Chapter 1: Philosophical Thoughts on Educaon A. John Locke (The Empiricist)  For John Locke educaon is not acquision of knowledge contained in the Great Books. It is learners interacng with concrete experience, comparing and reflecng on the same concrete experience, comparing. The learner is an acve not a passive agent of his/her own learning.  From the social dimension, educaon is seeing cizens parcipate acvely and intelligently in establishing their government and in choosing who will govern them from among themselves because they are convinced that no one person is desned to be ruler forever, B. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Ulitarian Educaon  To survive in a complex society, Spencer favors specialized educaon over that of general educaon.  “The expert who concentrates on a limited field is useful, but if he loses sight of the interdependence of things he becomes a man who knows more and more about less and less. We must be warned of the early peril of over-specialism. Of course we do not prefer the other extreme, the superficial person who every day knows less and less about more and more. C. John Dewey – experience  Dewey does not disregard the accumulated wisdom of the past. These past ideas, discoveries and invenons, our cultural heritage, will be used as the material for dealing with problems and so will be tested. If they are of help, they become part of a reconstructed experience. If they are not totally accurate, they will sll be part of a reconstructed experience. This means that the ideal learner for Dewey is not just one who can learn by doing, e.g., conduct an experiment but one who can connect accumulated wisdom of the past to the present.  Schools are for the people and by the people. Schools are a democrac instuon where everyone regardless of age, ethnicity, social status is welcome and is encouraged to parcipate in the democrac process of decision-making. Learners and stakeholders pracce and experience democracy in schools. D. George Counts-Building a new social order  Schools and teachers should be agents of change. Schools considered instruments for social improvement rather than as are agencies for preserving the status quo. Whatever change we work for should always be change for the beer not just change for the sake of change.  Problem-solving, like Dewey, should be the dominant method instrucon. “There is a cultural lag between material progress and social instuons and ethical values.” Material progress of humankind is very evident is very evident but moral and ethical development seem to have lagged humoral and ethical development seem to have lagged behind. Behind. E. Theodore Brameld – the Social Reconstruconist  Social reconstruconists crically examine present culture and resolve inconsistencies, controversies and conflicts to build a new society not just change society.