John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator who helped found pragmatism, a philosophical school of thought popular in the early 20th century.
He was also instrumental in the progressive movement in education, strongly believing that the best education involves 'learning by doing'.
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John Dewey was born on October 20, 1859, in Burlington, Vermont. He was the third of four children born to Archibald Dewey and Lucina Artemisia Rich. His father was a local merchant who loved literature. His mother possessed a strict moral sense based on her belief in the Calvinism.
He learned about other cultures by observing Irish and French Canadian settlements near his home. He worked as a child delivering newspapers and in a lumber yard. While visiting his father, who served in the Virginia Army, he saw the horror of the American Civil War (1861-1865) firsthand.
Not knowing what career to pursue, Dewey considered a career as a Professor. After spending some time looking for a job, his cousin, director of a seminary (a place where priests are trained) in Pennsylvania, got him a job as a teacher. He served there for two years.
Dewey read about philosophy in his spare time. When his cousin quit, Dewey ended up losing his job. He returned to Vermont to become the sole teacher at a private school.
John Dewey graduated from the University of Vermont and spent three years as a high school teacher in Oil City, Pennsylvania. He then spent a year studying under G. Stanley Hall at Johns Hopkins University in America's first psychology laboratory.
After completing his doctorate at Johns Hopkins, Dewey went on to teach at the University of Michigan for nearly a decade. In 1894, Dewey accepted the position of chairman of the department of philosophy, psychology, and pedagogy at the University of Chicago.
It was at the University of Chicago that Dewey began to formalize the views that contributed so heavily to the school of thought known as pragmatism.
Dewey eventually left the University of Chicago and became a professor of philosophy at Columbia University from 1904 until his retirement in 1930. In 1905, he became president of the American Psychological Association.
He was one of the first to warn of the dangers of Adolf Hitler's (1889-1945) rise to power in Germany and the Japanese threat in the Far East. He died on June 1, 1952.
The main point advocated by pragmatism is that the value, truth or meaning of an idea lies in its practical consequences. Dewey also helped establish several pedagogical study laboratories at the University of Chicago where he could directly apply his pedagogical theories.
Dewey's work had a vital influence on psychology, education and philosophy. He is often considered one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. His emphasis on progressive education contributed greatly to the use of experimentation rather than an authoritarian approach to education.
Dewey has published over 1,000 books, essays and articles on a wide range of subjects including education, the arts, nature, philosophy, religion, culture, ethics and democracy over the course of his career.
Dewey firmly believed that education shouldn't just be about teachers making students learn irrational facts they would soon forget.
He advocated that the way of learning should be a journey of experiences, building on one another, creating new experiences. Dewey also felt that schools were trying to create a world separate from the lives of students.
School activities and students' life experiences should be connected. If this were not done, real learning would be impossible.
Cutting students off from their psychological ties, that is, from society and family, would make their learning journeys less meaningful and thus make learning less memorable. Likewise, schools also needed to prepare students for life in society.
Men have never fully used the powers they possess to promote good, because they look to some outside power to do the work for which they are responsible.
Learn? Certainly, but first, live and learn for life, in life.
We only think when faced with a problem.
Education is a social process, it is development. It is not preparation for life, it is life itself.
The demand for freedom is a demand for power.
The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.
