Seth Reicks EDUC 269 Philosophy of Education Spring 2014

It is my belief that the main function of schools is to train students to be productive members of society, and to provide them with the necessary tools to most effectively pursue a fulfilling career and meaningful purpose as an adult. This is why I am a strong supporter of the progressive educational philosophy, which emphasizes cooperative learning activities based on solving real-world problems (Webb, Metha & Jordan, 2013). As an aspiring business teacher, the progressive approach is especially important in my department because I will be teaching about concepts that students will use in business, entrepreneurial, and public policy settings. In these organizations it is necessary for people to be able to successfully apply the knowledge they acquired from their education. Short-term memorization of terms in a textbook is of little value or functional use. In todays competitive global economy, it is increasingly important for people be able to work in teams, build consensus amongst group members, think creatively and abstractly, and execute strategic decisions. That is why the best way to prepare students for their future in is to have them do hands-on group work where they learn by doing, not by lecturing and forcing rote memorization for the purpose of summative evaluations. Progressivists see students as capable of setting their own objectives and establishing classroom rules (Webb, Metha & Jordan, 2013, p. 84). Therefore, progressive teachers should serve as facilitators or directors of learning, guiding students and also acting as collaborative partners in the group decisions (Webb, Metha & Jordan, 2013, p. 81). I am still mindful of the fact that adolescents may not be ready to be given total free rein over their education, and think the teacher should design some very basic parameters for projects. However, the students should be given a lot of autonomy to fully exercise their creativity and decision-making within those guidelines. The assessing for learning should including

ongoing feedback as the teacher monitors how students are developing their skills, rather than just letting students know after the fact if they succeed or failed in their endeavors. The majority of students who I teach will be juniors and seniors in high school one to five years away from entering their working careers. In their work environment they will not have a supervisor or manager who makes them read out of a textbook, memorize dates and definitions, and evaluates them after they take a test. They must be prepared to think on their feet, make decisions, and collaborate with others. The progressive approach is the best approach at training students to do this, in turn preparing them to succeed at pursuing their dreams, having a meaningful livelihood, and being an active member in advancing a prosperous global society now and into the future.