EDF 1005 - Education Philosophy

Social Reconstructionism is the idea of education changing society. The belief of this philosophical theory is that schools should be agents of social change leading to a new and more valuable social order. Students under the reign of a Social Reconstructionist educator are encouraged to question traditions and traditional values, and even question the value of academic content. Society becomes the subject and the function of the student is to effect social change through skills and attitudes learned in a school setting. Curriculum can’t be separated from current events and focus of the students is outside the school setting rather than inside. (PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION: Retrieved from http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/walkert/philosophies.html)
Social reconstruction is an educational philosophy that’s main emphasis is on focusing and addressing social questions. It is a journey to create a better society and worldwide democracy. Social reform is the aim of education. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) founded Social Reconstruction. The idea came about as a reaction against the harsh realities of World War II. Theodore Bramelf was able to realize the threat of technology and the potential of it being used for negative purposes such as human annihilation and cruelty. He also saw that it can be used for beneficial purposes. Technology can benefit society by using it for human compassion and communication rather than destruction. (Philosophical Perspectives in Education, Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html)

Students must resist the dominant forces of society. Teachers and students must act as if they were living in a democratic society within the classroom. (from Theory and Resistance in Education, Giroux, 1983)
Social education is “conscientization.” Students must disrupt accommodation by the dominant society. (from Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire, 1970) Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was a Brazilian who once lived in devastating poverty, like many people in our society today. His conditions made him realize that he can make a change by using education and literacy as a tool for social change. He believed that people must learn to resist oppression rather than accept it and not become oppression’s victim, not oppress others. To do so requires a lot of critical consciousness. In order to have some social change, people had to become aware of their surroundings and society to overcome domination and oppression. Rather than “teaching as banking,” in which the teacher ‘deposits’ information into the students’ minds, Paulo Freire saw teaching and learning as a process of inquiry in which the child must invent and reinvent the world. (Philosophical Perspectives in Education, Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html)
As an attempt to make a change of modern social condition, Progressive educators have been trying to promote the reconstruction of for a very long time now. Many of the Progressive advocates believed that the school has been isolated from mainstream society due to the dualistic relationship of schools and society caused by common school practices. They believed that whatever went on beneath the auspices of the schools was unreal and did not reflect of the issues within society. (from Democracy and Education, Dewey, 1916; Dare the School Build a New Social Order?, Counts, 1932; The Confusion in Present-Day Education, Bode, 1933; The Social-Economic Situation and Education, Dewey and Childs, 1933; Traditions of American Education, Cremin, 1977). The Progressives argued that the schools’ environment was artificial because it did not educate the children of our society about the real world. This type of environment did not prepare the youth to see and understand the values and issues that they will confront as adults. (Dewey and Childs, 1933). Eventually, the idea that the schools should create a new social order had been proposed as a result of these beliefs. (from Dare the School Build a New Social Order?, Counts, 1932) Progressive educators wanted to reconstruct the schools but did not know how they were going to go about it. (from Public Education, Cremin, 1976) Ideas are usually always accompanied by an array of opinions. Counts, however, had just about the most radical opinion of all. Counts imagined restructuring America’s society and it’s economy. George Counts (1889-1974) recognized that education was the means of preparing people for creating this new social order. He said, “The times are literally crying for a new vision of American destiny. The teaching profession, or at least its progressive elements, should eagerly grasp the opportunity which the fates have placed in their hands.” Others weren’t as radical as Counts, they did agree, however, that social reconstruction should be the most important aim of a good education. Many believed that it was necessary in schools, if not, society as a whole.
Critical theorists and social reconstructionists believe that in order to overcome oppression and improve human condition then systems must first be changed. (Philosophical Perspectives in Education, Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html) I agree. Social reconstructionist classrooms focuses on student experience. Instructors find fun way to get students involved with in their society. I think it’s important to promote youth activism amongst our students, and with the radical movement of this educational philosophy, education can now be used as a form of action. Social reconstructionist teachers focus on taking social action on every day issues such as violence, hunger, terrorism, inflation, and inequality. These types of curriculum are more common in social studies and literature courses. These controversial issues are usually dealt through inquiry, dialogue, and are focused on multiple perspectives. However, some strategies that I think are more fun and require some more social involvement is using community-based learning or bringing the world into the classroom.
“My upmost hope will be fulfilled if anything I have said plays any part, however small, in promoting cooperative inquiry and experimentation in this field of democratic administration of our schools.” (Max O. Hallman (2007). Defense of Democracy. In Traversing Philosophical Boundaries (pp. 474-480).