The Scoop on the Four Ism's

Idealism - It's said that this ism is one of the oldest and so I can see why it may not apply to most people in today's world. This theory has a lot to do with spirituality and abstract thinking. It's out side of the box thinking, where mind is over matter. Ideas and thoughts are more feasible than materialistic things. Materials do not matter, but thoughts associated with them do. Education is closely associated with spirituality, and one betters their knowledge in order to improve their ideas in order to reach the "Ultimate Truth". Every student has a mind, soul, and spirit and a teacher is the ideal role model for the students.

Realism - Realism is also another old philosophy and seems to be the counter to idealism. By this I do not mean that realism values materialistic things such as cars and money but rather materialistic things such as nature and the physical world surrounding us. Our experiences with and about the world around us is stressed most. Everything about us goes back to nature and is rooted from it in some way or another. The purpose of school is to help students understand the purpose of things and is largely based around scientific inquiry. The teacher helps the students to understand the material world, which seems a lot like helping prepare students for the real world once they graduate.

Pragmatism - This ism shies away from the more traditional ones. This ism focuses more around reality and how it is constantly subject to change. Everything is determined by experiences and knowledge is never conclusive. Pragmatists envision a well rounded education similar to what is in place today that stresses methodical approaches. Students learn from experiences and interactions, so a more kinesthetic and naturalistic approach to learning is stressed. Working together is also emphasized and the role of the teacher is to model how and what to learn.

Existentialism - This is the most recent philosophy where it discourages the societies control. Individuals should have their own control over things relating to their lives. The world is a place of chance with no order to things, so because of this we have to create our own meaning as we live. In order to determine the truth of things is a matter for an individual to discover on their own because we have the freedom to decide this. Education revolves around the individual and helps them to discover themselves by understanding the consequences of their actions. The teacher is on a journey to discover themselves along with the students and supports every walk of life.