Existentialism in Teaching & Learning

Existentialism stresses on human existence and emphasizes on the human as an individual. According to this philosophy, people are bombarded with choices every hour and every minute in their lives. There may be choices which are only of minor significance but there are also those which have major implications. The individual is the master of his own fate and the captain of his soul and his decisions lead to self-definition, self-affirmation, etc.

The essence that a person has and the meaning or purpose of life that he lives by are created through his decision-makings. Every individual has his own definition, interpretation, concept, point-of-view, perception and understanding of the things around him and the world that moves beneath his feet. Every time we make decisions, we become more different from the people around us in terms of how we see the world.

Existentialism assures that no one can say that a person has done the wrong thing in a particular situation in a particular point of time since we all live inside different glasses through which we see the world.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. 

-- Theodore Roosevelt

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Existentialism prefers the learners to choose what they want to study. This is the basic principles under which we choose what to major in in college and what curriculum to belong to during basic education. This is also why vocational high schools offer different choices of what to study and what skills to possess.

Even though existentialism envisions almost absolute child-centered learning, many educators still think that it's too unsystematic and laissez-faire to be incorporated in the elementary education.

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Existentialists believe that a free person in body, mind and spirit is more capable to be productive. This philosophy suggests educating the young ones about freedom and responsibility.

Freedom is the source of progress and responsibility maintains established progress. The learners must have the freedom to choose and must take on responsibilities for their own actions.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul. 

-- William Ernest Henley

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This philosophy also rejects societal, political and religious restrictions since it argues that a person is a natural being.

School, therefore, is a place where students' freedom to choose and learning are restricted and limited since students are under the control of adults inside scholastic institutions.

Learning contents and experiences which are personal, subjective, emotional, aesthetic and philosophical are, therefore, appropriate for a curriculum that adopts this philosophy. Literature and the arts are advisable.

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EXISTENTIALISM: Freedom, choice, responsibilities, subjective, aesthetic, etc.