Dewey’s perspective
Dewey’s perspective on the systems within which education
Note
Last week we rushed through the lesson on Zotero and on using the proxy server. If you’d like to explore it in more depth, please reach out to me and we can schedule an individual tutorial. Also, if you are relatively proficient in using Zotero, let me know and we can offer you as a resource to others.
Reading
Dewey, J. (1907). The school and social progress. Chapter 1 in The school and society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Note that I have provided you with both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2; you need only read Chapter 1, though some of you may find Chapter 2 interesting also.
Brief background on Dewey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMh1LYuZ3B4.
Questions
1. Describe what Dewey means by “The New Education.”
2. Discuss Dewey’s perspective on the systems within which education is embedded.
3. How does Dewey define society?
4. Describe how Dewey views the role of order in a school.
5. What tensions does Dewey detect between the needs of society and the needs of the individual?
Reading
Wolk, S. (2007). Why go to school? Phi Delta Kappan, 88(9), 648–658.
Question
6. Before reading the article: list three reasons why we as a society want young people to go to school.
7. After reading the article: The author quotes Alex Molnar: “Are the issues studied in school the most important issues facing mankind?” What are several of these issues today? Are they studied in the schools that you are familiar with?
