Isms

While reading about these 4 isms in the book, I really didn't think that I fit into any of the 4 categories. Then I took a closer look, and saw that I could possibly fit into the realist group because I like to rationalize everything. I like to have a concrete answer for every question. I also like organization, so I need to present organized information to my students. That is why I felt like I was a realist. However, upon closer observation, I found myself fitting into the existentialist category as well. I like the existentialist beliefs because they don't judge an entire group; they prefer to look at each individual as their own person. There are things in each of these two categories that i just don't see, but if I was forced to belong in one of these groups, I would have to say I am more of a realist than anything else.
After making that decision, I came to class and had to do another assessment of what group I belong in. I scored overwhelmingly high in the realist group which confirmed what I had thought already. However, on this test I scored pretty high on pragmatist and the absolute lowest on existentialist. This confused me once again. So now I am starting to think that I am everything but an idealist.
In the packet that we looked at in class, I agreed with almost all of the educational implications of a realist. I love the idea of mixing up the way you teach. it gets boring to teach and boring to listen and do the same thing everyday. I am also really big on hands on learning. Plus, one of my biggest things in teaching is the idea that you are never done learning. Therefore I am a huge believer in the fact that both the student and the teacher are considered to be learners.
The pragmatist is also me. I believe in experiencing the lesson rather than just talking about it at great length. I am also a huge fan of collaborative learning whenever possible. These are both great ways to get the students more involved and learning. I am a huge believer in all of these ways of teaching because I love the idea of students learning as opposed to just memorizing facts and regurgitating them back to me.