I would like to start off talking about something I read on page 31 of “Models of Teaching”. It states that in 1959 after the soviets launched Sputnik, the funding for science education went from 5 million to 40 million in the US due to a perceived lack of competitiveness with the scientists from the rest of the world. So what do we need to happen now to direct attention to education again. I am not sure competition works anymore since much is made of the education deficit in the US compared to other countries(which is arguable). In 1959 the increased funding was to address education as an issue of national defense. Now, education is one of the first things cut when times get tight.
As for the philosophies of curriculum and instruction, I pretty much agree with the chapter summary. No one of these philosophies is perfect on it’s own and I doubt there are any teachers that adhere to strictly one philosophy. A good teacher uses what they believe works from whatever philosophy they can. just like students take different classes to be well rounded, teachers use different methods to produce well rounded students. A student that only takes history all through school may be really good at history but they probably won’t be very well rounded as a learner. Likewise, a teacher that just stands in front of a class and lectures is not going to reach all the students and won’t create very well rounded students. As a future teacher I hope to be able to use a variety of methods in my classroom to creat a learning environment all students can be successful in.
