Those with a penchant for spreading knowledge and skills to others will do very well in the halls of academia. Teaching is a noble profession that is believed to be one of the oldest in the world, and because it is such a rewarding job, a lot of college students are interested in majoring in Education. Naturally, to learn enough about education to actually be able to educate, there are many courses involved. It is believed that to become an effective teacher you first need to study the courses that serve as the primary building blocks of education.
Philosophy of Education is one of the many courses that needs to be completed by students that are interested in pursuing a formal study of education. The course focuses on the study of school reform and asks one very significant question about the intriguing educational system. This question “asks” why colleges prepare students for the real world by giving them labels and credentials, instead of providing some form of better evidence that will indicate just how much a student was trained for life post-college. Essentially, this college level course asks students: “What are schools for?”
Philosophy also asks several questions, such as, who am I? Is there a higher being or existence? What is the relationship between the human mind and the human body? What is the relationship between the individual and society? Philosophy of Education asks the same questions but on an educational perspective. The main question then goes back to the major question, what are schools for? The course aims to enable students to answer these questions to themselves and find out their individual purpose as human beings, before further studying their purpose of studying education.
The main topics discussed in Philosophy of Education include purpose of philosophical study in education, education in early cultures, education in the new world, development of the American education system, and traditionalism and progressivism. For Philosophy of Education notes there are several reference materials that are commonly used: “Philosophy of Education” by Nel Noddings, “New Perspectives on Philosophy and Education” by Gerald L. Gutek, “Philosophical Foundations of Education: Connecting Philosophy to Theory and Practice” by Sheila Dunn, “Philosophy of Education: The Essential Texts” by Steven M. Cahn, “Philosophy of Education: An Anthology” by Randall Curren, and “Philosophy of Education: An Introduction by Richard Bailey”.
Philosophy of Education is one of the most important courses on the fundamentals of education. It discusses the importance of education and the way that society conforms to the norm by sticking to the traditional methods of education. It questions academic practices and really challenges the student’s mind. The main purpose of the course, Philosophy of Education, is really to provide an understanding and appreciation of education, particularly formal education. The course also aims at developing critical and inquisitive minds, as a student’s mind should be questioning a lot of things and not settling for the first answer that comes along.
