EDUC 5010-01 Education in Context

Unit 1: History and Purpose of Schooling in the United States

Mimi Tekle

University of the People

November 16,2022

Hillary Stewart
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John Dewey was one of the most influential people on modern education, he considered

the purpose of education was to help students be able to think for themselves, be questioners and

to become moral members of society. He believed that children should be the center of

education, that our job as educators was to help guide them. This does not mean that he believes

children alone are in charge of education and that we should just follow their lead. We need to

take our cues from them to see how we need to guide their learning. This idea is still in place

today, as educators we observe what our children know and how they interact and we use that to

help them move forward in their learning. In the research it stated, “ that the right kind of

education, a democratic education, will be guided by nature, students’ interests, and an

understanding of natural development; it will allow individuals to flourish, utilizing their skills

and interests to secure social efficiency; and it will lead to an enlightened citizen, a genuinely

cultured one.” This does not mean that we should just let students lead the way as stated earlier

we need to help students guide their education. We need to understand the social environment
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our children are in and help them attain the skills to be a productive member in society. It was

also stated that, “ Natural development cannot be an adequate educational aim because it cannot

appreciate and accommodate the value of a social environment in which the students’ interests,

activities, and native powers can flourish. Rather than fear the corruptive forces of social

interactions, teachers should create better social environments for learning, and living.”

There are many principles to Dewey's philosophy, I will be focusing on a few,

experiential learning (learning by doing), that learning is interdisciplinary, and having

discussions. These principles still affect education today. In the research it stated that, “children

are active contributors and agents of their own learning and not just passive recipients of

knowledge.

One of his biggest ideas was experiential learning. This is the idea that students need to

be actively engaged in what they are learning. It is the idea that learning needs to be hands-on.

This is different from when schools were first started where it was thought that the purpose of

schools was to teach children a set idea of things. With hands-on learning students are more

engaged and likely learning much more than just sitting and getting. With experiential learning

students are able to take a very active approach in their own learning. This will help students to

figure out their strengths and maybe what sort of career path they may want to have down the

line.

Interdisciplinary learning is the idea that all learning is related to each other.

Interdisciplinary learning is the idea that all learning relates to each other. For example say

students are learning about birds in science, the could read books about birds, create projects i.e.

a birdhouse where they would have to use math to help them create it. Is is the idea that all

learning affects each other, we do not want students to see that learning is just for that subject
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time. Students need to know that everything is related to each other. Everything that we learn

helps us to become a well rounded individual. This idea is still very well and alive today. One of

my biggest challenges as a 4th grade teacher is helping my students to see that all of the work we

do is related. In a district where we are given scripted curriculum to teach from, it can be very

challenging for students to see that things go together and are not just in silos.

Discussions are a cornerstone of student learning, students get engaged in hands-on

learning and interdisciplinary learning but then they need to have the discussions to dissect what

they did and really bring it together. These discussions help them to become critical thinkers and

analyze other people's thoughts, skills they will need to be productive members of society. As

educators we need to be sure that we have taught students the proper skills for discussion. Many

of our students, especially in education, need some guidance on what a discussion should look

like and sound like.

Much of John Dewey's philosophy aligns with the International Baccalaureate(IB)

education. Their learners strive to be inquires, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators,

principled, open-minded, caring, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. These ideas mesh

very well with what Dewey thought. When students are taking place in hands-on learning they

are being inquisitive and sometimes risk takers. One of the biggest principles from the IB

program that stood out was being reflective. This is something that could take place during

discussion for the student on their own. It is very important to teach students how to be reflective

learners.

In conclusion much of what Dewey wrote about is still found in education today

especially in the IB program. It is important to remember that the students are at the center of

education.
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References

Jeynes, W. (2012). The widespread growth of the common school and higher education.

In American Educational History, pp.145-156.

https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/13715_Chapter6.pd

Mintz, A. I. (n.d.). What is the purpose of education? Dewey's challenge to his

contemporaries.

https://www.academia.edu/23693775/What_is_the_Purpose_of_Education_Dew

eys_challenge_to_his_contemporaries
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Talebi, K. (2015, September). John Dewey- philosopher and educational reformer.

European Journal of Educational Studies, 1(1).

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED564712.pdf