Open Education Essay Research Paper Between 1967

philosophy wouldn’t have been a popular philosophical education model, if it had

not worked as well as it has. I believe that educational philosophy expresses

ideas of how society should be taught. Since I have been in an open education

program for my whole life, I’m going to talk about its ideals and my feelings. I

think open education is based on 6 factors (1) the school as a community, (2)

the school in the community, (3) the person and thier moral right to freedom and

choice, (4) concern for individual differences, (5) the method of intelligence,

(6) building curriculum through and with students. (Lydia A. H. Smith, page 376)

To me the best a teacher can be is when they are learning from the students and

when the students learn from them. It is best when material is not dictated, but

presented through thought and participation. "I believe firmly, that

education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience; that

the process and the goal of education are one and the same thing" as John

Dewey once wrote. One aspect of open education that I partially disagree with is

that there is too much freedom, which is bad. At a certain point in a child’s

life, they crave and need structure. They are not developmentally prepared to

make vital decisions. Schools also need to recognize that education is for the

benefit of generations to come. They are not teaching for the present only. My

experiences in open education Throughout my educational life I have only known

the open model. During earlier grades (maybe K through 5th), the idea that I was

in a school model didn’t exist for me. I don’t know how much it would have

mattered. In the lower grades I also remember that the teacher was the director

and the way things were done was by obedience. I think it’s taking advantage of

a child’s being. One way it’s good, though, is that at a young age it’s harder

for children to make the appropriate choices, so structure is guidance. During

6th through 12th grades we begin to develop an awareness of the system. We

understand more and are also rebellious towards things we stand for or are

opposed to. My teachers in 9th grade are the facilitator types. Society knows

(and my 9th grades teachers) that they can not oppress us, since we are becoming

society. For me, open education has been very good. It’s made me who I am. The

people I have met in my open programs would be different from those who went to

a Catholic private school. The way I learn also influences who I am. As John

Dewey said, "I believe that the only true education comes through a child’s

powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself."

If a child wants to learn they have the power to learn. If learning is the

social expectation then they will learn. In my years in open education the ways

I’ve learned seem unlimited. I’ve been to the sculpture garden to observe and

discuss art. I’ve been to local businesses to explore economics and how

businesses operate. Also, in an open classroom I see that people sit in groups.

This way much more thinking goes on versus a standard classroom with rows of

desks facing a teacher’s desk and black board. Open education is a method of

teaching that provokes a person to talk more and also accept life and school as

a community. Open education presents the whole world as your community. I think

that it decreases racial hatred, which makes earth a more comfortable living

environment. I also believe that open means options and diversity. I am able to

choose my classes and arrange them any way I feel fit. Acceptance of religion,

culture, and racial differences make an open environment the most enriching.