Dewey, J. (2004). Democracy and education. Courier Dover Publications. Chapter 22: The Individual and the World.
What would [traditional] education
today be like if it had followed Dewey’s ideas?
Sooooo much different..and I believe better. Here is the overlying idea of Chapter 22 of which I agree:
" [Education creates an] antithesis [to] exist between subject matter (the counterpart of the world) and method (the counterpart of mind) such as the tendency to treat interest as something purely private, without intrinsic connection with material studied" (1, emphasis mine).
Learning, as it was with Dewey, as he referenced the Greeks, was less about knowing, and more about experiencing. The word "know" replaced to "become accustomed" or "familiar", which is a different way of knowing...on a more personal level (2). Modern education however, is more concerned with the subject of knowing...facts, skills, information, and much less about the individual connection and experience that a student can have through the process of learning (experiential). However, during the middle ages through the colonial period, learning as an individual, without the guidance of experts or authorities, was seen as an individual act that was selfish and based on hearsay, which do not "constitute knowledge unless they have grown up in [the world] and been tested" (2). Such thinking led to the creation of epistemology or the theory of knowledge (2).
And this led to the individual learning knowledge for the self, instead of experiencing learning as a person who is a part of a greater whole, or world. These ideas disjointed theory from practice. The only rebellion to the "dogma" of truth was for "men to observe for themselves, and form their own theories and personally test them" (3) within the context of their environment. Dewey continues, "As a matter of fact, every individual has grown up, and alway must grow up, in a social medium (2, emphasis mine). "The conception of mind as a purely isolated possession of the self is at the very antipodes of truth (4).
He summarizes his thoughts well here, and I agree:
"It suffices to say that in general, the school has been the institution which exhibited with greatest clearness the assumed antithesis between purely individualistic methods of learning and social action, and between freedom and social control. The antithesis is reflected in the absence of a social atmosphere (community) and the motive for learning (interest and passion), and the conseuqent separation in the conduct of the school, between method of instruction (teacher centered) and methods of involvement (student centered), and in the slight oppotunity afforded indivudual variations (inequity)" (8, emphasis and addtions, mine).
Do you see any of these ideas reflected in your own educational
experience or in education you have observed?
Right now I am completing some research at an alternative High School in the TC area. The unique aspect of this school is that it encourages their students to pick tracks of specialization (health care, digital media, music, trade skills, etc.) according to personal interest and or passion, and then assesses them based on growth, reflection and creativity and cooperation, instead of factual knowledge.
The traditional classrooms I have taught on were all, in spite of my best efforts, autonomous and competitive, with little freedom on the choice of the student to express personal interest or to learn with in a broader context of community.
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