I would first off like to admit
that until just now, I had no idea who John Dewey was or how he contributed to the field of Education. An in all honesty was a
tad lost when he was referenced in the previous weeks. That being said, I now
know a little bit about his ideals and thoughts.
In the article titled “A
Significant Contributor to the Field of Educational Technology,” by Peter Rich
and Thomas C. Reeves they bring up some points that Dewey makes. I am not sure
if he is the first person to deduce that learning through experiences is the
best way to learn but Rich and Reeves make it sound as though Dewey was the
creator of the idea. They also introduce
what seems to be a misinterpretation of something Dewey again, pioneered- the
“student-centered” approach to education. I do not quite understand how someone
could interpret that phrase literally and expect the teacher to be completely
absent from the classroom.
In the
article written by John Dewey himself titled “My Pedagogic Creed,” Dewey makes
quite declarative statements about his belief system surrounding education.
While I agree that the school should be thought of as a community, I find it
hard to believe that its sole purpose is to fuel the social life of the
children it serves. Most of the beliefs
that Dewey lays out make sense and I can agree with some of them’ however, it
is the last one that I am having trouble with. He states, “ I believe that in
this way the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer in
of the true kingdom of God.” I am not quite sure what to make of this and am actually quite baffled because of the supposed separation of religion from public education in the United States. Thoughts?
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ReplyDeleteRegarding Dewey and religion, his own beliefs are not that far removed from Emerson and Whitman's broadly spiritual sensibilities, and are contained in sentiments such as "I believe that when science and art thus join hands the most commanding motive for human action will be reached; the most genuine springs of human conduct aroused and the best service that human nature is capable of guaranteed." However, his pragmatism and his preference for Progressive-era scientific (and psychological) advance put him at odds with the dominant strain of Christianity in his day; I suspect that we should read his comments as suggesting that this spirit of humility and servitude is Divine in its way, and should be taken as the measure of our ambitions. Therefore, those who answer the call to servitude, teachers foremost, are doing a Divine work. I doubt that Dewey would object to a suggestion that there is great overlap between this attitude and Progressive Christian attitudes; neither would he admit that Christianity is the sole wellspring of such an attitude.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to explain your comment in class sometime. I don't know much about religion and its Modern history in the United States. Who is Emerson and Whitman? I would definitely like to learn more but just don't have the background that you appear to have.
ReplyDeleteThat is an awesome photo, by the way.
ReplyDelete