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Quote by John Dewey

“I believe that the teacher's place and work in the school is to be interpreted from this same basis. The teacher is not in the school to impose certain ideas or to form certain habits in the child, but is there as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these influences.”

Quote by John Dewey

Work

The Essential Dewey: Pragmatism, education, democracy

The Essential Dewey: Pragmatism, education, democracy is a collection of key texts by John Dewey, a prominent philosopher and educational theorist. The book delves into Dewey's philosophical approach to pragmatism, emphasizing the importance of experience and practical application in understanding and improving the world. It also explores his ideas on education, advocating for a curriculum that integrates intellectual growth with social and practical skills. Furthermore, the book examines Dewey's contributions to democratic theory, highlighting the role of education in fostering informed and engaged citizens. The collection provides a comprehensive overview of Dewey's work and its enduring relevance in contemporary discussions on education, philosophy, and democracy. more

Author

John Dewey
John Dewey

John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator, born on October 20, 1859, and died on June 1, 1952. He was a leading figure in the philosophy of pragmatism and had a profound impact on 20th-century education, philosophy, and the social sciences. more

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“The policy of letting the child 'do what he likes' is an insidious one, since the children are encouraged to continue always at their original superficial level, without receiving guidance in study. Furthermore, the 'three Rs,' the fundamental tools, are neglected as long as possible, with the result that the child's chance to develop his mind is greatly retarded. The policy of teaching words via pictures instead of by the alphabet tends to deprive the young child of the greatest reasoning tool of all.”

“Dogma is actually the only thing that cannot be separated from education. It IS education. A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching. There are no uneducated people; only most people are educated wrong. The true task of culture today is not a task of expansion, but of selection-and-rejection. The educationist must find a creed and teach it.”

“Children are prepared for democracy by being led to discuss current events without first learning the systematic subjects (politics, economics, history) which are necessary in order to discuss them. The Mole effect is to substitute slogans and superficial opinion for considered individual thought. And the opinion is that of the lowest common denominator of the group.”

“The real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock-exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated. The girls, we say, do not have to earn; so why should they be educated? As long as such ideas persist there is no hope of our ever knowing the true value of education.”