Implications for today's classroom teacher
Teaching from an existentialist
perspective is not easy because goals and objectives cannot be
specified in advance by the teacher. They are determined by each
student as an individual person. Rather than imposing goals on the
student, the existentialist teacher seeks to create an awareness in
each student that she or he is ultimately responsible for her or his
own education and self-definition. In creating this awareness, the
existentialist teacher encourages students to identify and examine
the institutions, forces, and situations that tend to limit freedom
of choice.
Existentialist teachers seek to
create open classrooms in which freedom of choice is maximized.
Within these open learning environments, the method of instruction is
a form of self-learning. The student is encouraged to develop her or
his own self-concept and identity as a person.
