Perennialism vs. Progressivism sample essay

Perennialist teachers believe that they should teach the things of universal importance to the humankind. They base their class sessions of the knowledge of themselves, and expect students to study the material regardless of the individual traits and capabilities of a single student. Although this approach might be appropriate in the army, navy, police, or other special school, ordinary business schools (and students of these schools) require different, more individualized and more student oriented approach. I believe that the best appropriate teaching philosophy for me is the educational progressivism.

The main concept of educational progressivism is that a student, like any other human being, is a social animal. And as for all animals, the best way to learn things is to have real-life situations with fellow-students and teacher. My task would be to develop certain in-class activities that would not make students learn theory by hard, but would make them think about situations, ponder upon them, discuss, and reason. Reasoning, critical, and analytical thinking in a given situation is an important technique especially today. The world today undergoes tremendous and rapid change, and although classic principles and theories are undoubtedly useful, they would not teach young students to reason, analyze, and adapt to new and probably ambiguous situations that they would encounter in their career.

An important feature of progressivism, is that the main stress is put on the students and their interests, and not the discipline of the class period. I will have to take into account every child and his or her interest and needs in relation to psychomotor, affective, and cognitive areas. Instead of simply making the students read and drill, I will improvise and customize classes in such a way that every child can actively participate in discussions, express him or herself, and develop his or her reasoning.

Since the contemporary children will contribute to the well being of the country in future, it is important to give them good education, and to teach them in such a way that they can handle the challenges and problems of the future. Educational perennialism cannot give modern students these vital techniques because the approach itself is based on the knowledge, and not the students. And what good is it to a student who possesses much knowledge, but does not know how to apply it in real every-day situations? Contrarily, educational progressivism aims at providing the specific techniques necessary for analyzing, reasoning, and adapting to new situations. This approach is not based on the knowledge, but on the students, their abilities, and real-life examples, which allows the teacher to prepare the students for unexpected challenges in their lives.
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