Pragmatism or Experimental (Progressive)
“Education is not preparation for life: Education is life itself” – John Dewey. John Dewey was
one of the most famous educators of the 20th century and he was able to see the extraordinary
value of the unremarkable everyday experience for young children. With his observation in the
education of the young children, he was able to come up with the new philosophy theories of
education which is called Pragmatism. On this philosophy, he believes that problems
experienced by the students must be emphasized rather than theoretical problems from the
textbooks. He advocated varying instructional methods, including experiments.
This concept comes alive in my experience of teaching and learning through what I believed
with “Education is a continuous process.” Being a teacher to these young generations, I need to
be updated of what the world can offer to our future leaders. It can be with the use of the new
technologies, personal experiences and practical exercises. Whatever I had learned in the past
does not stop me there because the continuity of my experiences is essential to my growth and
at the same time to my students. Through my experiences, I was able to see and correct the
mistakes that I have done. This give me an idea that being a teacher of the 21st century, we are
not supposed to adapt anymore the traditional way of teaching or following the fixed method
of teaching since the zellenial generations right now are more on experimental and they learn
more through action or anything they can do with their life experiences. Moreover, this
philosophy in terms of work gives satisfaction and pleasure both to the students and teachers
because the learning is more on real-life situation. Children nowadays easily learns the lesson if
we inculcate the learning in a real-life situation. Children must be interested in a topic in order
to have a meaningful connection to be made and optimal learning to occur. Learners are more
active and they learn more in the class when there is collaboration, creativity, critical thinking
and communication. Gone are the days that the students are just learning within the four
corners of the classroom. With these 21st skills strategies, the students will be able to learn
how to socialize with their classmates and be able to learn how to develop self-control. With all
of the new strategies right now, I am not just helping the students to learn on their own but at
the same time I will be able to motivate the students that learning is fun and there is no reason
for them to be afraid of.
In terms of my family, this philosophy helps me and my family to express our opinions and
ideas. It teaches us to be more practical rather than being idealistic. We were able to learn from
the experiences that we had encountered. Like for example, when my father did not give
importance on his education when he is young. Through that experienced that he had, he
learned that education is important. That is why, he never neglect to remind us to value the
education and the hard work that we have because this will lead us on the right direction. Also,
during my childhood days, I remember that we usually have this evening meeting in our family
wherein my father used to asks us “how are we this day?” or “what have we done this day?” or
the most common question that he used to asks us “what do we want to be in the future?”.
With those questions, my father listened to all of our answers and gave his opinions. He never
imposed whatever he wants instead he let us decide on our own. He sees to it, that we are
learning something in every decision that we make.
In terms of relationship, this philosophy teaches me on how to grow personally and socially
adjusted. We always say that in a relationship, “it takes two to tango.” Meaning whatever
problems we are facing or experiencing between me and my partner should emphasized, rather
than ignoring or avoiding it. Because through those experiences or problems we will be able to
learn from it and we will be able to solve the problem together. Moreover, this philosophy
reminds me also that being in a relationship you’re not supposed to impose whatever you
want. You need to let your partner express his/her emotions for the betterment of your
relationships. If the status of your relationship is like a roller-coaster already, the more that you
need to sit down and talk wholeheartedly for you to save your relationship. Just like in every
relationship, we need to spice up a bit if everything goes wrong and observe in order for us to
see the things it can help us to make our relationship to others stronger.
With all of these insights, pragmatism is not a set of doctrines but a way of approaching
philosophy. It emphasized replacing rote, habitual responses with thoughtful. Let our future
generations learn with an open environment. Do not let our future generation to be stocked
inside the four corners of our classroom using the traditional method. Let them led, explore and
succeed. And always remember that “Education and life are interrelated, not separate.”
Submitted by:
Miss Robetha-Fe M. De La Cruz
Executive Master’s in Educational Management
Foundations of Education
July 4, 2019
Submitted to:
Sr./Dr. Teresa P. Yasa, FI