My personal education philosophy matches closely with the pedagogic progressives of the early twentieth century. Led by John Dewey, this movement proposed to make the education system about those who it serves, the students. Dewey believed that children learn best when their interests were included in the curriculum design. The movement believed that child-centered classrooms were the best fit for the American education system.
I tend to agree with these thinkers. Today, we are alienating too many children with curriculum designs and classes that they cannot relate to and do not find important to their lives. While there are certainly academic fields that should remain in schools (English, math, history, etc.) we need to make these subjects applicable and interesting to our students. Schools do not work for the students as they should, and we can fix that by making our classrooms more child-centered.
I think that this philosophy (and my opinions) also leaves much room for technology in the classroom. Today, most children and teenagers are well versed in technology, and their interests often lie in this realm. By integrating technology into the classroom, we can combine students’ interests, differentiate the curriculum, and allow the students to be leaders in their own education process (and perhaps learn something as teachers from our students). Technology and a child-centered education seem to go hand-in-hand, and I think that both of these educational ideas belong in the classroom.
