Student’s Name:
Institutional affiliation:
Course Name:
Date:
Idealism and Education
Introduction
As an old school of philosophy, idealism focuses on the mind and idolizes it. Being one of the oldest philosophical thought, it has greatly influenced the mind of man for ages. Although most people in the modern world are no longer compelled by the desire to follow any dogmatic or philosophical creed, idealism possesses immense life decrees that have a significant appeal on human thinking. For instance, idealism has greatly influenced the United States education system by eliminating radical thinking and thus restoring the values and ideals of life. This paper focuses on exploring the strengths and shortcomings of idealism as a practical philosophy that can be featured in education in the 21st century.
Evaluation of Idealism in Education
The central tenets of idealisms are rooted in true reality and believe that truth and ideas are the only things worth knowing. Idealism commits itself to pursue justice, beauty, and enduring truth through the concepts of conscious reasoning of the mind. It holds to the fact that the most important part of the human body is the mind and it ought to be well-nourished and developed through experience.
Strengths of idealism in Education
The philosophical approach of idealism on education is holistic. Judging from this philosophical position, an idealist views a student or rather a learner as the mind, the tutor as a paradigm self, and the general curriculum as a potent idea. Idealism is therefore crucial in the life of learners as it supports instances of character development and teaches on self-realization. An idealist (in this case a learner) is compelled with the urge to cultivate fine moral character as well as developing strong personal attributes as a way of achieving wisdom.
Idealism is considered as a special form of conservative philosophy as it is majorly concerned with the preservation of cultural traditions. As a branch of philosophy, idealism is known to encourage the concepts of cognition and rational thinking, character development among students, and the promotion of culture learning. From this perspective, the concept of idealism considers trainers as champions who should strive to provide a much holistic and comprehensive approach to models of learning that values self-realization.
Dealing with the study of broad subjects of epistemology and metaphysics, there is a consistent inter-relationship between the two fields which is important in empowering learners in matters related to logic and various realms of comprehensive systems of thoughts which are crucial in the education system of 21st century.
Weaknesses of Idealism in Education
Given the fact that idealism is closely linked to religion, the constant weakening of ancient religion has led to its weakening. Idealism is considered to have a heavy reliance on books and therefore lacks relevance. As an aspect of philosophy, character development is considered to be subservient and therefore students face the danger of sticking to ideas without inviting serious mental evaluation.
Idealism sets hardly achievable goals. A teacher who is concerned with helping learners grasp the idealistic part of this philosophy face the following problems. To begin with, if it becomes difficult to attain perfection, learners lack the compulsion to work towards that perfection. Secondly, a learner is compelled to set a final and be a part of it. It would therefore imply that there is a finite extent for students to achieve their goals. It, therefore, challenges the fact that man is infinitely perfectible.
Conclusion
From a scientific view, Idealism can be considered as an outmoded form of philosophy. The resonating concepts of the cosmos, soul, and mind have limited relevance in a classroom setting. It emphasizes more on manners and modesty which are continuously changing over time. It focuses less on the psychological nature of a child and therefore neglects the aspects of the social and physical environment which are relevant in the world today. To sum up, it can be agreed that the idealistic approach to the education system of the 21st century has its merits and demerits and it should therefore be supplemented with other philosophies for maximum efficacy.
Reference(s)
- Ozmon, H., & Craver, S. M. (1981). Philosophical foundations of education. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25190.86087