The Teaching Profession

CHAPTER I

YOU, the TEACHER, as a PERSON in SOCIETY

“Teachers are the most responsible and important members of society because their
professional efforts affect the fate of the earth.”- Helen Caldicott

Introduction

We don’t live in a vacuum. We live in a society. We are part of the society. Our society
influences us to the extent that we allow ourselves to be influenced by it. Our thoughts, values
and actions are somehow shaped by events and by people with whom we come in contact. We,
in turn, help shape society- its events, its people and its destiny.

John Donne said it in his song “ No man is an island”. No man stands alone. We need one
another. In the context of your life as a teacher, we would say :No teacher is an island. No
teacher stands alone. Think of the many people who are helping you now become a teacher in
the near future. In fact, soon you will be called “ teacher” in relation to a student , in the same
manner that your student will be called “ student” in relation to you as teacher.

In this chapter, you will be made to realize the significant role that you will play in society. This
is perhaps one reason why many a time the teacher is blamed for the many ills in society. You
will also come to realize the demands it will exact from you for much is expected of you, the
teacher. It is, therefore , no joke to become one.

While teaching has many demands it also has its share of rewards. Great teachers recite a
litany of these rewards most of which are invisible to the eyes but are the most essential.

Your influence on your students and on other people with whom you work and live depends on
a great deal on your philosophy as a person and as a teacher. Your philosophy of life and your
philosophy of education serve as your “window “ to the world and your “compass” in the sea of
life. Embedded in your personal philosophy are your principles and values that will determine
how you regard people, how you look at life as a whole. They govern and direct your lifestyle,
your thoughts, decisions, actions and your relationships with people and things.

In this chapter, you are expected to

A. Summarize at least seven philosophies of education and draw their implications to

teaching-learning
B. Formulate your own philosophy of education
C. Discuss and internalize the foundational principles of morality
D. Accept continuing values of education as an integral part of your personal and
professional life
E. Clarify if you really value teaching
F. Explain teaching as a vocation, mission and profession
G. Embrace teaching as a vocation, mission and profession

1
Lesson I
Your Philosophical Heritage
“To philosophize is so essentially human-and in a sense to philosophize means living a truly
human life.” J.Pieper
The Existential Question
We are heirs to a rich philosophical heritage. Passed on to us are a number of philosophies of
various thinkers who lived before us. These thinkers reflected on life in this planet. They
occupied themselves searching for answers to questions about human existence. These
essential questions come in different versions. “What is life?”Who am I?”Why am I here?”or “
What am I living for?”What is reality?”Is the universe real?”What is good to do?”How should I
live life meaningfully?” and the like. In the school context, these essential questions are: “Why
do I teach?”How should I teach? What is the nature of the learners?”How do we learn?”
An Exercise To Determine Your Educational Philosophy
Find out to which philosophy you adhere. To what extent does each statement apply to
you? Rate yourself 4 if you agree with the statement always,3 if you agree but not
always,2 if you agree sometimes and 1 if you don’t agree at all.

Statements 1 2 3 4
1. There is no substitute for concrete experience in learning.
2. The focus of education should be the ideas that are relevant today
as when they were first conceived.
3. Teachers must not force their students to learn the subject matter
if it does not interest them.
4. Schools must develop students’ capacity to reason by stressing on
the humanities.
5. In the classroom, students must be encouraged to interact with one
another to develop social virtues such as cooperation and respect.
6. Students should read and analyze the Great Books, the creative
works of history’s finest thinkers and writers.
7. Help students expand their knowledge by helping them apply their
previous experiences in solving new problems.
8. Our course of study should be general, not specialized, liberal, not
vocational, humanistic, not technical.
9. There is no universal, inborn human nature. We are born and exist

2
 and then we ourselves freely determine our essence.
10. Human beings are shaped by their environment.
11. Schools should stress on the teaching of basic skills.
12. Change of environment can change a person.
13. Curriculum should emphasize on the traditional disciplines such
as Math, Natural Science, History, Grammar and Literature.
14. Teacher cannot impose meaning, students make meaning of what
they are taught.
15. Schools should help individuals accept themselves as unique
individuals and accept responsibility for their thoughts, feelings
and actions.
16. Learners produce knowledge based on their experience.
17. For the leaner to acquire the basic skills, he must go through the
rigor and discipline of serious study.
18. The teacher and the school head must prescribe what is most
important for the students to learn.
19. The truth shines in an atmosphere of genuine dialogue.
20. A learner must be allowed to learn at his own pace.
21. The learner is not a blank slate but brings past experiences
and
cultural factors to learning situation.
22.The classroom is not a place where teachers pour knowledge into
empty minds of students.
23.The learner must be taught how to communicate his ideas and
feelings.
24.To understand the message from his students, the teacher must
listen not only to what his students are saying but also to
what
they are not saying.
25.An individual is what he chooses to become not dictated by his
environment.

Interpreting your Scores

If you have 2 answers of 2/4 in
numbers 1,3,5,7- you are more of a
progressivist 2,4,6,8- you are more of a
perennialist

3
9,15,20,25- you are more of an existentialist
10,12- you are more of a behaviorist
11,13,17,18- you are more of an essentialist
14,16,,21,22- you are more of a constructivist
19,23,24 – you are more of a linguistic philosopher
If you have 2 scores of 4 in several of the 7 clusters, you
have an eclectic philosophy which means you put the
philosophies together. If your scores are less than 4, this
means that you are not very definite in your philosophy. Or
if your scores are less than 3 in most of the items, this
means your philosophy is quite vague.

After you have gotten an idea on the philosophy, let us

know more about them

4
SEVEN PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION
ESSENTIALISM
Why Teach?
This philosophy contends that teachers teach for learners to acquire basic knowledge,
skills and values. Teachers teach “not to radically reshape society” but rather” to transmit the
traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge that students need to become model
citizens.”
What to Teach?
Essentialist programs are academically rigorous. The emphasis is on academic content
for students to learn the basic skills or the fundamental R’s-reading, writing, arithmetic, right
conduct- as these are essential to the acquisition of higher or more complex skills needed in
preparation for adult life. The essentialist curriculum includes the “traditional disciplines such
as Math, Natural Science, History, Foreign Language and Literature. Essentialists frown upon
vocational courses or other courses with watered down academic content. The teachers and
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
How to Teach
Essentialist teachers emphasize mastery of subject matter. They were expected to be
intellectual and moral models of their students. They are seen as “fountain” of information
and as paragon of virtue, if ever there is such a person. To gain mastery of basic skills, teachers
have to observe “core requirements, longer school day, a longer academic year. With mastery
of academic content as primary focus, teachers rely on the use of prescribed textbooks, and
drill method and other methods that will enable them to cover as much academic content as
possible like the lecture method. There is a heavy stress on memorization and discipline.
PROGRESSIVISM
Why Teach
Progressivist teachers teach to develop learners into becoming enlightened and
intelligent citizens of a democratic society. This group of teachers teaches learners so they may
live life fully now not to prepare them for adult life.
What to Teach
The progressivists are identified with need based and relevant curriculum. This is a
curriculum that responds to students’ needs and that relates to students’ personal lives and
experiences.
Progressivists accept the impermanence of life and the inevitability of change. For the
progressivists, everything else changes. Change is the only thing that does not change. Hence,
progressivist teachers are more concerned with teaching the learners the skills to cope with
change. Instead of occupying themselves with teaching facts or bits of information that are
true today but become obsolete tomorrow, they would rather focus their teaching on the
teaching of skills or processes in gathering and evaluating information and in problem-solving.
The subjects that are given emphasis in progressivist schools are the Natural and Social

5
Sciences. Teachers expose students to many new scientific, technological and social
developments, reflecting the progressivist notion that progress and change are fundamental. In
addition, students solve problems in the classroom similar to those they will encounter outside
of the schoolhouse.
How to Teach
Progressivist teachers employ experiential methods. They believe that one learns by
doing. For John Dewey, the most popular advocate of progressivism, book learning is no
substitute for actual experience. One experiential teaching method that progressivist teachers
heavily rely on is the problem-solving method. This makes use of the scientific method. Other
hands-on-minds-on-hearts-on teaching methods used are field trips during which students
interact with nature or society. Teachers also stimulate students through thought-provoking
games and puzzles.

PERENNIALISM
Why Teach –We are all rational animals. Schools should therefore, develop the students’
rational and moral powers. According to Aristotle, if we neglect the students’ reasoning skills,
we deprive them of the ability to use their higher faculties to control their passions and
appetites.
What to Teach- The perennialist curriculum is a universal one on the view that all human
beings possess the same essential nature. It is heavy on the humanities, on general education.
It is not a specialist curriculum but rather a general one. There is less emphasis on vocational
and technical education. Philosopher Mortimer Adler claims that the Great Books of ancient
and medieval as well as modern times are repository of knowledge and wisdom, a tradition of
culture which must initiate each generation”. What the perrenialist teachers teach are lifted
from the Great Books.
How to Teach- The perennialist classrooms are “centered around teachers”. The teachers do
not allow the students’ interests or experience to substantially dictate what they teach. They
apply whatever creative techniques and others tried and true methods which are believed to be
most conducive to disciplining the students’ minds. Students engaged in Socratic dialogues or
mutual inquiry sessions to develop an understanding of history’s most timeless concepts.”

EXISTENTIALISM
Why Teach- The main concern of the existentialists is “to help students understand and
appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept complete responsibility for their
thoughts, feelings and actions”. Since “existence precedes essence”, the existentialist teacher’s

6
role is to help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they take in
life and by creating an environment in which they freely choose their own preferred way. Since
feeling is not divorced from reason in decision making, the existentialist demands the
education of the whole person, not just the mind.
What to teach- In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety of options
from which to choose. Students are afforded great latitude in their choice of subject matter.
The humanities, however, are given tremendous emphasis” to provide students with vicarious
experiences that will help unleash their own creativity and self expression. For example, rather
than emphasizing historical events, existentialists focus upon the actions of historical
individuals, each of whom provides possible models for the students’ own behavior. Moreover,
vocational education is regarded more as a means of teaching students about themselves and
their potential than of earning a livelihood. In teaching art, existentialism encourages
individual creativity and imagination more than copying and imitating established models.
How to Teach- Existentialist methods focus on the individual. Learning is self-paced, self
directed. It includes a great deal of individual contact with the teacher, who relates to each
student openly and honestly. To help students know themselves and their place in society,
teachers employ values clarification strategy. In the use of such strategy, teachers remain non-
judgmental and take care not to impose their values on their students since values are
personal.
BEHAVIORISM
Why Teach – Behaviorist schools are concerned with the modification and shaping of
students’ behavior by providing for a favorable environment, since they believe that they are a
product of their environment. They are after students who exhibit desirable behavior in
society.
What to Teach- Because behaviorists look at “ people and other animals as complex
combinations of matter that act only in response to internally or externally generated physical
stimuli, behaviorist teachers teach students to respond favorably to various stimuli in the
environment.
How to Teach- Behaviorist teachers ought to arrange environmental conditions so that
students can make the responses to stimuli. Physical variables like light, temperature,
arrangement of furniture, size and quantity of visual aids have controlled to get the desired
responses from learners. Teachers ought to make the stimuli clear and interesting to capture
and hold the learners’ attentions. They ought to provide appropriate incentives to reinforce
positive responses and weaken or eliminate negative ones.

7
 LINGUISTIC PHILOSOPHY

Why Teach – To develop the communication skills of the learner because the ability to
articulate, to voice out the meanings and values of things that one obtains from his experience of
life and the world is the very essence of man. It is through his ability to express himself clearly, to
get his ideas across, to make known to others the values that he has imbibed, the beauty that he
has seen, the ugliness that he rejects and the truth that she has discovered. Teachers teach to
develop in the learner the skill to send messages clearly and receive messages correctly.

What to Teach- Learners should be taught to communicate clearly-how to send clear, concise
messages and how to receive and correctly understand messages sent. Communication takes
place in three ways- verbal, non verbal and paraverbal. Verbal component refers to the content
of our message, the choice and arrangement of our word. This can be oral or written. Non
verbal component refers to the message we send through our body language while paraverbal
component refers to how we say what we say-the tone , pacing and volume of our voices.

There is a need to teach learners to use language that is correct, precise, grammatical,
coherent, and accurate so that they are able to communicate clearly and precisely their
thoughts and feelings. There is need to help students expand their vocabularies to enhance
their communication skills. There is need to teach the learners how to communicate clearly
through non verbal means and consistently through para- verbal means.

There is need to caution the learners of the verbal and non verbal barriers to communication.
Teach them to speak as many languages as you can. The more languages one speaks, the better
he can communicate with the world. A multilingual has an edge over the monolingual or
bilingual.

How to Teach- The most effective way to teach language and communication is the
experiential way. Make them experience sending and receiving messages through verbal, non
verbal and para verbal manner. Teacher should make the classroom a place for the interplay of
minds and hearts. The teacher facilitates dialogue among learners and between him students
because in the exchange of words, there is also an exchange of ideas.

CONSTRUCTIVISM
Why Teach- To develop intrinsically motivated and independent learners adequately equipped
with learning skills for them to be able to construct knowledge and make meaning of them.

What to Teach- The learners are taught how to learn. They are taught learning processes and
skills such as searching, critiquing and evaluating information, relating these pieces of
information, reflecting on the same, making meaning out of them, drawing insights, posing
questions, researching and constructing new knowledge out of these bits of information

8
learned.

9
How to Teach – In the constructivist classroom, the teacher provides students with data or
experiences that allow them to hypothesize, predict, manipulate objects, pose questions,
research, investigate, imagine and invent. The constructivist classroom is interactive. It
promotes dialogical exchange of ideas among learners and between teacher and learners. The
teacher’s role is to facilitate this process. Knowledge isn’t a thing that can be simply deposited
by the teacher into the empty minds of the learners. Rather, knowledge is constructed by
learners through an active, mental process of development; learners are the builders and

creators of meaning and knowledge. Their minds are not empty. Instead, their minds are full of
ideas waiting to be “midwife” by the teacher with his skillful facilitating skills.

Summary
We have a very rich philosophical heritage. But only seven
philosophies were discussed here: essentialism, progressivism, perennialism,
existentialism, behaviorism, linguistic philosophy and constructivism. The rest are
assigned to you as research work. The seven philosophies differ in their concepts of the
learner and values, in why do we teach (objectives), what should be taught
( curriculum) and how should the curriculum be taught ( teaching strategies).
However, there exist also some similarities among the philosophies. These you will see
more as you proceed to the activities.
Notes : Philosophy is your attitude, viewpoint, thinking, way of life, values or beliefs.
Linguistics is the study of language and how language works. Heritage is something
that you inherit.

10
Test Your Understanding of the Philosophies

Test I. Directions :Answer each with a YES or NO. If your answer is NO, explain your answer in
a sentence.

● Essentialism
1. Do essentialists aim to teach students to reconstruct society?
2. Is the model citizen of the essentialist the citizen who contributes to the re-
building of society?
3. Do the essentialist teachers give up teaching the basics if the students are not
interested?
4. Do the essentialist teachers frown on long academic calendar and core
requirements?
● Progressivism
1. Do the progressivist teachers look at education as a preparation for adult life?
2. Are the students’ interests and needs considered in a progressivist curriculum?
3. Does the progressivist curriculum focus mainly on facts and concepts?
4. Do the progressivist teachers strive to simulate in the classroom life in the outside
world?
●Perennialism
1. Are the perennialist teachers concerned with the students’s mastery of the
fundamental skills?
2. Do the perennialist teachers see the wisdom of ancient, medieval and
modern times?
3. Is the perennialist curriculum geared towards specialization?
4. Do the perennialist teachers sacrifice subject matter for the students’ interests?
●Existentialism
1. Is the existentialist teacher after students becoming specialist in order to
contribute to society?
2. Is the existentialist concerned with the education of the whole person?

3. Is the course of study imposed on students in the existentialist classroom?

4. Does the existentialist teacher make heavy use of the individualized approach?
● Behaviorism
1. Are behaviorists concerned with the modification of students’ behavior?
2. Do behaviorist teachers spend their time teaching their students on how to
respond favorably to various environmental stimuli?
3. Do behaviorist teachers believe that they have control over some variables that
affect learning?
4. Do behaviorist teachers believe that students are a product of their environment?
● Linguistic Philosophy
1. Do linguistic philosophers promote the study of language?
2. Is the communication that linguistic philosophers encourage limited to
verbal language only?
3. Do linguistic philosophers prefer the teacher who dominates discussion to save
time to a teacher who encourages dialogue?
4. Is the curriculum of the linguistic philosopher open to learning of as many
languages like Mother Tongue as possible?
● Constructivism
1. Does the constructivist agree to a teaching methodology of “telling”?
2. Do constructivists believe that students can construct knowledge?
3. Do constructivists approve of teaching learners skill to learn?
4. Do constructivists believe that meaning can be imposed?

11
Lesson II
Formulating your Philosophy of Education
“Philosophy is vital only when the questions are mine and so is the struggle towards
answers.”

“ W. Luijpen”

You have been acquainted with various philosophies. With which do you identify
yourself? What is your personal philosophy of education? You are expected to
formulate it in this second lesson.

Your philosophy of education is your “window” to the world and “compass” in life.
Hence, it may be good to put that philosophy of education in writing. You surely have
one just as everybody has only that sometimes it is not well articulated. Your
philosophy of education is reflected in your dealings with students, colleagues, parents
and administrators. Your attitude towards problems and life as a whole has an
underlying philosophy. In this lesson, you will articulate your thoughts on how you
perceive the learner on what are the right values, on what and on how you must
therefore teach. If you articulate your philosophy of education, you will find yourself
more consistent in your dealings with other people, in your actions and decisions.

What does a philosophy of education contain or include? It includes your concept about

-the human person, the learner in particular and the educated person

-what is true and good and therefore must be taught

-how a learner must be taught in order to come close to the truth

12
Here is an example:

My Philosophy of education as a Grade School Teacher

I believe that every child

-has a natural interest in learning and is capable of learning

- is an embodied spirit

- can be influenced but not totally by his environment

- is unique and so comparing a child to other children has no basis

- does not have an empty mind, rather is full of ideas and it is my task to draw out these
ideas

I believe that there are unchanging values in changing times and these must be passed
on to every child by my modeling, value inculcation and value integration in my
lessons.

I believe that my task as a teacher is to facilitate the development of every child to the
optimum and to the maximum by

- Reaching out to all children without bias and prejudice towards the “least” of the
children
- Making every child feel good and confident about him thru his experiences of
success in the classroom
- Helping every child master the basic skills of reading, communicating in oral and
written form, arithmetic and computer skills
- Teaching my subject matter with mastery so that every child will use his basic
skills to continue acquiring knowledge, skills and values for him to go beyond
basic literacy and basic numeracy
- Inculcating or integrating the unchanging values of respect, honesty, love and
care for others regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, appearance and
economic status in my lessons
- Consistently practicing these values to serve as model for every child
- Strengthening the value formation of every child thru “hands-on-minds on-
hearts-on” experiences inside and outside the classroom
- Providing every child activities meant to develop the body, the mind and the
spirit

Summary

It is important that you make explicit your philosophy of education. Your

philosophy of education is your “window” to the world and “compass” in life.
Your philosophy is your own thought and formulation, never formulated for you
by another that is why you were advised to begin stating it with the phrase “I

13
believe”. It is best to state it in the concrete not in the abstract like a theory
because this is your blue print to daily life.

Activity 1
Analyze the given example in your small group, then answer the following
questions
1. Which of the philosophies studied in Lesson 1 are reflected in the given
philosophy?

2. What are the teacher’s concepts of the learner?

3. Who, according to the Grade School Teacher’s philosophy is the good and
educated person?

4. What is the teacher’s concept on values?

5. What does the teacher believe to be her primary task?

6. Do her concepts of the learner and the educated person match with how he
will go about his task of facilitating every child’s full development?

7. You notice that the teacher’s thought on the learner, values and method of
teaching begin with the phrase” I believe. Will it make a difference if the grade
school teacher wrote his philosophy of education in paragraph form using the
third person pronoun?

14
 8. Why is one’s philosophy of education said to be one’s “window” to the world or
“compass” in life?

Activity 2
Formulate your own personal philosophy of education. Do it well for this will
form part of your teaching portfolio which you will bring along with you when
you apply for a teaching job. Write it down here. Share it with the class after
writing.

Activity 3
A. Reflect on your own philosophy using the following questions as guide
1. with that educational philosophy:
-how will you treat your student?
-what will you teach?
-how will you teach?

2. From which philosophies that you have studied and researched did you draw
inspiration as you formulated your own philosophy of education?
3. Does this education philosophy of yours make a difference in your life?
4. What if you do not have a formulated philosophy of education at all?
5. Is your educational philosophy more of an abstract theory than a blueprint to daily
living?
6. Do you think your philosophy will change as you grow in knowledge?

B. Print your philosophy of education and include it in your teaching portfolio

15
16