REYMART T.

ADA Foundation of Education

mart_ren14_ada@yahoo.com
Essentialism
Essentialism tries to instill all students with the most essential or basic academic
knowledge and skills and character development. Essentialists believe that teachers
should try to embed traditional moral values and virtues such as respect for authority,
perseverance, fidelity to duty, consideration for others, and practicality and intellectual
knowledge that students need to become model citizens. The foundation of essentialist
curriculum is based on traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history,
foreign language, and literature. Essentialists frown upon vocational courses. In the
essentialist system, students are required to master a set body of information and basic
techniques for their grade level before they are promoted to the next higher grade. The
content gradually moves towards more complex skills and detailed knowledge.
Essentialists argue that classrooms should be teacheroriented. The teacher should
serve as an intellectual and moral role model for the students. The teachers or
administrators decide what is most important for the students to learn with little regard to
the student interests. The teachers also focus on achievement test scores as a means
of evaluating progress. The essentialist classroom is centered on students being taught
about the people, events, ideas, and institutions that have shaped !merican society.
Essentialists hope that when students leave school, they will not only possess basic
knowledge and skills, but they will also have disciplined, practical minds, capable of
applying lessons learned in school in the real world. Essentialism is different from what
"ewey would like to see in the schools. #tudents in this system would sit in rows and be
taught in masses. The students would learn passively by sitting in their desks and
listening to the teacher. !n example of essentialism would be lecture based introduction
classes taught at universities. #tudents sit and take notes in a classroom which holds
over one hundred students. They take introductory level courses in order to introduce
them to the content. !fter they have completed this course, they will take the next level
course and apply what they have learned previously. English $%$ and English $%& are a
specific example of essentialism.
Educational essentialism is an educational philosophy whose
adherents believe that children should learn the traditional basic sub'ects thoroughly
and rigorously. In this philosophical school of thought, the aim is to instill students with
the (essentials( of academic knowledge, enacting a backtobasics approach.
Essentialism ensures that the accumulated wisdom of our civilization as taught in the
traditional academic disciplines is passed on from teacher to student. #uch disciplines
might include )eading, *riting, +iterature, ,oreign +anguages, -istory, .athematics,
#cience, !rt, and .usic. .oreover, this traditional approach is meant to train the mind,
promote reasoning, and ensure a common culture.
Principles of Essentialist
Essentialism is a relatively conservative stance to education that strives to teach
students the knowledge of our society and civilization through a core curriculum. This
core curriculum involves such areas that include the study of the surrounding
environment, basic natural laws, and the disciplines that promote a happier, more
educated living. /ther nontraditional areas are also integrated as well in moderation to
balance the education. Essentialists0 goals are to instill students with the (essentials( of
academic knowledge, patriotism, and character development through traditional 1or
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REYMART T. ADA Foundation of Education
mart_ren14_ada@yahoo.com
backtobasic2 approaches. This is to promote reasoning, train the mind, and ensure a
common culture for all !mericans.
Essentialism is the most typically enacted philosophy in !merican classrooms
today. Traces of this can be found in the organized learning centered on teacher and
textbooks, in addition to the regular assignments and evaluations typical in essentialist
education.
Essentialism as a Teacher-Centered Philosophy
The role of the teacher as the leader of the classroom is a very important tenet of
Educational essentialism. The teacher is the center of the classroom, so they should be
rigid and disciplinary. Establishing order in the classroom is crucial for student learning3
effective teaching cannot take place in a loud and disorganized environment. It is the
teacher0s responsibility to keep order in the classroom. The teacher must interpret
essentials of the learning process, take the leadership position and set the tone of the
classroom. These needs require an educator who is academically wellqualified with an
appreciation for learning and development. The teacher must control the students with
distributions of rewards and penalties.
History of essentialism
The Essentialist movement first began in the 4nited #tates in the year $567. In
!tlantic 8ity, 9ew :ersey, a group met for the first time called (The Essentialist0s
8ommittee for the !dvancement of Education.( Their emphasis was to reform the
educational system to a rationalbased system.
The term essentialist first appeared in the book An Introduction to the Philosophy
of Education which was written by .ichael :ohn "emiashkevich. In his book,
"emiashkevich labels some specific educators 1including *illiam 8. ;agley2 as
<essentialists.( "emiashkevich compared the essentialists to the different viewpoints of
the =rogressive Education !ssociation. -e described how the =rogressives preached a
<hedonistic doctrine of change> whereas the essentialists stressed the moral
responsibility of man for his actions and looked toward permanent principles of behavior
1"emiashkevich likened the arguments to those between the #ocratics and the #ophists
in ?reek philosophy2. In $567 ;agley and other educators met together where ;agley
gave a speech detailing the main points of the essentialism movement and attacking the
public education in the 4nited #tates. /ne point that ;agley noted was that students in
the 4.#. were not getting an education on the same levels as students in Europe who
were the same age.
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REYMART T. ADA Foundation of Education
mart_ren14_ada@yahoo.com
! recent branch has emerged within the essentialist school of thought called
(neoessentialism.( Emerging in the eighties as a response to the essentialist ideals of
the thirties as well as to the criticism of the fifties and the advocates for education in the
seventies, neoessentialism was created to try to appease the problems facing the
4nited #tates at the time The most notable change within this school of thought is that it
called for the creation of a new discipline, computer science.
Renowned Essentialists
William Bagley 1$7@AB$5AC2 was an important historical essentialist. *illiam 8.
;agley completed his undergraduate degree at .ichigan !gricultural 8ollege in $75D. It
wasnEt until after finishing his undergrad studies that he truly wanted to be a
teacher. ;agley did his ?raduate studies at the 4niversity of 8hicago and at 8ornell
4niversity. -e acquired his =h.". in $5%% after which he took his first school 'ob a
=rincipal in a #t. +ouis, .issouri Elementary #chool. ;agleyEs devotion increased during
his work at .ontana #tate 9ormal #chool in "illon, .ontana. It was here where he
decided to dedicate his time to the education of teachers and where he published The
Educative Process, launching his name across the nation. Throughout his career
;agley argued against the conservative position that teachers were not in need of
special training for their work. -e believed that liberal arts material was important in
teacher education. ;agley also believed the dominant theories of education of the time
were weak and lacking.
In !pril $567, he published the Essentialist's Platform, in which he outlined three
ma'or points of essentialism. -e described the right of students to a welleducated and
culturally knowledgeable teacher. #econdly, he discussed the importance of teaching
the ideals of community to each group of students. +astly, ;agley wrote of the
importance of accuracy, thoroughness and effort on part of the student in the classroom.
;agleyEs lifelong professional commitment was to the improvement of public
education, largely through improved teacher training. -e became a leading spokesman
of the <Essentialists>Fa group of professional educators who advocated Europeanstyle
emphasis on a rigorous curriculum of traditional sub'ects, in opposition to the approach
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REYMART T. ADA Foundation of Education
mart_ren14_ada@yahoo.com
of many progressiveeducation circles. -e was an outspoken proponent of equality in
educational opportunity and vigorously opposed restricting such opportunity on the
basis of intelligencetest scores. -e was an early experimenter in the use of radio for
instruction.
;agleyEs early publications included textbooks with 8harles !. ;eard, The History
of the American People 1$5$72 and Our Old World Background 1$5&&2, and a work with
;eard and )oy ,. 9ichols,America !esterday and Today 1$5672. !mong his own titles
are "raftsmanship in Teaching 1$5$$2,#chool $iscipline 1$5$A2, $eterminism in
Education 1$5&D2, Education "rime and #ocial Progress1$56$2, Education and
Emergent %an 1$56A2, and A "entury of the &niversal #chool 1$56@2. ;agley also
founded and edited many professional 'ournals, including #chool and #ociety 1$565BAC2
!nother important essentialist is E.D. Hirsch 1$5&72. -irsch was ,ounder and
8hairman of the 8ore of Gnowledge ,oundation and author to several books concerning
factbased approaches to education. 9ow retired, he spent many years teaching at the
4niversity of Hirginia while also being an advocate for the (back to basics( movement. In
his most popular book, "ultural 'iteracy ( What Every American )eeds To *no+, he
offers lists, quotations, and information regarding what he believes is essential
knowledge.
chools enacting an essentialist curriculum
The 8ore Gnowledge #chools were founded on the philosophy of
essentialist E.". -irsch. !lthough it is difficult to maintain a pure and strict essentialist
only curriculum, these schools have the central aim of establishing a common
knowledge base for all citizens. To do so, they follow a nationwide, contentspecific,
and teachercentered curriculum. The 8ore Gnowledge curriculum also allows for local
variance above and beyond the core curriculum. 8entral curricular aims are academic
excellence and the learning of knowledge, and teachers who are masters of their
knowledge areas serve this aim.
Criticism of Essentialism
/ne of the positive critiques of essentialism is the stability of the education.
;ecause essentialism is relatively conservative and focuses on disciplines which are
relatively stable, it is a rather consistent form of education. The same disciplines are
taught consistently and in a progressive manner. It is not persuaded by the fads of the
time, but instead focuses on the basics that students need to know to be productive
members of society.
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REYMART T. ADA Foundation of Education
mart_ren14_ada@yahoo.com
-owever, because Essentialism is largely teachercentered, the role of the
student is often called into question. =resumably, in an essentialist classroom, the
teacher is the one designing the curriculum for the students based upon the core
disciplines. .oreover, he or she is enacting the curriculum and setting the standards to
which the students must meet. The teacher0s evaluation role undermines students0
interest in study. !s a result, the students begin to take on more of a passive role in
their education as they are forced to meet and learn such standards and information.
,urthermore, there is also speculation that an essentialist education helps in
promoting the cultural lag. This philosophy of education is very traditional in the mindset
of passing on the knowledge of the culture via the academic disciplines. Thus, students
are forced to think in the mindset of the larger culture, and individual creativity is often
squelched.
References!
;agley, *. 8. 1$5%D2. The educative process. 9ew IorkJ .acmillan.
-utchins, ). .. 1$5DA2. ,reat -ooks. The foundation of a li-eral education, 9IJ #imon K
#chuster.
9ull, :. *. 1&%%A2. #ocial efficiency splinteredJ .ultiple meanings instead of the
hegemony of one. /ournal of "urriculum and #upervision 011&2, 55 B $&A. )etrieved
:anuary $, &%%7 from E;#8/ online database, !cademic #earch =remier
httpJLLsearch.ebscohost.comLlogin.aspxM
directNtrueKdbNaphK!9N$$7%$A7&KsiteNehostlive
#haw, +. :. 1&%%C2. 2ive Educational Philosophies. )etrieved :anuary $, &%%7 from
httpJLLedweb.sdsu.eduL+#hawLf5DsyllLphilosLphprogr.html
httpJLLwww.siue.eduLOptheodoLfoundationsLessentialism.html
httpJLLen.wikipedia.orgLwikiLEducationalPessentialism
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