Overwhelmisms

I was going over my notes in preparation for the final exams, and I was asking myself which philosophy would I lean more on. The different -isms each present advantages and disadvantages in education. For instance, a fully existentialist school would not be so much advantageous, just like the story that Ma'am told us in class.

A group of children were told to explore the field, and go as far as they want. Unexpectedly, they played closer to their guardian. When told to play only up to this area, and were asked not to go beyond, they children were able to run around in wider distances.

So as far as existentialism is concerned, restrictions, ironically, creates a wider opportunity for children to explore. Setting limits and expectations gives the child a sense of how far he can go, in terms of exploring.

I realized that you cannot really commit to just one -ism. I think that when thinking about education, we should consider looking into different points of view, looking into the different -isms. It's always going to be a combination; what's really important is to find the most effective "combo" (and mind you, there is also no perfect "combo", it really still depends on many factors like the individual, the culture, the time, the place, etc) to improve learning behavior and thinking skills.

So looking back at my question at the middle of the semester: Why do we need to go to school?

I really don't have a definite answer now, maybe I do, but there's just so much I can say. I can speak from an idealist's point of view, or from the perrenialist's perspective, or argue that the progressivism goals for education is the answer to my question. But all these will only resort to me contradicting and arguing myself altogether. :)) I'm sure there's more to learn in the years to come as I finish my degree, and (hopefully) proceed to my doctoral studies. I am hopeful that someday, I'll definitely know for sure why we need to go to school.

Perhaps, what I've appreciated most in creating these blog entries, was the opportunity to think philosophically about education.