John Dewey

     I chose to write about John Dewey because I found that we he stood for and believed to be very interesting.  John Dewey was born in 1859 in Burlington, Vermont. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1879. He went on to receive his PhD from John Hopkins University. He worked as a teacher, then became a chairman in the department of philosophy, psychology, and pedagogy. He was an American philosopher and educator. He believed that “learning was active and schooling unnecessarily long and restrictive.”  He thought that children came to school to different things and should live in a community which helped guide them and better them for their futures. Dewey believed that students should participate in real life tasks and challenges. An example of how he thought a student should learn is; when it came to learning and understanding math a student should take part in cooking in order to learn proportions of measurements. He believed that education should be hands on, visual and that all students should take part in their own learning.

     Dewey suggested that education should be designed on the basis of a Theory of Experience. This theory was based on two very important area; continuity and interaction.  Continuity “refers to the notion that humans are sensitive to (or affected by) experience.”  Interaction “builds upon the notion of continuity and explains how past experience interacts with the present situation, to creates ones present experience.” John Dewey was an exceptional man whose theory still hold true today. I agree with his point of view that kids should be involved in how they learn and should have many chances for hands on experiences to better their education.

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