John DEWEY

"Image is the great instrument of instruction"

BIOGRAPHY

• 1859-1952 - Civil War through WWII 
• Born in Burlington, Vermont, died in New York
• Parental influence of religion and education 
• University of Vermont, Johns Hopkins University
• University of Michigan, Teacher's College at Columbia 

BIOGRAPHY

• Exposure to  class divide in Burlington
• Had a very traditional public education
• Taught high school after college
• Transitioned from philosophy to pedagogy
• Education's role in a democratic society

Pragmatism

• Practical philosophy - forefathers Peirce and James
• Attempt to reconcile the science v. religion debate
• Application of theory to help solve real-world problems
• Reflects the secular challenges to a “Christian America”
• Dewey's "instrumentalism" sees knowledge as a tool 

Dewey's PEDAGOGY

• dynamic curriculum
• child-centered
• intellectual and social development
• learning by doing
• relevant and occupational 

pROGRESSIVE ERA

• Social reforms and reorganization
• Social concerns led to pedagogic reforms 
• NAACP, ACLU, AFT
• Laboratory School for implementation
• Lasting impact of education as key to reform

Democracy and education

• 1916 while teaching at Columbia
• "conjoint communicated experience"
• "personal interest and control"
• unity in diversity
• like Prothero's living American Bible

Dewey's CRITICS

• Too vague or too naturalistic
• Niebuhr claimed "conflict" needed for progress
• Dewey used pragmatic approach to resolve conflict
• Realistic progress needs faith and science 
• Dewey's pedagogy was "ethnocentric"

Dewey in the 21st century

• Charter schools
• Standardized testing and common assessments
• Expanding diversity
• Technological advancement
• Still face many of the same issues of early 20th century

DEWEY AND MORAL THOUGHT

• Chosen Nation myth linked to democracy
• Christian Nation with "Kingdom of God"
• Brings both myths into American civil religion
• Teacher is the prophet, public school is the church
• Focus on the individual is the ultimate morality

Personal connection to dewey

• Reflective teaching
• Dignity in the profession
• Intellectual and social development
• Teacher as student, student as teacher
• Not color-blind, but culturally sensitive

Unlikely pairings

• Dewey and Jonathan Edwards
• "emerging feeling of American unity" 
• "critical historic mission"
• Dewey and Martin Luther King, Jr.
• "American moral renewal of freedom and equality"

The END