John Dewey- Father of Progressive Education PDF

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This is an essay answering the following assignment questions:
1 Research a person from the 17th, 18th or 19th century whose influence on American public education can still be seen today. Which person did you choose?
2 In your post, include the following:
• Brief description of ...

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I chose to research John Dewey (1858-1952). John Dewey was in the middle of the 19th century and the 20th century. He did a lot in both centuries since his life was smack in the middle of two. John Dewey was a decorated man. Dewey is remembered as the “father of Progressive education” (Education Encyclopedia, 2021). He attended the University of Vermont and then ended up teaching high school. Dewey then went on to obtain a doctorate in philosophy (Education Encyclopedia, 2021). During Dewey's time as a professor, he articulated a unique, indeed revolutionary, reformulation of educational theory and practice based upon the core relationship believed to exist between democratic life and education” (Education Encyclopedia, 2021). Throughout Dewey’s life, he also influenced a lot of different philosophers with the discovery of Progressivism. He also had a vision for school where education was more of a democracy. Dewey hoped that by viewing school in this light, there would be “a more lovely society” (Education Encyclopedia, 2021). I feel it is important to talk about the movement that Dewey was a part of. Since Dewey was the father of progressive education, it is fitting to touch on the movement that took place as well. In 1893, there was an agrarian depression that hit. This was mostly financial and industrial. Different cities began to suffer and there was a push for more municipal governments (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021). By the time the early 1900s came around, “the vast majority of them were fighting for and winning much of the same ob-

jectives- more equitable taxation of railroad and corporate property, tenement house reform, better schools and expanded social services for the poor” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021). I feel this was very vital for education because of the ability to draw more money in and provide services for families and children. Education has been evolving since it began. During the 19th Century, school was a lot different that it is today. Students went to school but there were only one- room school houses. Teachers were also majority women (Kohrs, 2015). These teachers were also interestingly in their teens or twenties as well and they did not have much education past the eighth grade (Kohrs, 2015). “As a result of this virtually complete lack of training in pedagogy, teaching was based almost entirely on repetition and memorization. This method of instruction had children reading and reciting from textbooks until they knew large portions of the material by heart” (Kohrs, 2015). I find this really interesting because this became education. We spent so much of our time as students just memorizing information. It is very cool to see where it came from and to know education might not have continued to be more memorization if there was more training involved with teachers back then. Dewey influenced education during this time by looking at the whole child. “Learning moved beyond the subject matter and ultimately rested upon the needs and interest of the child” (Education Encyclopedia, 2021). One quote that Dewey said that was really fascinating was that “education was not simply a means to a future life, but instead represented a full life unto itself” (Education Encyclopedia, 2021). I feel like Dewey really valued the art of education rather than the education itself. I wish students could learn about the history of education more because to learn that those who created a lot of

different philosophies behind education were really passionate about it. I feel as though this would change my view on my education when I was in middle/high school. In today's education, you can see Dewey's work in different curriculums. “The progressivist classroom is about exploration and experience” (Lynch, 2016). I see this with my curriculum when I teach my toddlers. We focus more on the experience and what we can do with our students rather than following strict guidelines. Not only this but progressivism also focuses on problem solving approaches where teachers can guide their students to solve individual tasks and learn valuable skills that they will take with them beyond their education (Lynch, 2016).

References Education Encyclopedia. (2021). Progressive Education. Web Solutions LLC. https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2336/Progressive-Education.html

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2021). The Progressive Era: The Character and Variety of the Progressive Movement. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/UnitedStates/The-Progressive-era Kohrs, D. G. (2015). Higher Education in Mid 19th and Early 20TH Century America (Vol. 2). https://web.stanford.edu/group/seaside/pdf/ch2.pdf Lynch, M. (2016). Philosophies of Education: 3 Types of Student- Centered Philosophies. The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/philosophies-education-3types-student-centered-philosophies/

References: Noah Webster History. (2017, July 23). Retrieved from Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society: https://noahwebsterhouse.org/noahwebsterhistory/ Pullium, J. D. (2013). The History and Social Foundations of American Education 10th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Educational Inc. Segarra, E. (2013). 18th Century Advice: Thomas Jefferson on Education Reform. The Daily Signal. http://dailysignal.com/2013/04/14/18th-century-advice-thomas-jefferson-on-education-reform/ Schiller. (2010). Early brain development research review and update. Retrieved from:

https://www.childcareexchange.com/library/5019626.pdf Separation of Church and State. (2017, July 23). Retrieved from Laws: http://gov-

ernment-programs.laws.com/separation-of-church-and-state...