The Philosophy of Education and its evolution
With the passage of time, the term ‘education’ has evolved and with it, the practice too. What involves education? What exactly is educating? How can you know that it is doing well? All these unknowns take a philosophical sense since, there is endless responses due to the context in which they develop. And in this case they will focus directly on strengthening knowledge in the student.
First, it is important to define the education term. According to the Royal Spanish Academy, education is an ‘instruction through teaching action’ which is being perfected and improved through experiences, triumphs and failures. It is an action that today is judged and devalued by the same students. Same that are, in most of the time;demotivated and boring due to the lack of interaction and instruction by the teacher since, with new technologies it seems the work of a teacher can become obsolete.
“Man must learn using, he needs to learn what is not innate, which has not been given by birth and enhance what has been given by genetic inheritance. That is why he needs others and culture to guarantee his transit through the world. That is the educational process.”(Leon, 2007) Therefore, good teaching practice is vital within the classroom and creating a learning culture. Make students feel the whole and not only part of this. Interest them in being participants and leaders of their own knowledge. It is good to know that education changes because time provides it. Education itself alters, changes and moves continuously and sometimes discontinuous;It grows and decreases, it can come to be and stop being. That is what the evolution of education refers.
When we talk about education we refer to any training practice that exercises a generation on another and, in particular, to the transmission of cultural elements to girls and boys. On the other hand, we also understand education as the set of relationships where disciplines are interwoven to achieve educational objectives. This practice involves processes that describe teaching strategies, the characteristics of students’ learning and the evaluation of educational achievements. (Barragan, 2018).
Now, what involves or who are involved in education? To speak for sure about this, many factors must be taken into account, which require a deep and extensive research, therefore, they will only focus on teaching practice and within the classroom. Agents who participate in this task can be individuals, such as teachers, students and parents;or collective, such as government, educational institutions, unions, parents’ associations, foundations, private institutes and entities that participate in the education market. (Barragan, 2018) which have a different role and responsibility, focused on the same objective: a significant learning for the student.
What is educating? Educar can be a complex and even confusing task. Educating consists in getting people to develop all their abilities, both the most visible and those that are usually hidden. The construction of personality and identity, the development of attitudes and emotions, the acquisition of skills and abilities and the promotion of social intelligence, are examples of what can be the action of educating. It is also about developing them in the complex perspective of what Gardner calls multiple intelligences. Faced with the development of one -dimensional people, educating means contributing to form people who have cultivated a plurality of dimensions. (Tiana, 2018)
Just as Gardner has multiple intelligences, on the other hand we have the philosopher Aristotle, who said that receiving several forms of learning enriched the human being much more. Similarly, Aristotle divided education in stages and gave a very important value to the game and observation. And from his thinking the student’s figure is derived, which was valued by the act of questioning. Learning to ask means having highly developed intellectual abilities to ask smart questions. (Crespo, 2016)
Another of the great philosophers of education was Socrates, a Greek philosopher, who was fundamentally interested in the formation of men;For him, education was a preparation for life. Socrates tells us about an integral formation of the individual, in which the intellectual and the spiritual is immersed. Returning to the educational philosophy method posed by Socrates, we must achieve in the student reflection and analysis, through the approach of questions. And that these, give him the opportunity to continue questioning and will continue to set. In addition to the fact that we must provide comprehensive information, which responds to the needs of your daily life, that is, everything you learn can apply it.
Teaching problems are currently linked to the lack of tune between learning and reality. That is, the knowledge and data received at school in some cases do not find compression, utility and application;a real connection with the reality of students. As a consequence, education becomes a dogmatic and meaningless activity, closing any possibility of thought, question, motivation and argument;Therefore, it brings the attitude and approach with the knowledge, desire and passion for knowledge. (Diaz, 2012)
And this is when we ask ourselves, what is philosophy about? This is a tool that allows us to observe the world with other glas. At present, philosophy becomes a tool to question and investigate thought in search of analysis, reflection and criticism. The one that education and philosophy have a connection leads us to create thinking students, hungry students to learn and solve their questions for themselves. Light in them the desire for new experiences with knowledge. However, a philosophical attitude is not only reduced to the exercise of reflection and analysis within the classroom by the student, but of the delivery and feelings that the teacher has as obligation to deliver. It is not enough with cognitive skills, love, understanding and passion for knowledge are required. Transmitting feelings for students to understand the message and thus, there is a favorable learning environment.
And now, in conclusion, how do I know that I am doing my role as a teacher? It is important to make an examination of conscience and have a philosophical attitude regarding the teaching role. This does not mean that we will find the answer immediately, there can even be more questions and this is what is intended with the philosophical attitude, never stop asking and constantly looking for their own answers. Remember that there is no one who possesses total knowledge and absolute truths. The answers are anywhere, they are changing and circulate. You learn and unlearn. Reflecting beyond a specific response is what is sought in the path of teaching. Of course, there will be times for us to ask ourselves a question to know if what we are doing is fine, and this is the moment in which we must see beyond our interests. We must pay attention to what surrounds us in this case, our students. How are they reacting to our teaching techniques? They’re happy? They like? This is the time where all these questions can have a non -theoretical answer but practical and observable, that we can recognize our teaching work reflected in our learning environment. And that, is what should be transmitted to students, not fear of error, teach them and educate them to make mistakes and that will make them build their path to knowledge, that the path to success is built of failures, failures that failures thatWith effort and dedication culminate in successes. Have the willingness to transform and accept the change of themselves. And to conclude, it is now students, and what are you doing to learn?
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