Education is Life Itself ~John Dewey
John Dewey was born in the mid 1800's and passed away in the early 1950's. He was a philosopher and psychologist who was deeply interested in educational reform. Even in the early 1900's he knew there was an issue with the system. It's funny how some things never change as far as technique and motivation go. He developed education ideas that would spawn experimental education and work toward a "progressive education" movement. (wilderdom.com)
His main ideas express hands on activities as a way of learning. In his book "Democracy and Education" he expresses the importance of formal education in society, but stresses communication.
One of my main ideals in education is how important it is to relate what is done in the classroom to how it applies to the students life. Students don't care how it will help them in thirty years...they often don't care if it will help them in thirty days. They want to know how it will help them today and I feel every teacher in every subject should be able to answer that. Dewey believes the methods of teaching should show this hands on. I believe that experience is a necessity when it comes to education. When someone gets a job...there's some reading, but there's always hands-on training as well. It makes no sense to constantly read and be lectured to in the classroom. Experience in the classroom will give students a chance to experience what they read and further understand it. It will enhance their understanding and also prove their knowledge as the teacher will have an easier time watching them learn. Some examples would be history..imagine having students wear similar clothes to time periods or in math using banking to arrange checking books or calculating their own grades. In music class performing pieces using even the simplest of instruments and in science performing more experiments out in the environment. Too many schools are in fear of letting the students reach beyond the classroom, even if it means enhancing the learning process. Obviously there are boundaries, but there must be a better way to reach students and I feel, like Dewey, hands on experience is the way to go. Applying similar techniques as vocational schools to the subjects that are distributed throughout public high schools could prove motivational to students who don't yet know what they want to do. All they know is they want to be with their friends and they want to talk, so let's get them talking. We can change their topic from gossip to subject...if they're interested.
They call Dewey's ideas "informal education" and this was from back in the 1930's....where is the progress and why haven't we embraced at least SOME of the experimental education ways?
With drop out rates at their highest and funding based on standardized testing hiding our flaws, the least we can do is try in memory for those who will never see it.
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