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Essentialism in Education

 

Excerpt from: Teachers, Schools, and Society: A Brief Introduction to Education p. 200-207

By David Miller Sadker, PhD |Karen R. Zittleman, PhD McGraw-Hill Higher Education

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Traditionally, teacher-centered philosophies emphasize the importance of transferring knowledge, information, and skills from the older (presumably wiser) generation to the younger one. The teacher's role is to instill respect for authority, perseverance, duty, consideration, and practicality. When students demonstrate through tests and writings that they are competent in academic subjects and traditional skills, and through their actions that they have disciplined minds and adhere to traditional morals and behavior, then both the school and the teacher have been successful. The major teacher-centered philosophies of education are essentialism and perennialism.

 

Essentialism

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Essentialism strives to teach students the accumulated knowledge of our civilization through core courses in the traditional academic disciplines. Essentialists aim to instill students with the "essentials" of academic knowledge, patriotism, and character development. This traditional or back-to-basics approach is meant to train the mind, promote reasoning, and ensure a common culture among all Americans.

American educator William Bagley popularized the term essentialism in the 1930s,1 and essentialism has been a dominant influence in American education since World War 11. Factors such as the launching of Sputnik in 1957, the 1983 report A Nation at Risk, intense global economic competition and in-creased immigration into the United States have all kept essentialism at center stage. Some educators refer to the present period as neoessentialism because of the increased core graduation requirements, stronger standards and more testing of both students and teachers.

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Whether they call themselves essentialists or neoessentialists, educators in this camp are concerned that the influx of immigrants threatens American culture. In response, they call for rigorous schools teaching a single, unifying body of knowledge for all Americans. One of the leading essentialists, E. D. Hirsch, Jr., authored Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know and The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them. Hirsch provides lists of people, events, literature, historical facts, scientific breakthroughs and the like, lists that specify what students at every grade level should know to be "culturally literate."

Most of you reading this chapter have been educated in essentialist schools. You were probably required to take many courses in English, history, math, and science, but were able to enroll in only a few electives. Such a pro-gram would he typical in an essentialist school.

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The Essentialist Classroom

 

Essentialists urge that traditional disciplines such as math, science, history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the curriculum, which is referred to as the core curriculum. Essentialists frown upon electives that "water-down" academic content. Elementary students receive instruction in skills such as writing, reading, measuring, and computing. Even when studying art and music, subjects most often associated with the development of creativity, students master a body of information and basic techniques, gradually moving to more complex skills and detailed knowledge. Only by mastering the required material are students promoted to the next higher level.

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Essentialists maintain that classrooms should be oriented around the teacher, who should serve as an intellectual and moral role model for the students. The teachers or administrators decide what is most important for the students to learn and place little emphasis on student interests, particularly when such interests divert time and attention from the academic curriculum. Essentialist teachers rely on achievement test scores to evaluate progress. Essentialists expect that students will leave school possessing not only basic skills and an extensive body of knowledge, but also disciplined, practical minds, capable of applying schoolhouse lessons in the real world.

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Essentialism in Action:

 

The Coalition of Essential Schools The Coalition of Essential Schools, headed by Theodore Sizer, offers several tangible examples of essentialism in action. The 200 coalition schools pledge to promote intellectual rigor, test students for mastery of information and skills, have teachers and students work closely together, and develop strong thinking skills across subjects. But is the Coalition of Essential Schools purely essentialist? Not entirely. Coalition schools recognize and promote individual student differences, a clear departure from a strict essentialist interpretation. In fact, schools in the coalition do not share a fixed core curriculum, but each school continually analyzes and can alter core contents. The coalition also stresses "less is more," since Sizer believes that teachers and students should focus on fewer topics, but go into them more deeply. In fact, these essential schools also incorporate components of perennialism, which happens to be the next teacher-centered philosophy that we will discuss.

 

Essentialism

 

"Gripping and enduring interests frequently grow out of initial learning efforts that are not appealing or attractive."

             William Bagley

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Essentialism refers to the "traditional" or "Back to the Basics" approach to education. It is so named because it strives to instill students with the "essentials" of academic knowledge and character development. The term essentialism as an educational philosophy was originally popularized in the 1930s by the American educator William Bagley (1874Ä1946). The philosophy itself, however, had been the dominant approach to education in America from the beginnings of American history. Early in the twentieth century, essentialism was criticized as being too rigid to prepare students adequately for adult life. But with the launching of Sputnik in 1957, interest in essentialism revived. Among modern supporters of this position are members of the President's Commission on Excellence in Education. Their 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, mirrors essentialist concerns today.

Underlying Philosophical Basis

 

(American) essentialism is grounded in a conservative philosophy that accepts the social, political, and economic structure of American society. It contends that schools should not try to radically reshape society. Rather, essentialists argue, American schools should transmit the traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge that students need to become model citizens. Essentialists believe that teachers should instill such traditional American virtues as respect for authority, perseverance, fidelity to duty, consideration for others, and practicality.

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Reflecting its conservative philosophy, essentialism (tends to accept the philosophical views associated with the traditional, conservative elements of American society. For example, American culture traditionally has l)placed tremendous emphasis on the central importance of tile physical world and of understanding the world through scientific experimentation. As a result, to convey important knowledge about our world, essentialist educators emphasize instruction in natural science rather than non-scientific disciplines such as philosophy or comparative religion.

The Essentialist Classroom

 

Essentialists urge that the most essential or basic academic skills and knowledge be taught to all students. Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum. Essentialists frown upon vocational, lift-adjustment, or other courses with "watered down" academic content.

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Elementary students receive instruction in skills such as writing, reading, measurement, and computers. Even while learning art and music, subjects most often associated with the development of creativity, the students are required to master a body of information and basic techniques, gradually moving from less to more complex skills and detailed knowledge. Only by mastering the required material for their grade level are students promoted to the next higher grade.

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Essentialist programs are academically rigorous, for both slow and fast learners. The report A Nation at Risk reflects the essentialist emphasis on rigor. It calls for more core requirements, a longer school day, a longer academic year, and more challenging textbooks. Moreover, essentialists maintain that classrooms should be oriented around the teacher, who ideally serves as an intellectual and moral role model for the students. The teachers or administrators decide what is most important for the students to learn and place little emphasis on student interests, particularly when they divert time and attention from the academic curriculum. Essentialist teachers focus heavily on achievement test scores as a means of evaluating progress.

In an essentialist classroom, students are taught to be "culturally literate," that is, to possess a working knowledge about the people, events, ideas, and institutions that have shaped American society. Reflecting the essentialist emphasis on technological literacy, A Nation at Risk recommends that all high school students complete at least one semester of computer science. Essentialists hope that when students leave school, they will possess not only basic skills and an extensive body of knowledge, but also disciplined, practical minds, capable of applying schoolhouse lessons in the real world.

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Essentialism

From:  http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP4.html

 

 

HUMANISM IN EDUCATION

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari ,Ph.D. Pallavi Singh ,M.Ed. Principal Lecturer D.I.M.S. D.I.M.S. Meerut ,India Meerut, India

 

There are many theories in education that have been drawn from psychology some of these have to do with teaching and others with learning. Humanism is one theory that has been used in both teaching and learning. Humanism is a belief that that individuals control their own destinies through the application of their intelligence and learning.  Teachers who hold a more humanistic view of the purpose of education often experience stress because the meaning  they assign to education differs greatly from the meaning  assigned by society or their institution. It is clear in listening to the language of education that its primary focus is on knowledge and teaching rather than on the learner. Students are expected to conform to schools rather than schools serving the needs of students.

 

The Meaning and Definition of Humanism

 

The term "humanism" is ambiguous. Around 1806 humanismus was used to describe the classical curriculum offered by German schools, and by 1836"humanism" was borrowed into English in this sense. In 1856, the great German historian and philologist Georg Voigt used humanism to describe Renaissance Humanism, the movement that flourished in the Italian Renaissance to revive classical learning, This historical and literary use of the word "humanist" derives from the 15th century Italian term umanista, meaning a teacher or scholar of Classical Greek and Latin literature and the ethical philosophy behind it

 

Dictionary Meaning of Humanism

 

Humanism is:

 

“seeking, without religion, the best in, and for, human beings."

Chambers Pocket Dictionary 

 

 "...a non-religious philosophy, based on liberal human values."

Little Oxford Dictionary 

 

 "The rejection of religion in favor of the advancement of humanity by its own efforts."

Collins Concise Dictionary 

 

 "A system of thought that centers on humans and their values, capacities, and worth."

 American Heritage Dictionary.

 

 

Humanism in Education

 

The Humanism has brought great effect in various fields of education. The aims, the curriculum, the methods of teaching the outlook towards the child, the teachers, the discipline and the system of education all were given new blood. Humanism in education dragged the education from the old traditions, idealism and the high and low tides to the real surface.

 

In the field of education and especially in society today, "humanistic education" is the subject of considerable interest and controversy. Many people of good will immediately react "for it" or "against it," depending on previous experience with the term...Actually, the term means many different things to different people. What follows is a very brie attempt by a number of educators to clarify the term "humanistic education" by describing what it is and what it is not...

 

Fundamental Principles of Education in Humanism.

 

Most educators who advocate humanistic education typically intend this approach to mean one or more of three things:

 

1.Humanistic education teaches a wide variety of skills which are needed to function in today’s world--basic skills such as reading, writing and computation, as well as skills in communicating, thinking, decision-making, problem-solving and knowing oneself.

 

2.  Humanistic education is a humane approach to education--one that helps students believe in themselves and their potential, that encourages compassion and understanding, that fosters self-respect and respect for others.

 

3. Humanistic education deals with basic human concerns --with the issues throughout history and today that are of concern to human beings trying to improve the quality of life--to pursue knowledge, to grow, to love, to find meaning for one's existence. According to Gage and Berliner (1991) some basic principles of the humanistic approach that were used to develop the objectives are:

 

  1. Students will learn best what they want and need to know. That is, when they have developed the skills of analyzing what is important to them and why as well as the skills of directing their behavior towards those wants and needs, they will learn more easily and quickly.

 

  1. Knowing how to learn is more important than acquiring a lot of knowledge.  In our present society where knowledge is changing rapidly, this view is shared by many educators, especially those from a cognitive perspective.

 

  1. Self-evaluation is the only meaningful evaluation of a student’s work.  The emphasis here is on internal development and self-regulation. While most educators would likely agree that this is important, they would also advocate a need to develop a student's ability to meet external expectations.

 

  1. Feelings are as important as facts. Much work from the humanistic view seems to validate this point and is one area where humanistically-oriented educators are making  significant contributions to our knowledge base.

 

  1. Students learn best in a non-threatening environment.  This is one area where humanistic educators have had an impact on current educational practice. The orientation espoused today is that the environment should by psychologically and emotionally, as well as physically, non-threatening

 

Humanism and Aims of Education

 

The “Epistemology” gives the clue to determining humanistic education aims.

 

Since reason or intellect is man’s noblest quality it behooves educators to concentrate their efforts on the development of intellectual power. It is true that noted humanists, such as Vives and Erasmus, mentioned character formation as a goal of education. Within the context of classroom instruction, however, moral education was definitely allotted a minor role. classroom activities were directed almost exclusively to the building of intellectual-verbal skills within the student. .

 

It seems, then, that for the humanist, the primary aim of the Education as distinct from the broad notion of education carried on in the home, church, and social institutions, was the cultivation of the intellect of the student The goal of education should be to foster students' desire to learn and teach them how to learn. Students should be self-motivated in their studies and desire to learn on their own

 

As described by Gage and Berliner (1991) there are five basic objectives of the humanistic view of education:

 

1.promote positive self-direction and independence (development of the regulatory system);

2.develop the ability to take responsibility for what is learned (regulatory and affective systems);

3. develop creativity (divergent thinking aspect of cognition);

4. curiosity (exploratory behavior, a function of imbalance or dissonance in any of the systems); and

5. an interest in the arts (primarily to develop the affective/emotional system).

 

Humanism and Concept of teacher

 

The role of the teacher is important in successfully educating children. The teacher must capture the child’s interest and build on the natural motivation that exists. Teachers need to remember to vary their teaching methods to accommodate each individual learning style. Not all children learn at the same pace or are at the same point; therefore, the teacher must vary his/her style. knowledge should be organized and relate to current experiences Teacher is a facilitator; helper; partner; promotes, but does not direct learning, sets mood for learning, acts as a flexible resource for learners

 

There are a variety of ways teachers can implement the humanist view towards education. Some of these include:

  1.  Allow the student to have a choice in the selection of tasks and activities whenever  possible.

  2. Help students learn to set realistic goals.

  3. Have students participate in group work, especially cooperative learning, in order to develop social and affective skills.

  4. Act as a facilitator for group discussions when appropriate.

  5. Be a role model for the attitudes, beliefs and habits you wish to foster. Constantly work on becoming a better person and then share yourself with your students.  Humanistic educators believe that both feelings and knowledge are important to the learning process. Unlike traditional educators, humanistic teachers do not separate the cognitive and affective domains:

 

Humanism and Curriculum

 

The humanist’s complete absorption in the classics had far-reaching effects on educational theory and practice. Literary style and eloquence (in Latin, of course) became the outward sign of the educated gentleman. The ³kitchen Latin´ of the medieval writer was ridiculed. The closer one came to perfect imitation of classical style, the nearer one approached intellectual perfection. Thus, the schools of the Renaissance and Reformation era became centers for linguistic training. There was no place for vocational or health education.

 

Thus, beyond the very rudimentary training given in basic skills, the curriculum of the times was almost exclusively made up of the study of Latin and Greek grammar and the classics. Mathematics, history and astronomy and a few other subjects were allotted very little school time. Vocational education was school function at all since it was given byte skilled tradesman as on the job training. .The Jesuits divide the curriculum into five levels or grades roughly equivalent to the junior and senior high school years in American education. The first level was devoted to study of elementary Greek and Latin grammar and supplemented by easy readings from Latin literature. Intermediate grammar was taught at the second level. More difficult selections such as Aesop’s Fables in Greek, and Cicero, Caesar, and Ovid in Latin made up the reading lists. The third level covered advanced grammar and composition using more difficult selections from the classics as models. At the fourth level the study of rhetoric was introduced along with a complete review of grammar and syntax to assure their mastery. At the time the student was expected to be able to handle the most difficult pagan and Christian classics with relative ease. The highest (fifth ) level in the course of studies was intended to produce perfect classical style in speaking a writing Latin. The measure of the student’s success in this endeavor was the imitation of Cicero’s style. The classical literature studied was chose for its lofty style and beauty

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The classical part of the curriculum made up at least two-thirds or the program. As we mentioned in the section on ³Methodology,´ history, philosophy, and mythology were normally treated in the context of the classical literature. Religion was taught as a separate subject. Physical education was extracurricular and usually part of organized sport activates. Attendance at Mass and devotional exercises were required at boarding schools and sometimes of day students. The intellectualistic orientation of this humanistic curriculum is obvious. These schools were no place for ³intellectual lightweights.´ Satisfactory completion of this course of studies opened the door to the universities and to positions of leadership in the government. Any student whose mind had been disciplined by the classical curriculum was intellectually prepared for the challenges of statesmanship an responsibilities of the learner professions.

 

Humanism and achievement Evaluation

 

Very vigorous oral and written exams were administered to determine whether the student should pass on to the next level. For these tests the student was expected to know all the vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and literary selections of each level

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But now the Humanistic educators believe that grades are irrelevant and that only self-evaluation is meaningful. Grading encourages students to work for a grade and not for personal satisfaction. In addition, humanistic educators are opposed to objective tests because they test a student's ability to memorize and do not provide sufficient educational feedback to the teacher and student.

 

Humanism and Concept of Student

 

Learner is highly motivated and self-directed; assumes responsibility for learning and self-development

He has continuity formal structure antecedents in the past and a yearning toward the future. His experience has some continuity throughout changing events and places and in order to explain this we must recognize that the self is a common factor in all of these experiences. The self has form as well as continuity. The learner possess a unique selfhood, self-realization supplements freedom as such with value concerns. Freedom does not carry built-in guarantees that it will be turned to good ends. In order to be freedom it must be free to make us miserable. The how of choosing, as well as the what which is chosen is a necessary ingredient of the good life.

The student is an experiencing organism capable of using intelligence to resolve its problems. He learns as he experiences; as he dose and as he undergoes. As a thinking organism his experiences, and his reflections upon those experiences become a part of him determining his likes, dislikes, and the future direction of his learning. The Humanist views the student as a whole organism constantly interacting with the environment

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 ³Humanism in education recognizes the importance of the child. The child is a real unit which has real existence. He has some feelings, some desires and some powers. All these cannot be overlooked. These powers of the child shall have to be given due regarding at the time of planning education. Child can reach near reality through learning by reason. Child has to be given as much freedom as possible. The child is to be enabled to proceed on the basis of facts, The child can learn only when he follows the laws of learning.´

 

 

 

The reformers maintained that education was a state function. Thus, one finds the first completely independent public school system in the Protestant district of Wurttemberg, Germany about the middle of the sixteenth century. The Renaissance and Reformation, then, again appeared to serve as the transitional stage between church control of education to the acceptance of the state (local, state-wide, or national) as the primary educational agency. The recent break down of the family in complex twentieth-century industrial society has involve the state in educational policy-making to such an extent that the role of the family in such matters had been almost totally eclipsed

 

Critical Appraisal of Humanism

 

Humanism is often depicted as denying spiritual values and is accordingly "represented as discarding morality, and preaching what is reproachfully described as the principle of 'good and no conscience”. However, some scholars believe, however, that this is a misunderstanding of the Humanism position since "no serious thinker could have included such a teaching”. Humanism believes not in the notion of stringent philosophy,but in liberal beliefs. Hence, they refute most of the already-established rules in the context of philosophy.  Another criticism often leveled at the Humanism movement is that it is essentially anti-intellectual. While this is perhaps an overstatement, it is true that the main area of concern for Humanists is the marketplace of daily life. Thus, those philosophies oriented toward a rather rationalistic a priori type of thought will find the Humanists empirical and anti-intellectual. The weakest points in the Humanist’s chain of thought, and the one that has probably subjected the Humanists to more valid and invalid criticism than any other is their theory of truth. If truth is seen as constantly being changed and tested, rather than as a stable body of knowledge, the whole stability of the universe is previous experience, which has been oriented toward finding and cataloging such truths, will go for naught. All other major philosophical systems are concerned with the nature of truth, and historically the vast majority have found a core of stable, unchanging, absolute values on which they could rely. The very fact that Humanism challenges the existence of this core  makes it, for many, a dangerous and radical philosophy

 

Merits of Humanism

 

Humanistic education is essential for preparing young people to be citizens in a democracy. If democracy is to work, its citizens must be educated. They must know how to gather information, distinguish fact from opinion, analyze propaganda, understand many different viewpoints, understand justice, think for themselves, communicate their opinions clearly, and work with others for the common good. These are among the most important skills that humanistic education seeks to teach our youth.

 

Humanistic education enhances the teaching of the basics.

 

Many of the major books and articles on humanistic education show teachers how to do a more effective job of teaching reading, writing, math, social studies, etc. Many of the best traditional-subject-matter teachers integrate humanistic education methods and materials into their basic curriculum. Rather than ignoring the basics, humanistic educators seek to expand our concept of what basic education is, saying that basic skills for surviving in today's world go beyond reading, writing, computation, and vocational skills and include other skills for communicating, problem-solving and decision-making.

 

Humanistic education is not psychotherapy.

 

It is not the goal of humanistic education to help students overcome deep-seated emotional problems. Rather, humanistic education seeks to help students to lean useful skills for living and to deepen their understanding of issues relevant to their academic and social development. Teachers do not need to be trained psychologists to conduct humanistic education activities. They do require sensitivity to students, classroom management skills, and the ability to conduct a class discussion. These skills are within the grasp of all good teachers.

 

Humanistic education is supported by years of research and experience.

 

One of the strongest reasons for supporting humanistic education is that, when done effectively, students learn! Considerable evidence shows that cooperative learning structures higher self-concepts, and the student's motivation and interest in learning all are related to greater academic achievement. Studies also show that humanistic education can lead to fewer discipline problems, less vandalism and reduced use of illegal drugs...Such research findings do not prove that particular humanistic education methods should be used in all situation..

 

Humanistic education encourages parent involvement in the schools

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What parent does  not sometimes wish his or her children would listen more respectfully, choose less impulsively, calm down when overexcited, learn to be assertive without being aggressive, or make better use of their time? Many humanistic education methods teach students how to do these things.. Several humanistic education approaches teach students to relax and control their nervous energy and to plan and take more responsibility for their time.

 

Humanistic educators believe that schools have a role to play in the "values education" of students.

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While the home and religion have the major responsibility in the value development and moral development of children, the school also has a legitimate role. Few parents have ever questioned the school's role in encouraging the values of punctuality, fairness, health, courtesy, respect for property, neatness and the like. Humanistic educators believe schools also should encourage the democratic and humanitarian values of tolerance, self-respect, freedom of thought, respect for others, social responsibility and the like. Schools cannot and should not be "value-free."

 

References

 

1.  Adams, The Educational Theory Macmillan &Co.

2.  Broudy, Harry, S.   Building a Philosophy of Education. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1961.

 

3.  Butler, J. Donald, Four Philosophies and Their Practice in Education and Religion. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1957.

 

4.  Cunningham, J.K., ³Problems of Philosophy, p-05.

 

5.Frank Thilly, ³A History of philosophy´, Central Publishing House, Allahabad.

 

6.John Dewey, Reconstruction in Philosophy, p-38. London, University of London Press Ltd. 1921.

 

7.John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding 1960, Introduction..

 

8.Rusk, R.R., ³Philosophical Basis of Education´ p-68, footnote, London, University of London Press, 1956..

 

9.The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Sixth Edition, III. Impression, 1976, p-868.  Herbart, J.F., The Science of Education. Boston : D.C.Heath & Company, 1902.10 .Weber, Christian O., Basic Philosophies of Education. New York : Holt, Rinehart andWinston, Inc., 1960

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