Between the reading for this class and the article we have to read for Eugenie's Monday class, I'm becoming a John Dewy groupie! I think we should have t-shirts made!
This guy was AWESOME! And the story Jeff told about his refusal to speak at some progressive educators function because he didn't want to let them use his presence as a sort of stamp of approval is just the sort of "I have the balls to stand on my convictions" that is SO lacking these days.
My two favorite quotes (so far):
"[E]ducation, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living." (1897)
"Education consists in the formation of wide-awake, careful, thorough habits of thinking." (1933)
The last quote sounds so much like things I've read from the "un-schooling" movement. I wonder what he would have thought about the trend toward Homeschooling.
Cool guy. Thanks Jeff!
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4 comments:
Hey anne,
I also have become a John Dewey groupie haha. I think he has great ideas. I am pretty sure that he would feel the same way i do about home schooling.... BAD IDEA. he is all about learning from social situations, and I completely agree. It is very important to learn from others, and not to mention that once you are done with homeschooling, you have to go out into the real world and work with others. That could be a huge culture and moral shock for a introverted 19year old. Plus I couldn't imagine being a stay at home mom and teacher ahhhh.
I can't decide what I'm more impressed with, John Dewey's insight on education or John Dewey's mustache. On both counts, he's truly an American hero!
My response to Anne's question would be similar to that of Shannon. My sense is that he would regard homeschooling as flawed because of the fact that homeschooled students often lose out on the social, interactive dimension of learning.
Having said that, though, I would add that Dewey seemed to hold the point-of-view that too often school got in the way of education. In that sense, I suspect that he would feel some kinship with those, like Ivan Illich ("Deschooling Society") who raised fundamental questions about school.
You may also find it interesting to consider something that my mentor (an avid Dewey scholar), Professor Fred Goodman says with regard to contextualizing Dewey's ideas. First, he reminds us that incorporating Dewey's ideas isn't simple. As Fred would say "learning by doing is easier said than done" ;-)
He would also frame his talks about the history of educational thought around the relative importance of "essential knowledge" On the "conservative" end of things (at least historically) you have those who advocated that the select few who engaged in advanced levels of education would learn Latin. This was not because of any practical application...quite the contrary, in fact. It was because Latin was *hard* to learn, and as such success at learning it was a sign of academic ability. The toughness of the subject was an end in and of itself. On the other end of a spectrum would be the most passioned adherents of discovery learning who might argue that it was wrong for teachers to impose their curricular agenda on kids. In both cases, on the "left" and the right," is the common characteristic of the absence of essential curriculum.
I will also join the bandwagon and join the Dewey group. I agree that he seems like a smart fella whose ideas started so long ago and have somehow gotten lost. I really admire him too and would love to read and learn more and bring him and his ideas back to the forefront of our education
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