INTRODUCTION :
Pragmatism is based on traditional ways of thinking and finding ways to incorporate new ideas to achieve a desired result. This philosophy keeps people looking for effective methods for completing specific tasks. Because the world is constantly changing, people continue to change things of the past. The nature of pragmatism reflects a naturalistic humanism approach. It also developed a worldview through the scientific revolution. This is an American philosophy with roots from the British, Europeans, and ancient Greeks.
PRAGMATISM AND EDUCATION :
The aim for education is to teach children to be comfortable in their learning environment to an extent that children are living their life. Dewey believed in this type of environment that is not considered a preparation for life, but life. He believed that educators should know the things that motivate and interest children and plan accordingly. Dewey believed that aims should grow out of existing conditions, be tentative, and have an end view. The methods of educating are unique to each individual. This philosophy believes that not all children learn the same way, so it is important to vary educational methods. This philosophy supports large print text, small desk, and things that move easily. The classroom would be a functional atmosphere with the interest of the children at hand. Problem solving, themes, experiments are all parts of the pragmatic philosophy.
The curriculum for the pragmatic philosophy supports a connection between knowledge and experience. It is important for children to connect the two so learning can become meaningful. According to Dewey, children must be interested in the subject matter to gain meaning. Subjects that are difficult and cause children to struggle should be organized and designed to build motivation about the topics. Children should enjoy learning and leave with a sense of accomplishment.
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. Dewey believed that knowledge should be organized and relate to current experiences.
The focus of research is to make an impact on the child’s life with regards to their
individuality. Throughout the history of this philosophy, Dewey conducted experiments
that fostered his thoughts and ideas. Each experiment reflected individual growth.
There are several philosophers that were advocates of pragmatism. Francis Bacon had a significant influence on pragmatism. He suggested an inductive approach, which became the basis for the scientific method. John Locke was a philosopher that believed that the mind at birth is blank. He disagreed with Plato in that a person learns from experiences. Another philosopher was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was interested in the relationship between politics and education. He believed that people are affected by the outside world, but are basically good at heart. Auguste Comte, who was not a pragmatist, influenced pragmatism to use science when problem solving. His dream was to use science to help reform society. Another philosopher was Charles Darwin, who was considered the most important and influential with regards to pragmatism. He was attacked because of his religious theories. He believed that nature operates without an intended end or result. Organisms will live and then die out when changes in nature
occur. Charles Sanders Peirce was an American pragmatist that never received the recognition he deserved. He believed that ideas were nothing until they have been tested in actual experiences. Another important philosopher was William James, who made pragmatism a wider public view. He believed that an idea must be tried before it can be considered good. The final philosopher, which is considered to be the greatest asset to pragmatism, was John Dewey. According to Dewey, no changeable absolutes or universals exist.
Pragmatism as a philosophy of education has not totally been used correctly. Many schools have used certain parts of the philosophy, but not many use it consciously. Most people were interested in using the practical parts than focusing on the philosophy. Pragmatism as an educational belief does not have everyone agreeing. Some believe that it is too vague and others believe it is too watered down. After analyzing pragmatism, I feel that this philosophy best describes my teaching style. This philosophy was easier to understand and make connections. Pragmatism reminds teachers to individualize their instruction to meet the needs of each learner. One must remember to keep old traditions, but incorporate new ideas
PRAGMATISTS :
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914)
His ideas were important because he believed in the necessity for testing ideas in experience. He felt that ideas had practical consequences and that they could not be separated from human conduct.
William James (1842-1910)
William James’ philosophy can be related to one of his statements that “the proof is in the pudding”, meaning that to tell if pudding is good, you must taste it. Individuals experience things that may be true for them, but not for others. He therefore did not believe in universal truths. His ideas were often referred to as radical empiricism. William James is responsible for making pragmatism popular.
John Dewey (1859-1952)
Dewey liked to work with real life problems and the practical consequences of ideas. He felt that humans could work toward a more satisfying life by using processes that would help mankind. We begin to think, according to Dewey, because of a problem. By dealing with the problem we are beginning to think creatively. Dewey felt that each situation was unique and should be dealt with by experimenting with various solutions, meaning that one solution did not fit all problems. He felt that experience and nature could not be separated because nature was what a person experienced. Dewey felt that a child should not be taken out of their social environment when being educated meaning that he considered social relationships important in the education process. He would not appear to have been a proponent of home schooling. He believed in testing ideas on an experimental basis with regard to the results of their successfulness. Method, rather than abstract answers was very important. Dewey also believed that learners would be most motivated to study organized knowledge when they could relate its usefulness to the present.
Dewey thought that industrialization had depressed individuality and that the individual and social aspects of children could be nurtured through democratic experiences within the school. Individuality was important because if individual choices were made intelligently, then people had greater control over their destiny. Dewey felt strongly individuals must be educated within a group because of the necessary interplay of the two. Individuals and society support each other. In fact he felt that this social life was the job of the school. 141This duality of coexistence supported Dewey’s views on religion, holding to the idea of a connecting link between individuals and society. Each action was judged as moral according to its affect on society.
AIMS OF EDUCATION
According to Dewey, education was a preparation for life that allowed cultures to survive over time and that allowed all individuals to have the fullest life possible in a social environment using democratic ideals. He felt that educators should be as interested in the interests of children as they were in the environments from which they were coming. Education according to Dewey is a social process that should be flexible and always have an objective in mind. The aim of education is the growth in the ability to learn from experience and to make good decisions based on that experience because humankind is ultimately responsible for bringing order to the universe. Education should be a process that looks at the past for guidance, choosing the ideas that work and apply for the situations of today, solving problems intelligently rather than automatically relying on tradition.
METHODS OF EDUCATION
Pragmatism seems to encourage a curriculum that is flexible and open ended, involving cross curricula project based activities which involve the application of all subject matter. It is an action based philosophy which would include using multiple methods of educating students, some of which involve going into the community or involving community members. Teachers need to be concerned with teaching children how to solve real life problems in a practical setting. This philosophy advocates meeting the needs and interests of individual children through a directed approach. Experimentation is basic, leading to problems which children must learn to solve.
CURRICULUM
The pragmatic curriculum focuses on learning experiences in a curriculum that is diversified and problem centered, not fragmented or compartmentalized. All learning starts with a problem or question that allows students to search for answers according to interests and abilities that may involve working alone, or in group. Use of a wide variety of resources from traditional to modern, is encouraged with students identifying those resources which are best suited for the project at hand.
ROLE OF TEACHER
According to Dewey, learning was essential for the continuation of society, which would make the job of the teacher pretty significant. Pragmatists believe that people learn through informal processes, but these processes must have a purpose and a flexible plan of action. The teacher’s job is to provide an open ended opportunity for study in an environment that allows the child to think and act intelligently in order to test ideas and skills. All children do not learn in the same way or at the same rate, so teachers are the guides to the learning process, which meets children at their level of ability. In that respect teachers must have sufficient knowledge of a subject to be able to break it down into parts for students to study, and they must be able to link the learning to a motivation and natural curiosity that the children already possess. It is also important for teachers to also understand the background and environment that learners are bringing to school so that they can make suggestions and arouse student interests in order to help them grow by leading them into new areas of knowledge.
CRITIQUE
One criticism of the pragmatist philosophy of education is that it dilutes the curriculum by incorporating pieces of each discipline or subject area without exploring any of them in detail. It is also often said that this philosophy rejects traditional values for values that are uncertain or impermanent. However the pragmatist believes that traditional methods that work should be kept. Those that don’t should b replaced. Sometimes the replacement process involves experimenting with new ideas and processes. The teacher who teaches in a pragmatist curriculum must be an extremely capable and organized person who is able to think spontaneously and possess a wide base of knowledge. In the past, many teachers were not well trained enough to be able to support this concept adequately. Because of the idea that the curriculum should be centered on the interests of children, pragmatists are also often charged with being too permissive with children.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
Each time that I reflect on another philosophy, I can find evidence of its use in today’s educational systems. I believe that the pragmatic philosophy may actually be seeing a renewal in modern education. On several occasions, supervisors have come to my school to observe engaged learners participating in real world experiences. However, the use of the guaranteed curriculum seems to deviate from the philosophy because of the fact that it has very specific objectives which are not very flexible in most cases. However, I think this philosophy can be utilized to some extent in spite of the curriculum. By using the objectives in the curriculum as a starting point for a project concept, by utilizing the concept maps, the technology tools, and a little advanced planning, it’s possible to devise project based learning opportunities that are open ended and general enough to allow children to be creative in their explorations of information and concepts. I believe that a parish wide initiative called Working on the Work may be incorporating pragmatic ideas to some extent. However, I still have much to learn about this new endeavor.
CONCLUSION :
Pragmatism represents a perfectly familiar attitude in philosophy, the empiricist attitude, but it represents it, as it seems to me, both in a more radical and in a less objectionable form than it has ever yet assumed. A pragmatist turns his back resolutely and once for all upon a lot of inveterate habits dear to professional philosophers. He turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priorireasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes and origins. He turns towards concreteness and adequacy, towards facts, towards action and towards power. That means the empiricist temper regnant and the rationalist temper sincerely given up. It means the open air and possibilities of nature, as against dogma, artificiality, and the pretence of finality in truth.
REFERENCE:
- Boldt M (1993). Surviving as Indians: the challenge of self-government. Canada, University of TorontoPress: 162–166.
- Department of Health and Aged Care. CDHAC (2000). National action plan for promotion, prevention and early intervention. Canberra,Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.
- City of Yarra (2003). Report to VicHealth. Melbourne, City of Yarra. Committee on Indigenous Health (2002). The Geneva declaration on the health and survival of indigenous peoples.
- New York, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Deloria V (1994). God is red.Colorado, Fulcrum Publishing: 172–173.
- Desjarlais R, Kleinman A (1997). Violence and well-being. Social Science Medical Journal, 45(8):1143–45.
- Durie M (2003a). Indigeneity: challenges for indigenous doctors. In: Durie M, ed. Ngä kähui pou: launching Mäori futures. Wellington: Huia Publishers: 269–288.
