Educational philosophy

Values of Education In Life Introduction: “Education should not end with the academic career. It should continue all through life _ All life is education” (Parsad, 1976, p.9). So education should be built upon the principles of inner growth and the development of inner conscious. The real job of education is to widen, heighten, and enlighten the child’s consciousness. (Parsad, 1976) Scope of educational Values: According to Ibne Khaldum any knowledge of man and society is impossible without “ Value judgment” which means, without knowing the true end of man and society, as well as the degrees of their perfection. One can only measure the actual, know and judge the degree of its imperfection, point out the factors that prevent the actualization of the end of man and the best society, with the help of values. The main aim of the education is to help a person to live in society, so it must be guided by values, and each society has its own set of values. What are Values? The...

Rousseau Introduction: Rousseau is one of the famous Western philosophers of the eighteenth century. During the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries reason ruled as a god , and people like Voltaire revolted against it. Rousseau also led the revolt against reason and he made nature the sole authority over human affairs. Rousseau saw a great divide between the society and the nature and so led the second revolt which was called as the naturalistic movement. He had a great emotion and sympathy for the common man. (Khalid, 1998). Jean- Jacques Rousseau was born on 28 June 1712 in the Geneva, Switzerland in the house of a poor watch maker. His father could not afford a proper education for him so he received informal education from his father. His mother died shortly after birth. From the age of twelve to twenty four he travelled to many places and developed sympathy for poor people. In 1735 he was given the job of tutoring the two sons of M. De Malby. From here his inter...

Pragmatism Definition of Pragmatism Pakistani Public education is heavily reliant on Dewey's ideas. Dewey, on the other hand was one of the all time great educationist and thinker, and a proponent of pragmatism. "Pragmatism" is derived from “Pragma” means practice. Originated in America, Pragmatism maintains that ideas and theories are results of practice, and their value is assessed through knowing their practical results . Meaning and value are two important subject matters of philosophy. The two most important questions are: 1. How meanings are created? 2. How values are determined? Sanders Peirce answers the first question about meaning of ideas. He holds that meaning of ideas lie in their practical consequences. If we want to know the meaning of word hard , it can be known through performing a practical. Through scratching an object, we can know if it is hard or soft. We can scratch a soft object, and we can't scratch a hard one. This precisely is the ...

Stages of education and teaching methods suggested by Plato Plato was a very important and famous educational thinker and Greek philosopher. He was the pupil of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle who have influenced the thinking of people from generation to generation. Plato has touched upon all the important problems and ideas that have ever aroused the interest of the human mind. Plato gave immense importance to education. In his treatise "The republic", Plato has dealt with education in details. In The Republic, he has discussed his aim of Education, his notion of how education should proceed at different stages of life, and about the content of education and a well defined curriculum. for it. In the republic he has drawn up a blue print of what our ideal society should be and what role education has to play in the maintence of justice and the functions of different social classes.  In “Laws’ he says repeatedly: “Education is the first and the fairest thing that t...

Educational theories of Rousseau for boyhood The five stages of Emile according to Rousseau are: Infancy (0-2years) Early childhood (2-6years) Later childhood (6-12years) Boyhood (12-15years) Adolescence (15-21years) Emile’s fourth stage of life which is boyhood is going to be discussed. It covers the years from the age of 12 to the age of 15. This is a period of transition between childhood and adolescence. (Khalid, 1999) Characteristics found in Emile at this stage: Curiosity Utility Self-conscious Reason Intellectual appearance On the verge of adult life Well-built Strong Healthy Characteristics of Emile at this stage On the basis of these characteristics, it is concluded that during this stage he is ready to receive knowledge. Therefore, it is the time for work, instruction and enquiry. It is the time for developing intellect. So far necessity has been the guide, now utility should determine the course. The lost ground during childhood must be recove...

John Dewey (1859-1952) Introduction: John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and practical teacher. He was born in Vermont in New England in 1859. He was the son of a shop keeper and was brought up in rural environment. Dewey revolted against the existing and traditional aims of education such as moral aim, disciplinary aim and the informative aim. He said the schools should strive to elevate the aims of civic and social experience, vocational and practical usefulness and the individual development. Dewey died in New York City on 1 June 1952. The experience of early years brought to him two convictions: i. The traditional methods of schooling were useless. ii. Human contacts of everyday life provide unlimited, natural, and dynamic learning situations. He heard the lively comments and discussions in his father’s shop and realized the strength and power of group consciousness in the various activities of small society. These tw...

Islam - A Complete Way of Life! Islam is an Arabic word and denotes acceptance of God as the Supreme and the Ultimate Reality. It means submission, surrender and obedience. As a religion, Islam stands for complete submission and obedience to God- that is why it is called Islam. The other literal meaning of the word Islam is peace and this signifies that one can achieve real peace of body and of mind only through submission and obedience to God. Such a life of obedience brings peace of heart and establishes real peace in society at large. Unlike many other faiths, the name Islam is neither related with its founder (as in Buddhism or Christianity) nor tribe or race (like in Judaism) nor with land and soil (as in Hinduism). Alkhuli (2007) says “Islam is a religion, but not in the western meaning of religion. The western connotation of the term "religion" is something between the believer and God. Islam is a religion that organizes all aspects of life on both the individual and...

Comparison of Philosophy of Idealism with Philosophy of Realism: Plato’s theory of Idealism: Plato is an astute and important philosopher, who writes beautifully and with great power and elegance on Truth and Reality. His work is still profoundly important in today's Post modern world, and can be easily understood due to its simplicity of language and engaging style of dialogue. - He appreciated that all Truth comes from Reality and this Truth was profoundly important to the future of Humanity. When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence. (Plato, 380BC www.school-for-champions.com/education/philosophies.htm . The idealists believes that material or physical universe is not complete expressi...

Teaching is the profession of Prophets :: Teaching is being considered as a profession of prophets, because of many reasons. Here we will discuss prophet and teaching separately then teaching as the profession of prophet. Prophet;- According to the dictionary prophet is ‘a spokes man of deity’ or ‘person who is from God and speaks always truth and works for society.’ Prophecy;- Prediction, inspired utterance and speaks prophetically Prophetic;- Pertaining to thing to come. The role of prophet;- The role of prophet was to give the message from God, as it was given to him, to the people. Every prophet was chosen to bring reforms in the existing society of the time to prevail the truth and goodness. The Holy Prophet of Islam : The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the last Prophet of Islam. He is the one of Prophet who is sent by Allah Muhammad literally means the praised. One and the Holy Quran says: Allah sends down His blessing on the prophet and his angles pray for him....

STAGES OF EDUCATION AND METHODS OF TEACHING SUGGESTED BY PLATO: PLATO: According to Mrs. Tanwir Khalid (2005) Plato was the most famous Greek philosopher. He was born in Athens, in a noble family. He was the pupil of the great thinker Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, the great scientist and thinker. All these are world famous philosophers and their thinking has influenced people from generation to generation. “The Republic” is the famous book of Plato about education. Plato says that “education is the first and fairest thing that the best of men can ever have.” According to Mr. Khalid (2005, p.46) the aim of education according t Plato, is the welfare of both the individual and the society. To him education is for the good of the individual and for the safety of the state. His guiding principle is, “that nothing must be admitted in education which does not conduce to the promotion of virtue.” To him virtue consisted in knowledge or in whole thoughts as opposed to opinions. H...

What is Philosophy? A philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. It is a guide for living, because the issues it addresses are basic and pervasive, determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people. The topics that philosophy addresses fall into several distinct fields. Among those of fundamental concern are: Metaphysics (the theory of reality). Epistemology (the theory of knowledge) Ethics (the theory of moral values) Politics (the theory of legal rights and government) Aesthetics (the theory of the nature of art) The most widespread systems of ideas that offer philosophical guidance are religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Religions differ from philosophies not in the subjects they address, but in the method they use to address them. Religions have their basis in mythic stories that pre-date the discovery of explicitly rational methods of inquiry. Many religions nowa...

VEALUE OF EDUCATION IN LIFE Introduction The topic which is very compelling and touching, gave me the opportunity to reflect on the importance and the value of Education in life. The words ‘Value’ and ‘Education’ seem very simple and common in daily use but a density and variety of implications can be seen on a large scale as we continue the process of learning. Its immensity richness and variedness become exciting as much as one tries to immerse oneself in it. Therefore it is quite impossible to formulate the given topic in one definition. Education is an essential human value. Without it, man is a slave, or reasoning savage. Education humanizes us. Man becomes more human as a result education. We are what education makes us. Education plays a vital role in human life and is always guided by certain rules in harmony with certain ideals, values and standard of life. Education, by its implication, necessarily needs the direction of philosophy. Philosophy gives direction to educati...