Our Experiences

As I read this text several different points jumped out at me and I’ll try to briefly address each while still retaining some semblance of continuity.

While reading Experience and Education I was struck by the relevance to educational arguments today. This book could very well have been published in the past few years. That fact makes me wonder what progress have we made? Have we improved our educational system or just replaced the old problems with new ones? How have we gone seventy years and we are still struggling with the practice of rote memorization versus experiential learning? Looking at the history of education it is obvious we have made huge strides in who has access to schooling but have we really made that many changes in the way information is taught.

Dewey begins by criticizing “isms” and their inability to do more than react to the “ism” that came before them. I see the vicious cycles and flip-flop in movements this creates; it is evident to anyone studying history or art. My question is even without the labels of a specific “ism” aren’t we always just reacting to what came before? I don’t believe Dewey is suggesting we completely ignore the past, just that we do not jump on the initial reaction to do the complete opposite when something is not working. How do we accomplish that if according to Dewey it is human nature to assume things are “either-or”?

The practice of teaching ultimately comes down to individual classrooms and how each teacher chooses to teach. So, why is it that teachers have not more effectively integrated experiential learning into their classrooms? I think it comes down to the adage “you teach how you were taught”. Our lives are built on a string of experiences each person’s unique, but most of our school experiences share the common thread of lectures and unit tests. If our thinking is confined by the experiences we have had and the way we have been taught in the past what can we do to initiate positive change? How do we overcome the way of thinking that has been instilled in us for the past twenty or thirty years?

Dewey’s theories on education are based on the idea that they have to be practical. These ideas have to be put into action; they cannot just be inspirational words sitting idly in a book. You would think that such stirring words would be instantly put into practice but I think Dewey put it best when he said, “To discover what is really simple and to act upon the discovery is an exceedingly difficult task” (30). It is a challenge to resist doing the complete opposite in hopes it will be more successful. It is a challenge to truly analyze the problem and come up with a solution. It is a challenge to constantly reflect on what is working, what is not, and why; but I think as teachers it is our job to do these things and it should also be our passion to find the most effective way to teach.

The crux of this book is Dewey seems to think the answer to our educational problems is experiential learning, an idea I agree with although not to the extreme to which Dewey may have taken it. Beyond that, I think this text drives home the idea that whatever approach you take to teaching it should be arrived at through careful thought and analysis, considering your own life experiences and those of your students. Basing your teaching methods on a current movement or complete rejection of a movement ignores the true goal of education.