Chapter 1 Lesson 1: Philosophical Heritage PDF

**Chapter 1 - You, the Teacher as a Person in Society** **Lesson 1 -- Your Philosophical Heritage** **Lesson Objectives** At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: - Discuss the underpinnings of the different schools of philosophies and their implications to teaching - For...

**Chapter 1 - You, the Teacher as a Person in Society** **Lesson 1 -- Your Philosophical Heritage** **Lesson Objectives** At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: - Discuss the underpinnings of the different schools of philosophies and their implications to teaching - Formulate their personal philosophy of teaching and learning Learning Outcome/Objective: a. Explain the philosophy of education and the nature of teaching in the Philippines. b. Gain ideas from philosophy that may develop insights in the solution of education problem. c. Clarify their thinking capacities and lead to a refinement of philosophical idea. **THE TEACHER'S PHILOSOPHICAL AND VALUE FORMATION** Teaching is the highest form of understanding. **INTRODUCTION** Philosophy is the search for a general understanding of values and reality primarily by speculative means instead of mere observation. Western philosophy focuses on the man's quest for truth, while Hindu philosophy is intensely spiritual and has always emphasized the need for its practical realization. Since human beings have a natural and necessary desire to know themselves and the world they live in, philosophy guides people into understanding this reality, and helps them decide how they will live and treat others. Philosophy is one of the oldest disciplines, and is considered as the mother of all sciences. Since philosophy is at the root of all knowledge, education is greatly influenced by it, and has drawn its material from different philosophical bases. **THE CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION** In order to understand the concept of philosophy of education, it is necessary to understand the meaning of these terms first. Etymologically, philosophy comes from the Greek words "Philo and Sophia" which means love of wisdom. In other words, philosophy is the "search for meaning." Man examines all his dimensions as a person---as an existing being in the world---in relation to God and others, as well as in birth and death, sorrow, and joy. Man searches for the meaning and truth of life---its importance, significance, value, and relevance. "Love of wisdom is the essence for any investigation, the very origin of Philosophy." Philosophers and thinkers, from Socrates to John Dewey in the West and a host of Indian philosophers, have attempted to give a more definite meaning for education. However, since the term has a wide connotation, it is difficult to pinpoint a single definition for it. Redden states that "education can be understood as the deliberate and systematic influence exerted by a mature person upon the immature, through instruction, discipline, and harmonious development of physical, social, intellectual, aesthetic, and spiritual powers of the human being." In the historical development of man, education has been the right of privilege few. It is only in recent centuries that education has come to be recognized as a human right. All have equal right to be educated as education has become sine qua non civilization. Education refers broadly to the total social processes that bring a person into life in a culture. By living and participating in a culture, the youth gradually becomes a recipient of and a participant in a culture. Education, in a more formal deliberate sense, takes place in the school, a specialized social agency established to cultivate knowledge, attitudes (values) and skills in the learner. The term informal education is simply incidental learning: learning how to cross the street or wash the dishes is learned by the child through observation. The term non-formal education is used to label activities/programs to improve the quality of life. These activities are literacy (for out-of-school youth and adults) rural development, training for occupational skills and informative education. The target clientele are the unemployed, the underemployed, those who never had or had little schooling and technical workers who need to upgrade their skills. If education is to promote change for the better, then education has to turn to philosophy to determine what that "better" is for particular segment of society or for society as a whole. Educational philosophy then is the application of philosophy to the study of all factors affecting the aims and goals of education, its method, content, and organization in terms of human values as they affect the nature and purpose of man and society. The educational institution is composed of the school, teachers, curriculum, and the students. Each aspect is working side by side to support the other aspects accurately. School plays a significant role in the educative process. It is considered as an instrument to reshape community and build a good society, to produce quality people by means of shaping the learner's attitude and behavior influenced by the teacher. It is the school that fulfills the social responsibility of preparing the individual for the future by (a) fitting him in the society that he lives in (adjustive function) and (b) enabling him to use his knowledge and creative powers to improve this society (constructive function). The effectiveness of teaching is measured by the extent to which teachers are successful in producing desirable changes in the attitudes and behaviors of the students. To pursue this objectives, the teacher needs a satisfactory philosophy of education which incorporates in teaching to influence the student's attitude and behavior to become a better person. In other words, the teacher plays an important role in the desired transformation and improvement of the people. Curriculum represents a set of desired goals or values that is activated through a development process and culminates in successful learning experiences for students. The curriculum also defines the specific knowledge, behavior, and attitudes needed to create a healthy and educational environment for the student, who is considered a fundamental factor to build the future. The curriculum includes all the experiences of the learner for which the school assumes responsibility. In its broadest sense, the curriculum can be defined as the organized experiences that a student has under the guidance and control of the school. In a more precise and restricted sense, the curriculum is the systematic sequence of courses or subjects that form the school's formal instruction. For the traditional philosophies, the major goal of education is the transmission and preservation of cultural heritage. A curriculum consist of skills and subject matter, the necessary tools in transmitting, in learnable units, to the immature for the survival of civilization. The subject matter is arranged in a hierarchy, with priority given to subjects regarded as more general, hence, more significant. The more recent philosophies are more concerned with the process of learning. The curriculum which follows this idea makes use of activities and projects, and experimental and problem-solving modes that are determined by the learner's interests and needs. Finally, the role of the students in the educative process is the knowledge he acquires in the classroom, which he can use to influence other people in the community and transform the society into building a better nation. The quest for quality education is the basis of all society to achieve stability, progress, and prosperity. **THE TEACHER'S PHILOSOPHICAL HERITAGE: THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION** Philosophy is vital only when the questions are mine and so is the struggle towards answers. - W. Luijpe A philosophy of education is a statement of point-of-view, a generalized theory of education which is recognized by teachers, parents, and learners. It evolves from the understanding of one's being. The philosophy of education is defined in the 1987 Constitution, Article XIV: Section 1.The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make education accessible to all: Section 2. The State shall: 1. Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society; 2. Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels. Without limiting the national right of parents to rear their children, elementary education is compulsory all children of school age; 3. Establish and maintain a system of scholarship grants, student loan programs, subsidies, and other incentives which shall be available to deserving students in both public and private schools, especially to the underprivileged; 4. Encourage no-formal, informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as elsf-learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs particularly those that respond to the community needs; and 5. Provide adult citizens, the disabled, the out-of-school youths with training in civic vocational efficiency, and other skills. 1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and this fundamental stage shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. 2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance, and friendship among nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. 3. Parents have prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to the children.