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Essay / Essay on the teaching of philosophies - 869
44). Several different methods are about to promote progressivism, drawing on the characteristics of these two methods, which are in some ways offshoots of this philosophy. The two methods according to Sherman (2009) are open education and differential teaching; both help influence progressivism because their goal is to increase individual student growth (p. 42). Unlike essentialism, progressivism strives to “recognize the uniqueness of each child, their personal relevance to the learning process, and the active, engaged quality of the learning environment” (Sherman, 2009, p 43). In short, progressivism abandons academic norms for freer learning based on student needs. This represents an advantage for progressive classes, who are tired of standardized tests. Unfortunately, the downsides of progressivism depend entirely on how school systems are currently run. According to Sherman (2009), progressivism does not have the power to be used in classrooms, due to political ideals in education (p. 44). Sherman (2009) also argues that although teacher programs help promote progressive practice, it is difficult to bring this practice into the classroom when the school system emphasizes more of a core philosophy (p..