In retrospect, I now realize why I was doing better in those classes. It was because I was able to learn the content in a wide array of forms. I too, as an educator, will seek to follow the instructional methods of essentialists, who believe that teachers should “use a variety of learning materials to make sure that students learn the content” (Kaplan 171). As an aspiring Physical Education teacher, I believe it is important to teach students in a progressive manner where skills and activities are broken down into smaller parts and, as they grasp those small parts, gradually move to the whole skill, which is also an idea of the essentialists. While the essentialist philosophy appeals to me greatly, the idea that “education should be child centered,” as is presented by the progressivist’s philosophy, is of vital importance to my educational philosophy.
In retrospect, I now realize why I was doing better in those classes. It was because I was able to learn the content in a wide array of forms. I too, as an educator, will seek to follow the instructional methods of essentialists, who believe that teachers should “use a variety of learning materials to make sure that students learn the content” (Kaplan 171). As an aspiring Physical Education teacher, I believe it is important to teach students in a progressive manner where skills and activities are broken down into smaller parts and, as they grasp those small parts, gradually move to the whole skill, which is also an idea of the essentialists. While the essentialist philosophy appeals to me greatly, the idea that “education should be child centered,” as is presented by the progressivist’s philosophy, is of vital importance to my educational philosophy.