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Is education preparation for life? This is a
common question that usually comes to
my mind when I hear the saying
“Education is the key to success”. If
education really is the key to success; it
would mean that learners are sent out to
school in order to prepare them for their
future. But how sure are we that our
learners are going to be successful in the
future? Is their performance in school a
good basis of their future success? Are
educators fortune tellers?

The world nowadays is a battleground
and life is like a battle, it believes in the
survival of the fittest. In order to stand
among the rest and win the battle of life,
one should be equipped with education.
Therefore, education does not only ensure
our survival in this world but it also makes
our life worth living. To make the
statement clear, we could say that,
“Education is not a preparation for life but
education is life itself”. That is a famous
quotation from famous American
philosopher John Dewey.

When he said that education is life
itself, precisely Dewey wants to
highlight the fact that education is a
process in which we learn throughout
our life. It begins in our mother’s
womb and it continues until we take
our last breath. It is so closely
integrated in our every moment that
it becomes almost synonymous to
life.

The process of education usually begins
with the development of one’s mind. It
replaces an empty mind with an open
one. A child begins to recognize the
voices of his parents while he is still inside
of his mother’s womb. As he goes out, his
senses became more active, he loves to
see the sun shining brightly, to feel the
wind that touches his skin, to smell the
fragrant flowers, to taste the food that he
will be taking in, and hear the different
sounds that surrounds him, this things are
to be considered his first experience.

Afterwards, he learns to talk and keep on
asking questions that merely starts with
“what” and “why” and curiosity begins.
The mind of the child opens up and the
horizons of his knowledge widens. Then he
will be sent out to kindergarten and then
to school wherein he is introduced to the
concepts of science, geography, history,
mathematics, computers and many more.
The knowledge that he learns doesn’t only
give him spirit to value life but also teaches
him to learn from the past and build the
present to create a better future.

And now after finishing the phase of a
child, a grown individual chooses his
vocation and what follows is the
fulfillment of his ambitions and goals in his
life. It seems that in every step of his life,
learning is in its place. The experience
that one gains while tackling the
complexities of life is the best education
that one can get.

Taking into account, John Dewey applied
pragmatist philosophy in his progressive
approach and he believes that man learns
through practice and experience. The
quote that he had uttered – “Education is
not a preparation for life, it is life itself” is
likely to be pragmatist in nature. It wants to
emphasize that the focus of pragmatist
philosophy is on the reality of experience.
Indeed we consider experience as the
best teacher since this variable can lead
to the changes of an individual as a whole.

In some way, I am in favor with the
pragmatist’s philosophy and I’m also in
favor with the teachings of Charles
Sanders Peirce who believes that
thought must produce action, rather
than linger in the mind and lead to
indecisiveness.

In order to measure that an individual
has learned, he has to draw out his
knowledge from his brain and form it
into action. Lesson objectives are in the
form of behavior that comes as a result
of experience. I’m also in favor with the
view of the pragmatist that we learn
best through applying our experiences
and thoughts to problems, as they arise.
Learning is indeed best if an individual
knows how to apply what he learned for
it will create a new experience in his
part.

This is a common problem here in our country
for students in the classroom could not easily
apply what they learn for the some teachers
are idealistic in teaching their students; they
keep on feeding them not thinking that some
can’t get their point for they can’t relate it to
their lives. Lack of facilities could also lead to
poor performance of the students since they
are unable to see what the real objects are,
some schools precisely don’t have mock-ups
for the things that could not be afford to be
brought to the class. Pragmatists are
experimentalist, that they give more
importance to action than ideas. Of course
actions are product of ideas.

Pragmatism is a good philosophy to be
considered but as I see through the details
of the said “thought”, I myself could say that
pragmatism has its disadvantage or its flaws.
The pragmatist philosophy is opposed with
the predetermined truth because according
to them “reality is constantly changing”.
What is real now may never be real
tomorrow. Construction of the curriculum
could be difficult because the curriculum to
be constructed must make the individual
gain all the knowledge from life experiences.
This can be difficult to attain since different
individuals have different experiences
although some has same. Pragmatism also
has no fixed aims for education.

They emphasis that aims of human life
always change with the changing times,
places and circumstances. No specific
aim of education can be predetermined
which holds true and good to all children
at all times, places and situations. The
method “learning by doing” could not be
applied as always in different subjects in
our country for our schools lack facilities
especially in public schools.

Pragmatism denies the bookish
knowledge because according to
the pragmatist view, man is a social
being. He gains more and more
knowledge through personal
experiences than he gets from books.
“Pragmatism is a method only”. It is
one of the demerits of the pragmatic
philosophy. Pragmatism is good if
applied in school but the curriculum
should be flexible.

In pragmatist point of view, education must
be a responsibility of the state, education is a
right for every individual, so the state should
shoulder the responsibility. And if the state
refuses to do so, it will lead the nation to
suffering. It is for the state to make the child
capable and confident to meet the
problems and challenges of life successfully.
The school in the pragmatic point of view
should be a “miniature of society” where
child gets real experiences to act and
behave according to his interest, aptitude
and capacities. Therefore, the state should
make education the most important priority
among all in order to help school to perform
well.

Every teacher should have the
knowledge of the different philosophies
in order for him to cater the needs of his
learners. Teachers should be open-
minded and use the philosophies of life
for the sake of the children – the people
of the next generation. Watching our
learners as they achieve in their goals in
life, gives a good impact to our lives.

There are many philosophies to be
considered for education and for
me; all of these have its good
implication towards education.
These philosophies help teachers in
the making of the lessons, method
for teaching as well assessment in
the part of the learning.

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My educational philosophy

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