Review of
“The school and Society”
John Dewey
Juan Manuel García Gallardo.
June 18th, 2010. Jagiellonian University.
General Didactic.
1
Biography
The long and influential career of Dewey in
education began at the University of Michigan,
John Dewey was born October 20, 1859, in where he taught from 1884-1888, and later taught at
Burlington (Vermont). It was a great philosopher, the universities of Minnesota, Chicago and
American psychologist and educator. Columbia, from 1904 until his retirement as
professor emeritus in 1931.
Throughout his long career, Dewey developed a
philosophy that advocated the unity between theory When he took over his post at the University of
and practice, a unit that exemplified in his own work Chicago in autumn of 1894, Dewey wrote to his wife
of intellectual and political activist. His thinking was Alice: "Sometimes I think I'll stop directly teach
based on the moral conviction that "democracy is philosophy, to teach through education" (Dewey,
freedom", as he devoted his entire life to develop a 1894).
philosophical argument to justify this conviction and
put it into practice. Dewey's commitment to Later, Dewey spent the rest of his life to defend their
democracy and the integration of theory and practice ideas and the publication of many other writings. He
was particularly evident in his career as a reformer of also made trips to various places in Europe, the Far
education. East and even Russia. In his time at Columbia date
from his most influential.
He graduated in Arts at the University of Vermont in
1879. In 1882 he moved to Baltimore. He especially The father of psychology progressive died June 1,
influenced the Hegelian environment of the 1952 in New York with 92 years of age.
university. Hegel's influence is reflected in three
features that greatly influenced him: the love of
logical schematization, interest in social and Other points I would like to emphasize the life of
psychological issues, and the attribution of a John Dewey are that he was very active as a lecturer
common root to the objective and subjective, man and consultant on educational issues, in addition to
and nature. studying the education systems of China, Japan,
In 1884 a doctorate in philosophy at John Hopkins Mexico, Turkey and the Soviet Union.
University for a thesis on Kant. He married a former
student named Alice Chipman, which contributed He was a man of action, which sought the unification
more than anyone to interest in educational issues to of thought and action, theory and practice.
Dewey and worked closely with him.
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He advocated equality for women, including the According to Dewey, the modification of the method
right to vote. He co-founded in 1929, the League for and curriculum of education is a product of the social
an independent political action, encouraged the situation that exists at a given moment and is
teachers' unions, encouraged support for the exiled therefore an attempt to satisfascer the needs of the
intellectuals of the totalitarian regimes. Dewey, had a new society of people who are being trained.
great influence on the development of educational
progressivism playing a leading role spanning the This means that the school is deeply connected to
late nineteenth century until the First World War. society and therefore, not only meets the needs of
this society, but it also means that schools played in
It was the most original teacher, renowned and some form today's society, generating a small society
influential of the U.S. and one of the most ingenious within the classrooms. Therefore, education is linked
and great educators of modern times, influencing the to ongoing developments described in the book as
course of three generations. "new education", a process by which school is in
continuous improvement and renewal.
One of the points that are emphasized, is that
Analisis and Review. education and learning in itself should have a real
purpose and a real result. It is for this reason that
verbal memory must have an end in itself and not a
Throughout the book, “School and society " John single element in the child's skills, but is a tool that
Dewey describe us his main ideas and their enables students to acquire knowledge with real
philosophy about the school and how it needs to meaning.
adapt to social changes. This relationship that the
author develops throughout the book is full of Despite the importance of the items discussed above,
thoughts that have become a major contribution to for Dewey, perhaps one of the most important ideas
educational thought and the conception of education. is that we can learn from experience and books only
if they are related to the child's own experiences. In
Delving a little deeper into the book we can find other words, if a school is secluded or isolated from
different ideas that Dewey gives utmost importance. the ordinary conditions of life and the reasons for the
place where children live, is more difficult to gain
In the first chapter of the book (school and social experience.
progress), he exposes us to the basic concepts of how This has been and is a major educational ideas which
it should be school and the learning process that underpin many models of learning today. Some of
occurs in it. these theories are based on that, like Dewey
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explained, the child should be learning in a The organization are things in relationship to each
contextualized, must be an object of knowledge that other, to work with ease, flexibility, and completely.
is within their daily lives and it is useful to develop So speaking of this issue of waste in education,
themselves. Dewey draws attention to the separation of different
parts of the school system, lack of unity in the aims of
For Dewey, a classroom is an opportunity to be a education, lack of coherence in their studies and
miniature community, an embryonic society. And in methods.
this embryonic society is given an important role to Therefore the major problem in education in the
the firsthand experience, and contact with reality. administration is how to tie these different parts.
In the book we find the example in which children As separate pieces, so do the ideals differ - the
work with real materials such as wool and still a moral, practical utility, general culture, discipline,
work process which can draw conclusions for and training. These goals are each represented
themselves, having direct contact with reality. especially in some specific system of education.
Following a review of book, we see how, for Dewey This idea about the cohesion and unity of the
it is important that the school will be a natural educational process throughout the various stages of
environnement of teaching, which is given the learning is a point of great controversy. This
necessary tools and enhance children's learning. approach have been discussed in many articles on
education, but the reality is that today this cohesion
“When nature and society can live in the classroom, of the educational system is still far from being
when the forms and tools of learning are
realized in full. As the author says, this would be the
subordinated to the substance of experience, then
reduction of waste in education and a significant
there will be an opportunity for this identification,
and culture will be the key to democracy.”
improvement of it.
This problem on the cohesion and unity in the
*Chapter 2: The School and the Child Life. education system is expressed by Dewey in this way:
Within this book is a chapter that should be "The big problem in education in the
administration is to ensure the unity of the whole
highlighted. This chapter talks about the waste in
in place of a sequence of more or less independent
education, although the meaning of this concept is not
and overlapping pieces and reduce waste resulting
for dewey as we understand it. from the friction, reduplication and transitions that
are not adequately bridge.”
For Dewey, all waste produced in education are due
to isolation. *Chapter 3: Waste in Education
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From the student perspective, this great loss comes with the ultimate goal to make progress in education
from the inability to use the experience gained outside to improve end this process in terms of education.
school, when he is unable to apply in everyday life Moreover, this task should be present in the
things learned in school. classroom by the professor, who with different
For Dewey this is the isolation of the school, the methods such as observation, the reworking of the
isolation of life. curriculum and the continuing process of recycling
the educational method will make possible a
To solve these problems on the isolation of the substantial improvement in profit final education.
school and the lessons learned in the process of
learning, John Dewey shows us how children For this reason, this classroom as an experimental
illustrated with a simple cooking class can acquire station of education must be promoted for
knowledge related to many fields such as biology, mechanisms that encourage freedom of inquiry,
chemistry, physics, botany ... regardless of the results.
Dewey proposes an ideal school in which all provide Over the revision of the book can be found as Dewey
useful tools to facilitate learning of the child in a stressed inter alia the importance of the principles of
more direct and natural. Froebel, including highlights three main points.
In this school industrial museum would show the The first is that the goal of primary education is to
manufacturing process, raw materials used, and their teach children in the cooperative, and foster
place of origin; textile work samples from different awareness of mutual interdependence.
countries, and in summary a number of places where Thus, second is that the primary root of all
the child can have direct contact with real objects of educational activity is in the attitude instinctive,
different fields. impulsive and activities of the child and not in the
presentation and implementation of foreign material.
According to John Dewey, the school may be
considered a small experimental laboratory, in the Finally, the purpose of individual activities are
sense that the class could be considered a place for organized and directed through the uses made of
the study of applied psychology through the study of them to keep up with the living of cooperation, use
the mind that manifests and develops in children . of recurrence in the plane of the typical child chores
Thus, it would be possible to search for materials and and occupations the larger, mature society that is
organisms that promote normal growth. finally out, and that is through the production and the
creative use that valuable knowledge is guaranteed
This could occur not only monitor the process of and won.
education but an ongoing study on the child's mind
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Furthermore, and in the conceptions of Dewey on Occupation in final terms is that we put as much
learning, he thinks that the child's play is an awareness in everything we do. In turn, the school
opportunity to foster a sense that is the basis of care context, this allows us to interpret the emphasis that
and all sense of continuity intellectual growth. the child has made personal experimentation, and
planning work reinventing itself.
For Dewey, the change between the different stages The occupations present the ideal opportunity for
of education should be a smooth shift to allow the both directions of training and discipline in thinking.
child's accustomed to this new stage in a natural and
progressive way. To summarize the analysis in a way that Dewey
makes the situation of education and pedagogy in
“The change of school should be as gradual and general could cite the following:
insensible as the child's growth. This is impossible
unless the delivery of work subprimary isolated
“The pedagogical problem is the power to direct
and hospitality which welcomes any materials and
observation of the child, to encourage their interest
resources keep pace with the full development of
and sympathy in the characteristic features of the
the faculties of the child, and thus keep it always
world we live in, to provide interpretation of the final
ready, ready for the next job you have to do.”
materials and more special studies, and yet to
provide the way for the variety of facts and ideas
*Chapter 5: Froebel´s Educational Principles. through emotions and child's spontaneous dominant
thoughts.”
The review of chapter six we find a term that charge
more importance on the ideas of Dewey, this term is
the term of occupation. Dewey, however does not General Conclusions.
understand the occupation and all kinds of "hard
work" or exercises that can give a child to keep him
Dewey criticized the method of instruction because it
out of mischief or laziness when seated at your desk.
was highly authoritarian, the teacher was the king of
By occupation, Dewey refers to a mode of activity
the class, submission and obedience were more
on the part of the child which reproduces, or parallel
appreciated than the student's initiative and
to, any type of work in social life.
independence. It rewarded the passivity of the
student and teacher had responsibility for
This concept is different because its end is in itself
maintaining order.
the growth that comes from the continuous interplay
of ideas and their implementation in action, not the
external utility.
6
According to Dewey, education is not teaching a student interests and activities on the environment in
child according to a distant model, but its function which they live and the teacher should use this raw
was to help solve the problems it presented material to guide the activities to a positive outcome.
themselves within the physical and social
environment in which it was. Dewey criticized traditionalists because the subjects
did not relate to the interests and activities of
It´s for this reason why Dewey´s school took as a children. At this point he asked the teachers to build
starting point not the activities of the adult in the an environment in which the daily activities of
future that would participate in the child, but the children are faced with problematic situations in
regular activities in which the same was committed. which knowledge and skills needed to resolve them.
Dewey argued that philosophy of education not only Dewey argued that the curriculum was to remind the
get their original material in terms of goals and teacher up to them every day to make the conditions
values of current experience, but again these necessary to stimulate and develop the skills of the
experiences to check, revise, modify, confirm and students active.
provide new materials.
The right program to make its aims should be a
One of the central concepts in their teaching, was in program of experience and is in relation to the
the word "experience." The truth or value of it concerns of social experience. He argues that a
depends on the relationship between what is tested program that recognizes the social responsibility of
and its result. the school must present situations where problems
relating to everyday life.
The author was convinced that there was no According to Dewey, people do use their natural
difference in the dynamics of the experience of talents and individuals to contribute to the welfare of
children with adults. He claimed that children arrive the community, which is why the school principal
at school as blank slates on which teachers had to function is to form a democratic society by
write a certain amount of knowledge. When the child promoting social and democratic spirit of children.
reaches the classroom and is active and is the
responsibility of education to guide their activity. He claimed that education for democracy requires a
school that is a place of life for children, which is a
According to Dewey, the child comes to school with member of society aware of their belonging and
innate drives - communicate, build, explore, express, contributing. The school must instill in children a
"these are the natural resources must be exercised to democratic basis of the capacity of the natural and
the proper development of children. It also brings the spontaneous.
7
Dewey considered that the majority of schools using
individual methods, which require that all students
simultaneously read the same books and "learn" the
same lessons. Thus, atrophy social impulses of the
child and the teacher is not making the child's natural
desire to give, do, build, say, serving, etc.
Dewey on the other hand, implemented a program in
your school which he called "occupation", which
was a mode of activity by the child who plays or is
parallel to a work which he performs in his social
life. Your school was composed of age groups, each
group addressed various projects focusing on various
professions. Not work the same content and the
teaching was based on the action.
The "experimental method" of Dewey's pedagogy is
based on the education of individual skill, initiative
and spirit at the expense of acquiring scientific
knowledge.
This author regarded the school as a space for
reflection and production of relevant experience of
social life that allows the full development of
individuals.
