; those motions which are natural to their age are very serviceable; and those

should be prevented which makes their limbs crooked. On account of their extreme ductility,

some people use particular machines that their bodies may not be distorted. It is useful to

enure them to the cold when they are very little; for this is very serviceable for their health;

and to enure them to the business of war; whatever it is possible to accustom children to, it is

best to accustom them to it at first, but to do it by degrees; besides, boys have naturally a

habit of loving the cold, on account of the heat.

According to Aristotle, these, then, and such-like things ought to be the first object of our

attention: the next age to this continues till the child is five years old; during which time it is

best to teach him nothing at all, not even necessary labour, lest it should hinder his growth;

but he should be accustomed to use so much motion as not to acquire a lazy habit of body;

which he will get by various means and by play also; his play also ought to be neither illiberal

nor too laborious nor lazy.

Their governors and preceptors of children should take care what sort of tales and stories it

may be proper for them to hear; for all these ought to pave the way for their future

instruction: for which reason the generality of their play should be imitations of what they are

afterwards to do seriously. They too do wrong who forbid by laws the disputes between boys

and their quarrels, for they contribute to increase their growth; as they are sort of exercise to

the body. The struggles of the heart and the compression of the spirits give strength to those

who labour, which happens to boys in their disputes. The preceptors also ought to have an

eye upon their manner of life, and those with whom they converse; and to take care that they

are never in the company of slaves.

At this time and till they are seven years old it is necessary that they should be educated at

home. It is also very proper to banish, both from their hearing and sight, everything which is

illiberal and the like. The legislator should banish every indecent expression out of the state:
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for from a permission to speak whatever is shameful, very quickly arises the doing it,

particularly with young people. Let them never speak nor hear any such thing. If it appears

that any freeman has done or said anything that is forbidden before he is of age to be thought

fit to partake of the common meals, let him be punished by disgrace and stripes: But if a

person above that age does so, let him be treated as you would a slave on account of his being

infamous. As we forbid child speaking everything which is forbidden, it is necessary that he

neither sees obscene stories nor pictures. The magistrates should take care that there are no

statues or pictures of anything of this nature, except only of those gods to which the law

allows persons of a certain age to pay their devotions, for themselves, their wives, and

children. It should also be illegal for young persons to be present either at iambics or

comedies before they are arrived at that age when they are allowed to partake of the pleasure

of the table. "Indeed a good education will preserve" them from all the evils which attend on

these things."

According to Aristotle, what we meet with first pleases best: for which reason children

should be kept strangers to everything which is bad, more particularly whatsoever is loose

and offensive to good manners. When five years are accomplished, the two next may be very

properly employed in being spectators of those exercise they will afterwards have to learn.

According to Aristotle, there are two periods into which education ought to be divided,

according to the age of the child; the one is from his being seven years of age to the time of

puberty; the other from puberty till he is twenty-one.

Aristotle says, "No one can doubt that the magistrate ought greatly to interest himself in the

care of youth; for where it is neglected it is hurtful to the city, for every state ought to be

governed according to its particular nature; for the form and manners of each government are

peculiar to itself; and these, as they originally established it, so they usually still preserve it."

Universally, the best manners produce the best government. Besides, as in every business and
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art there are some things which men are to learn first and be made accustomed to, which are

necessary to perform their several works. So it is evident that the same thing is necessary in

the practice of virtue.

According to Aristotle, as there is one end in view in every city, it is evident that education

ought to be one and the same in each; and that this should be a common care, and not the

individual's, as it now is when everyone takes care of his own children separately, and their

instructions are particular also, each person teaching them as they please; but what ought to

be engaged in ought to be common to all." Besides, no one ought to think that any citizen

belongs to him in particular, but to the state in general; for each one is a part of the state, and

it is the natural duty of each part to regard the good of the whole. Aristotle praised

Lacedaemonians for they give the greatest attention to education, and make it public. “It is

evident, concludes Aristotle, then, that there should be laws concerning education and that it

should be public.”

According to Aristotle, "What education is, and how children ought to be instructed, is what

should be well-known; for there are doubts concerning the business of it, as all people do not

agree in those things they would have a child taught, both with respect to their improvement

in virtue and a happy life: nor is it clear whether the object of it should be to improve the

reason or rectify the morals." From the present mode of education continues Aristotle "we

cannot determine with certainty to which men incline, whether to instruct a child in what will

be useful to him in life; or what tends to virtue, and what is excellent: for all these things have

their separate defenders." As to virtue, there is no particular in which do they all agree: for as

all do not equally esteem all virtues, it reasonably follows that they will not cultivate the

same. It is evident that what is necessary ought to be taught to all: but that which is necessary

for one is not necessary for all; for there ought to be a distinction between the employment of

a freeman and a slave. The first of these should be taught everything useful which will not
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make those who know it mean. According to Aristotle, "Every work is to be esteemed mean,

and every art and every discipline which renders the body, the mind, or the understanding of

freemen unfit for the habit and practice of virtue: for which reason all those arts which tend to

deform the body are called mean, and all those employments which are exercised for gain; for

they take off from the freedom of the mind and render it sordid." There are also some liberal

arts which are not improper for freemen to apply to in a certain degree; but to endeavor to

acquire a perfect skill in them is exposed to the faults. Aristotle points out that there are four

things which it is usual to teach children; reading, gymnastic exercise, and music, to which

(in the fourth place) some add painting. Reading and painting are both of them of singular use

in life, and gymnastic exercise, as productive of courage. As to music, some persons may

doubt, as most persons now use it for the sake of pleasure: but those who originally made it

part of education did it because, nature requires that we should not only be properly

employed, but to be able to enjoy leisure honourably. According to Aristotle "But, though

both labour and rest are necessary, yet the latter is preferable to the first; and by all means

man ought to learn what he should do when at rest: for he ought not to employ that time at

play; for then play would be the necessary business of his lives. Play is more necessary for

those who labour than those who are at the rest: for he who labours requires relaxation; which

play will supply: for as labour is attended with pain and continued exertion, it is necessary

that play should be introduced, under proper regulations, as a medicine: for such an

employment of the mind is a relaxation to it, and eases with pleasure. Now rest itself seems to

partake of pleasure, of happiness, and an agreeable life: but this cannot be theirs who labour,

but theirs who are at rest; for he who labours, labours for the sake of some end which he has

not. According to Aristotle, "Happiness is an end which all persons think is attended with

pleasure and not with pain: but all persons do not agree in making this pleasure consist in the

same thing; for each one has his particular standard, correspondent to his own habits; but the
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best man proposes the best pleasure, and that which arises from the noblest actions." To live a

life of rest there are some things which a man must learn and be instructed in. The object of

this learning and this instruction centres in their acquisition. The learning and instruction

which is given for labour has for its object other things. The ancients made music a part of

education; not as a thing necessary, for it is neither of that nature, nor as a thing useful, as

reading, in the common course of life, or for managing of a family, or for learning anything

as useful in public life. Painting also seems useful to enable a man to judge more accurately

of the productions of the finer arts: nor is it like the gymnastic exercise, which contribute to

health and strength; for neither of these things do we see produced by music. The

employment of our rest, they had in view who introduced it. It is a proper employment for

freemen

Reference

Hummel, C. (1993).Aristotle, PROSPECTS: the Quarterly Review of Comparative

Education (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. 23, no. 1/2, 1993,

p. 39-51.

Question n0. 02 Discuss the basic concepts of John Dewey’s

philosophy of education?

John Dewey, greatest of the pragmatists and generally recognized as the most outstanding

philosopher his country has yet produced, made significant contributions to virtually every

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field of philosophy as well as to such other areas of inquiry as education and psychology.

Active for 70 years as a scholar, he was a prolific writer publishing approximately fifty books

and more than eight hundred articles. Many of these have been translated into various foreign

languages. New volumes are still coming out with more Dewey material, mainly

correspondence, and books and articles on him are appearing at a rapidly increasing rate.

Philosophy of Education

1. Analysis of reflective inquiry. Perhaps the most important single emphasis of John Dewey

is his insistence upon applying reflective or critical inquiry to problems or indeterminate

situations. What is involved in problem solving or thinking through a problem? What is

critical inquiry? How does one apply intelligence to human affairs? Dewey's answer to these

questions is set forth in its simplest terms in How We Think, and a more sophisticated

version is given in Logic; The Theory of Inquiry. In a sense the phases or steps in a complete

act of reflective thinking afford an outline for each of his major works, and he had a lifelong

concern with what is involved in reflective thinking.

2. View of experience. Experience is one of the central concepts in Dewey's thought,

occurring and recurring throughout his writing. Though he finally concluded that he might

have done better to use another term, many of his most important works are concerned with

clarifying it—for example, his Casus Lectures: Experience and Nature or his Art as

Experience or Experience and Education. For him experience constitutes the entire range of

men's relations to, or transactions with the universe. We experience nature and things

interacting in certain ways made up of experience.

3. View of Knowledge. Dewey rejects the traditional epistemology which sets up a knower

outside the world and then asks about the possibility, extent and validity of knowledge in

general. He laughingly suggests that we might equally well have a problem of digestion in

general—its possibility, extent, and genuineness—by assuming that the stomach and the
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food-materials were inhabitants of different worlds. The significant problem is not how such

a knower is somehow to mirror the antecedently real but rather one how one set of

experienced events is to be used as signs of what we shall experience under another set of

conditions. The important distinction, moreover, is not between the knower as subject and the

world known as object. Instead it is between different ways of being in the movement of

things, between an unreflective physical way and a purposive, intelligent one. On Dewey's

view knowledge needs to be placed in the context of the problematic or indeterminate

situation and reflective inquiry. Knowledge is more than immediate awareness or the

presence of a set of sense data. Having qualities before us does not constitute knowing.

Knowledge is always inferential, and the problem is how the processes of inference are to be

guided to trustworthy or warranted conclusions. It involves operations of controlled

observation, testing, and experimentation. It is a product of inquiry—the steps in a complete

act of reflective thinking. Dewey liked Bacon's idea that knowledge is power and it may be

tested by the promotion of social progress.

4. Conception of philosophy. In "The Need for a Recovery of Philosophy" Dewey declares

that philosophy must cease to be "a device for dealing with the problems of philosophy" and

become "a method, cultivated by philosophers for dealing with the problems of men". But the

problems of man as he sees them cover a range broad enough to include in one way or

another most of the traditional problems as well as many others. The method involves

treating philosophy as vision, imagination and reflection; and though the clarifying process

may show that certain epistemological problems are pseudo- problems, the fact that they are

raised may point to genuine cultural crises. If action at all levels needs to be informed with

vision, imagination and reflection to bring clearly to mind future possibilities with reference

to attaining the better and averting the worse, there is more than enough for philosophy to do.

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5. Biologism. What is sometimes referred to as Dewey's biologism reflects: (a) His emphasis

on the genetic point of view, and (b) His conviction that inquiry has a biological matrix. He

was interested in how ideas originate and become more complex, in the parallels between

human responses and lower levels, and in the continuity of different species of organic life

from the lowest forms to man. To understand the present situation, he held, we inquire into its

specific conditions as well into its probable consequences.

6. Experimentalism. Dewey's experimentalism relates to his analysis of reflective inquiry for

which hypotheses, prediction and experimentation are central. An experiment is a programme

of action to determine consequences. It is a way of introducing intelligence into a situation. It

is an intelligently guided procedure for discovering what adjustments an organism must make

to its environment to ward off ill or secure goods. Experimentation for Dewey is relevant not

merely on the individual biological level, but wherever planned reconstruction of a situation

may help effect desired transformation, for example, in social planning or in education. The

more important the issue at stake, the more clearly is experimentation seen to be preferable to

such alternatives as authoritarianism, simple guesswork or merely waiting for events to run

their course.

7. Instrumentalism. Dewey's instrumentalism also stems from his analysis of reflective

inquiry. Ideas are not copies, images or visions of external objects but rather tools or

instruments to facilitate an organism's behaviour. They are instruments for operating on

things or on stimuli. Things or objects are what we can do with them, and we can distinguish

among them by the behaviour reactions they make possible. Truth, accordingly, is adverbial.

It is a way ideas work out in practice. It is a matter of whether hypotheses lead to predicted

consequences, an affair of verified predictions of warranted assertions. Dewey's

instrumentalism encourages a new respect for instruments or means. The more we value ends

or goals, on his view, the greater is our attention to the means which may bring them about.
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The separation of goods into natural and moral or into instrumental and intrinsic may have

the harmful consequence of making moral and intrinsic goods more remote from daily living

besides encouraging us to think that we can have the intrinsic without having to concern

ourselves with the instrumental. Viewing any good as merely instrumental, moreover, is

fairly sure not to do it justice.

8. Relativism. Dewey's relativism is to be opposed to absolutism and is a way of stressing the

importance of context, situation, relationships. To take things out of relations is to deprive

them of value and meaning. Absolutes are ruled out on his view, and unqualified

generalisations are likely to be misleading. An economic policy or a plan of action is a good

relative to a specific situation which makes it desirable. A knife may be good for sharpening

pencil and bad for cutting a rope; but to speak of it without qualifications as good or bad is

quite misleading.

9. Meliorism. In ethics, according to Dewey's account in Reconstruction in Philosophy, the

emphasis should be placed on improving or bettering our present situation rather than upon

good or bad in some absolute sense. The good, if one is to speak of the good rather than the

better, is what will enable us to solve the problem or difficulty. Thus what is usually referred

to as a moral end or standard becomes on this view a hypothesis as to how to overcome a

moral problem. Since every problematic situation is unique, values are also unique; but if one

is to specify an end, then growth, education, or problem solving would be that end. Instead of

treating acquisition of skill and attainment of culture as ends, we should see them as marks of

growth and means to its continuing difficulties or furthering growth.

10. Humanism. Dewey's humanism stems from his acceptance of the Baconian view that

knowledge is tested by promotion of human intelligence based in good part on the experience

of modern science for the sake of bettering the human situation. Supernaturalism and the

usual dogmas of revealed religion have no place in Dewey's view. As he tells us in A

human community in which we are a link and we have the responsibility of conserving,

transmitting, rectifying and expanding our heritage of values in order that those who come

after us may share it more generously and more securely. Our common faith draws its main

stand from our attempt to carry out this responsibility.

11. Education and experience. Most of the major theses in Dewey's general philosophy find

expression in his philosophy of education. Reflective inquiry is as central for education, on

his view, as for any other phase of life or experience. Indeed, for him education is a problem

solving process, and we learn by doing, by having an opportunity to react in real life

situation. In education not indoctrination, but inquiry is focal. Not simply amassing facts but

learning to apply intelligence to problem solving has top priority. Education must be

experimental without being simply improvisation. The reconstructive purpose is as much at

work in education as anywhere else in experience. As he says in Democracy and Education,

"Education is a constant reorganizing and reconstructing of experience". Present experiences

must be so guided as to make future experiences more meaningful and worthwhile. Though

the value and the knowledge of the past are transmitted, this must be done in such a fashion

as to broaden, deepen and otherwise improve them. Criticism and not simply passive

acceptance is demanded. Dewey equates education and growth. As teachers we start with the

child where he now is, with his present stock of interests and knowledge and seek to help him

expand and enrich both his interests and his knowledge and grow as a person in his

community and his society. He learns to work responsibly for his own development and for

social conditions which will encourage a similar development for all other members of his

society. Education must not be simply a means to something else. It should not be merely

preparation for the future. As a process of growth it should have its own enjoyable and

intrinsically rewarding features at the same time that it helps further continued education,
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and, on Dewey's view, the test of our social institutions may be found in their effect in

furthering continued education or growth. Dewey himself had considerable reservations over

some features of "progressive education", but he continued to emphasize some of the

strengths of the newer education as compared with the traditional outlook. His humanism and

meliorism are richly exemplified in his account of the theory and practice of education. His

philosophy of education stresses the social nature of education, its intimate and multiple

relations to democracy, and its cultural significance.

Reference

Ornstein, C.A., and Levine D.U. (2008). Foundations of Education, Houghton Mifflin

Company, New York.

Question no. 03 Enlist educational views of Ahmed Ibn-e-

Muhammad Ibn-e-Ya’qub Ibn-e-Miskawayh? Ahmad Ibn Muhammad

ibnYa`qub, surnamed Miskawayh, is also known as Abu 'Ali alKhazin. Miskawayh was

appealed to Greek philosophy. He studied history, philosophical disciplines and alchemy. He

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is recognized as eminent theistic thinkers, historian, moralists, and historians of Persia. The

most significant part of Miskawayh's philosophical activity is devoted to ethics. Three

important books of Miskawayh on ethics are Tartib al-Sa`adah, Tahdhib al-Akhlaq, and

JawidanKhirad.

IbnMiskawayh’s objectives and theory of education were based on Aristotelian theory of

education which specified intellectual, moral and physical education aiming to produce good

human beings from the social point of view and attaining eternal happiness and self

realization. Similar to Plato and Aristotle, IbnMiskawayh believed that education is linked to

state craft. Therefore, he visualized an education system which could fit the people to

perform the duties entrusted to them by the state. Like Aristotle, he presented the view that

physical education must precede the intellectual and spiritual education. To IbnMiskawayh,

the goal of life was to combine human will with the Divine Will. True education must

therefore, minister to the needs of the body no less than the aspirations of the soul. Thus

asceticism was entirely unacceptable to him. IbnMiskawaih emphasized that the need of

religious education is therefore apparent because of aiming to combine human will and

Divine Will. For IbnMiskawayh aim of religious education was not merely to shield against

irreligion but to construct the conscience of the child. In “Tahdhib al-Akhlaq”, Miskawayh

connected moral philosophy with psychology and stated it doctrine of the soul. In the history

of philosophical thought, Miskawayh is one of the influential personalities among the

Muslims. He was unique from others due to his concern for ethics. Therefore, he was

considered as the first ethical thinker among the Muslims. Miskawayh’s scientific output is

not confined to the field of ethics and philosophy, but he also made notable contributions to

history, chemistry, literature and other subjects. Miskawayh ‘s “Tahdhib al-akhlaq” is

considered the most famous book. In this book, he explained education of young boys.

According to Miskawayh, knowledge precedes action and ‘moral happiness’ is the happiness
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enabling the human being to live happily, in accordance with the requirements of virtue.

Hence, human beings can attain personal happiness through intellectual effort, and

endeavoring to acquire the sciences enabling their thought inclusive of all the areas. For

Miskawayh, ethics are very closely associated with the objective of education. Ethics as a

philosophical study is considered a practical philosophy, which strives to decide what should

be; so examining this field of study does not lead to philosophical reflection as a final aim,

but rather it is used in practical life. Miskawayh divided philosophy into two parts: a. a

theoretical part and b. a practical part, According to Miskawayh , each part complete the

other. He distinguished between philosophy and religion. He also distinguished between

reason and faith. The famous book “Tahdhib al-akhlaq” (Refinement of character) of

Miskawayh is a guide to practical conduct. It is considered a primary contribution to the field

of ethics. In his philosophical writings, IbnMiskawayh presents rational rather than scriptural

arguments. Often associated by scholars with Neo-Platonist methods, the author makes

frequent reference to Aristotle in discussing human nature, requirements for happiness, and

the virtuous life .Miskawayh discussed the training of young boys and men. In his writings,

the word “tarbiya” or “ta’dib has been for the training of young boys and men. The meaning

of training primarily shows that the obligatory of training rests on adults, to impart training to

young with desirable , morality , knowledge, customs, and behaviour, and prepare them in a

way to make them acceptable human beings of society. Miskawayh provided rules for the

preservation of moral health for the cultivation of character. These rules describe the ways in

which different parts of the soul can be brought together into harmony, for the achievement

of happiness. As doctors prescribe rules for physical health, role of moral philosopher is to

prescribe rules for moral health. Moral health is founded upon a combination of intellectual

development and practical action. IbnMiskawayh wrote on a wide variety of topics, ranging

from history to psychology and chemistry, but in philosophy his metaphysics seems to have
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been generally informed by a version of Neoplatonism. He avoided the problem of

reconciling religion with philosophy. However, IbnMiskawayh's work on ethics is of a much

higher order, and does show evidence of considerable conceptual complexity. In his Tahdhib

al-akhlaq (Cultivation of Morals) he set out to show how we might acquire the right

dispositions to perform morally correct actions in an organized and systematic manner. He

asserted that the soul distinguishes us from other human beings and from things, from

animals, and it uses the body and the parts of the body to attempt to come into contact with

more spiritual realms of being. The soul is an independent and immortal substance that

controls the body. He was concerned for the cultivation of moral health in a very Aristotelian

way as similar to the cultivation of physical health, requiring measures to preserve our moral

equilibrium. We should keep our emotions under control and carry out practices that support

us to confine ourselves on particular occasions and also to develop personality traits that will

maintain that level of restraint throughout our lives. To eliminate mistakes, one must examine

their ultimate causes and strive to for replace these with more helpful alternatives. According

to Miskawayh, humanity is in constant need of adapting what he was brought up to and

became used to in childhood, and also what suits him naturally. If he does not do this, he falls

into the place of the worthless, and his connection with God is disconnected. This desolation

is confirmed if a person continues in four characteristics: i. Idleness, Laziness, and wasting

life without work and with no human benefit; ii. ignorance and stupidity, caused by failure to

investigate and exercise the soul with the teachings of wise men; iii. Disrespect, which results

from neglect of the soul when it pursues desires and is unrestrained and seeks to commit sins

and evil deeds iv. The preoccupation which arises from persistence in unpleasant deeds. For

each one of these kinds of desolation or illnesses there is a treatment, with which the

intelligent man can heal himself provided he tries to set himself free. Therefore, manners to

train young men and boys can bring about benefits which can train the person. From another
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perspective, training (or education) can be considered as realizing specified aims, equally

whether this is from the viewpoint of the one who assumes responsibility for it, or of the one

subjected to it. According to Miskawayh, changing the character of an adult is difficult,

because he is nurtured and grown up with it, however, special conditions and self realization

of the extents of his corrupt morals can provide him the purpose for his change. For such

person, it is hoped that he will refrain from (evil) morals gradually and have recourse to the

exemplary way by repentance and by keeping company with the good and the wise by the

pursuit of philosophy. The reason behind his emphasis on the possibility of refining character

and purifying souls, and freeing the self from evil habits and the like, stems from his opinion

about people, which is that they are either good by nature or good by reason of the law and

learning.

Reference

Leaman, O. (1996) 'IbnMiskawayh', in S.H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds) History of

Islamic Philosophy, London: Routledge, 252-7.

Question no. 04 Describe the educational philosophy of

Essentialists.

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Beginning in the 1930s and reemerging with increased strength in the 1950s and 1980,

essentialism has criticized progressivism's focus on how children learn rather than on what

children learn. Essentialism began to protest against the downfall of the standards of the

schools. Essentialist often bases their critiques of American education standards from other

counties like Japan and Germany. They criticized progressivists for not teaching American

culture. Essentialism is a kind of neo perennialism with roots in both idealism and realism.

Essentialism maintains that the purpose of schools is both to preserve the knowledge and

values of the past and to provide children with the skills essential to live successful and

meaningful lives in present society. An educational theory that focuses on an essential set of

learning prepares individuals for life by concentrating on the culture and traditions of the

past. Essentialism, which in the post-World War era has come to replace perennialism as the

dominant educational philosophy in American public schools, holds that the purpose of the

schools is to prepare students for their roles in society through a curriculum focused on basic

skills and traditional academic content, taught by teachers who expect respect for authority

and discipline. William C. Bagley (1874–1946) was the founder of existentialism. The

proponents of Essentialism are: James D. Koerner (1959), H. G. Rickover (1959), Paul

Copperman (1978), and Theodore Sizer (1985).

Academic subject matter has priority in the curriculum, but its primary purpose is to transmit

useful skills. In response to the growing progressive movement, essentialism argued that

teachers must be returned to their traditional authoritarian place in the classroom as

dispensers of knowledge and skills and as role models of useful and competent citizens.

Essentialism view that schools should conserve important social traditions and the curriculum

should be teacher and subject centered. But there is more emphasis in essentialism on

education's relevance in preparing individuals to live in the current society and less on

absolutism and enduring issues. However, Perennialism focuses more on the value of
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studying the classics for their own sake, because they help individuals to become liberally

educated. Essentialism focuses more on the utilitarian value of these great works that helps

individuals develop high-order thinking skills and acquire knowledge. In the last few

decades, there have been several well-publicized manifestations of essentialism. Essentialists

believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to students in a

systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this conservative perspective is on intellectual

and moral standards that schools should teach. Essentialism is based off of the philosophies

of idealism and realism. Essentialism refers to the "traditional" or "Back to the Basics"

approach to education. It contends that schools should not try to radically reshape society. Its

named comes from the striving to instill students with the "essentials" of academic

knowledge and character development. Essentialism is grounded in a conservative

philosophy that accepts the social, political, and economic structure of American society. It

contends that schools should not try to radically reshape society. Essentialists believe that

teachers should instill such traditional American virtues as respect for authority,

perseverance, fidelity to duty, consideration for others, and practicality.

Essentialist Curriculum

The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic rigor. Although

this educational philosophy is similar in some ways to Perennialism, Essentialists accept the

idea that this core curriculum may change. Essential skills (Three Rs) and essential subjects

(English, arithmetic, science, history and foreign language) are part of essentialist’s

curriculum. Schooling should be practical, preparing students to become valuable members

of society. It should focus on facts-the objective reality out there--and "the basics," training

students to read, write, speak, and compute clearly and logically. Schools should not try to set

or influence policies. Students should be taught hard work, respect for authority, and

discipline. Essentialism as an education philosophy seeks to instill essential topics and

importance of the core topics such as mathematics, reading, foreign languages, science, and

history while also advocating respect for authority, discipline, and duty as desirable character

traits. Essentialism is primarily teacher centered; teachers impart traditional knowledge to

students because they have mastery of the subject, and they are also examples to students

through their exemplary character. Essentialism often advocates the use of summative

assessment and standardized tests to determine students’ mastery of topics and to gauge their

ability levels; students who have not mastered the topics of one grade must repeat this subject

before they can progress to the next because they have not gained information that is essential

to their continued learning. While essentialism has existed for some time, it gained the

specific name and identity as opposition to the progressivism movement. Similar to

perennialism, essentialism stresses the “essential” knowledge and skills that productive

citizens should have, rather than a set of external.

truths. William Bagley became famous as one of the first essentialists because he was the

“founder of the Essentialistic Education Society and author of Education and Emergent

Man,” a journal that defended the essentialist practice and discussed how progressivism was

harmful to education and the country. Essentialist believe that we must know the essentials of

life; survival, how to be productive, and how to live as proper civilians. As we get older there

should be more advanced subjects added to the curriculum being taught. It is also thought that

only the basic subjects need to be taught. There should not be impractical subjects added to

the curriculum. Morals and character should be an important factor to the curriculum as well.

Reference

Arthur Zilversmith, Changing Schools: Progressive Education Theory and Practice,

1030-1960 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993).

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Question n0. 05 How do, according to Montessori, environment

and freedom of a child play a significant role in his education?

Montessori is a special way for children and adults to be together. Every aspect of the

experience is planned to help children become confident, capable, creative, caring and happy

people who are a delight to be with. The Montessori philosophy of education influences all

aspects of child's experience. All activities are carefully planned to make it easy for children

to become that special person each child can be. Teachers are called directress to remind

them to gently direct and guide the children in their activities rather than dictate the child's

every move. This leads to mutual respect and affection helping the children develops

confidence in their own ability. The variety of materials to explore, the teacher's quiet

demonstration of their possibilities, and the time available for the child to watch older

children, all work together to help the child develop the courage to try new things. Children

are encouraged to thoroughly explore an activity. They quickly learn to examine a problem

carefully, seeking the possibilities and discovering the solution. The child's confidence

matures in their own ability. At an early age the child discovers the scientist's delight in

solving problems, the mathematician's delight in playing with patterns, the artist's delight in

creation, the sociologist's and psychologist's delight in understanding people and the leaders

delight in getting things done with people. Montessori sets the stage to allow groups of

children to have these experiences without infringing on each other’s rights or needs.

Environment

Human beings are continuously reshaping the environment they live in, in order to make their

surroundings more practical for their work, or better suited for relaxation. In other words, the

environment is changed in order to look after specific physical or spiritual needs that humans

have. But is the same environment equally good for all human beings? Dr. Maria Montessori

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(1966) stated that “[a]n adult environment is not a suitable environment for children” (p.

109). She believed that little children should not have to live in an adult environment, instead,

there should be an environment specially prepared for them. Montessori (1912) stated that in

order for children to develop properly, it is necessary to reduce all obstacles around them to a

minimum. This included creating the right environment for children indoors and outdoors. In

order to get a clearer understanding of what Dr. Montessori meant by a prepared

environment, we need to examine the schoolhouse or “Children’s House” which she taught

in. For example, the office sized furniture pieces originally placed in the schoolhouse were

too big and too heavy for the little children. The children could not reach the high shelves nor

could they move the large chairs. Dr. Montessori designed and had manufactured little

furniture such as chairs, tables, washstands and cupboards that preschool children could use

easily. Hooks on the walls were placed low so that children could reach them without any

assistance from adults. The small chairs were light enough for a child to lift and carry to

another location. Today, we can find these small pieces of furniture in all preschools and in

many homes where little children live. In the Montessori environment, Orem (1965) stated,

the furniture fits the child because it is small just like the child. The educational décor is

simple yet attractive. In Montessori schoolhouses simple pictures hang on the walls above the

shelves where the learning tools are placed. Dr. Montessori kept the objects in the

“Children’s House” organized; there was a place for everything. Everything was marked (a

simple outline of the object was drawn directly under the object) so the children could easily

put away every tool they used. In the “Children’s House” there were different types of

workspaces such as: a chair by a small table or a carpeted floor. Everything was designed so

it would be the best for the child. The outdoors of the “Children’s House” was also carefully

designed. For the outdoors Dr. Montessori designed playgrounds and gardens with varieties

of trees and flowers. There were pathways for children to take walks, small benches to sit on,
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and objects such as hoops to play with. Originally a medical doctor, Maria Montessori, took

great considerations for the child’s physical as well as mental development. Children still

benefit from these ideas today. Dr. Montessori advocated that children need to spend a lot of

time outdoors. She believed that children need to learn to be in harmony with nature because

ultimately, human beings rely on nature. She wanted children to learn to respect the

environment, both natural and man-made. This sense of dependence between man and the

environment is further stressed by her statement, “There is a constant interaction between the

individual and his surroundings. The use of things shapes man, and man shapes things. This

reciprocal shaping.

Freedom to Maria Montessori (1966) does not mean that we leave a child on his/her own to

do whatever he/she wishes to do: rather it means that we need to remove all obstacles which

might hinder the child’s “normal” development. In a Montessori environment the adult does

not dictate to the child what activity he/she should do but freedom means that the child is free

to choose an activity within a prepared environment. It also means that the child is free to

choose a place where to perform the work within that prepared environment. When children

worked in the “Children’s House” they had a choice as to sit for example, on a chair by a

small table or use carpeted floor for their work space.

The adult in the Montessori environment does not schedule changes in activities for the child

but gives freedom to the child to be able to work on the activity until its completion

regardless of the time it takes, as well to repeat the activity as many times as the child finds it

necessary. Freedom in a Montessori environment also means for a child to freely walk around

and get a new activity when he/she so desires, and “greatest” of all, it means freedom to

observe another child and learn by observing.

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Freedom in education for Montessori was very important since the child needed to develop

into a fully grown human and be able to take his/her place in society. As she so eloquently

wrote, “Education must foster both the development of individuality and that of society.

Society cannot develop unless the individual develops, as we learn from observing. Most of

our actions would have no reason for being if there were no other people around us, and we

do most of the things we do because we live in association with others” (Montessori, 1972, p.

65).

Reference

Elias, John L. & Merriam, Sharan (1984).Philosophical Foundations of Education. Krieger

Publishing Company. Malabar, Florid

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