Developing a Theory of Education

In his book Experience & Education, Dewey constantly stresses that each society should form a Theory of Education to establish the common grounding principles of education and to help avoid knee-jerk reactions to the newest research or learning theories. It seems that in America we are moving toward the goal of establishing a theory of education that is closely tied to the Constructivist theory of learning, where students are lead in a manner so as to 'construct' their own knowledge in a subject. This learning theory seems to go hand in hand with Dewey's statement that class material should be presented as a progressive organization of knowledge, building on what students already know and helping students make connections to other areas of learning. Is having a shared theory like this enough, or should each of us subscribe to a theory of education?

A major factor that Dewey calls for that seems to be missing, or perhaps is not yet expressed in the Constructivist theory, is that school should be a social experience. It seems to be a giant demand that Dewey makes on teachers to encourage students' individuality and non-conformity while maintaining order and an effective, positive learning environment in the class. How as future teachers can we do this, while being subject ourselves to the limiting rules of school and while having to enforce similar rules on the students? How can we as future teachers make school sufficiently social, and yet still maintain the value of individual work? Can leading purposeful classroom discourse alone meet this demand? I am left with many questions about how to implement a John Dewey approved learning environment and experiences for my future students.

Functionalism and Interpretivism

Last week, when reading Dewey I thought that there seemed to be an anti-functionalist theme in his writing. Now that I have had a chance to look back over my notes, I believe I was mistaken and must have been thinking about the metaphor of the factory, where students practice boring, repetitive tasks in school to prepare for boring, repetitive tasks in the workforce. After reviewing, I see many common threads between Dewey’s view and that of the functionalist, as well as that of the interpretivist. Like interpretivism, Dewey uses the metaphor of a game, stating that “the games involve rules, and these rules order their [the children’s] conduct” (p. 52). He also admonishes that the rules must be fair. The functionalist would agree that the rules must be fair; you should advance in the game based on achieved, not ascribed, characteristics. In this way, Dewey brings functionalism and interpretivism together. He seems to add his own touch to this combination as well. It seems that not only are we playing a game according to rules which must be fair, but that it is the job of the teacher to establish these fair rules in such a way as to encourage students to govern themselves and each other. In this manner, the teacher can lead the class without dictating to the class (thereby bringing traditionalist and progressive views together as well). I agree with many of John Dewey’s ideas and somehow he seems to make a place for most views in his writing. However, it seems that this is another prescription for what society should be like. Are Dewey’s goals, like those of functionalism, only geared toward the middle class? Also, what would Dewey say about the functionalist view that one of the purposes of schools is to sort students based on skill and ability?

More on John Dewey...

I personally found the ideas of John Dewey to be interesting and to make a lot of sense. Future teachers could definitely gain something from Dewey’s ideas. He makes it clear that some of the ways of the past clearly aren’t working and instead of quick fixing the problems with ways of the past, we must learn from those older experiences and make a change; “every experience lives on in further experiences” (27). Like we mentioned in class, it is very difficult for teachers to do this so my question is how do we as teachers teach ourselves to change our ways or habits of doing things?

Old habits are hard to break and can you really teach an old dog new tricks? Maybe it is up to the future teachers to implement the ideas of Dewey, although they have been around for quite sometime haven’t they? Why haven’t we implemented more experimental learning in our classrooms? As a teacher, looking back on one’s own experiences could surely help your newer students; I think that making an effort to change what is not working is the big problem. Teachers often get into a rut of just teaching the same old thing from year to year, not even realizing what may or may not be working for his or her students. As Dewey states, “it is the business of the educator to see in what direction an experience is heading” (38). Teachers not only have the responsibility of teaching using experience, but deciphering what experiences are worth while as well.

If we as teachers can begin and continue to teach from experience, I think that our students would get more out of their education-and I think Dewey would agree, saying “the principle of continuity of experience means that every experience both takes up something and modifies in some way the quality of those which come after” (35).

The Charge of the Light Brigade

The full version of The Charge of the Light Brigade is available here: http://poetry.eserver.org/light-brigade.html
A brief description of the historical context of this poem is available here: http://www.uea.ac.uk/edu/learn/braysher/charge.htm

I was struck by Dewey's reference to Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade. This poem was one of my favorites in high school. It is a poem of both sadness and bravery and, in my mind, speaks to the futility of leadership without understanding. As teachers, especially in light of the reference Dewey makes, we must be mindful of our power and authority over our student's experiences and how their future experiences might suffer if we fail to use our position wisely.

This poem outlines a famous charge made by approximately 600 men of the British Light Cavalry Brigade who were ordered to ride dead on into heavy cannon. One can only imagine that the 600 were shocked to receive what can only be construed of as a suicide mission. However, relying on their commander's expertise, they bravely rode and many died. What went wrong was, "In a nutshell, a commander failing to take account of the fact that he was on a hill and could see what was going on and his troops could not!" according to http://www.uea.ac.uk/edu/learn/braysher/charge.htm. We can think of a teacher, having maturity, as standing on a hill and able to see what is going on from a certain perspective. The students, who are in the process of growing in maturity, have a different perspective and perhaps can see things we cannot. Perhaps, if teachers and students participate in transacting with one another, we can win the battle and even the war. The Light Brigade believed "Their's not to make reply,Their's not to reason why,Their's but to do and die". Imagine if one of these men had said, "Sir you are sending us to our deaths. There must be another way!", and then imagine that the commander listened. Through this transaction, many lives could have been spared and another battle tactic might have been devised.

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.

Experiences and Growth

While reading this week’s assignment, the discussion about how people may react to different experiences (Chapter 2) caught my attention. It is hard for us to relate our experiences to one another when they may be completely disconnected from one another, as Dewey states. As a teacher, we may begin our careers in a very wealthy school district that has state-of-the-art technology and facilities, and then be transferred to a poorer school district that struggles with the funding for the students to have the books they may need. Although each of these experiences involves the teaching of students, could we really relate what we have done at one school to the other with the students having such different backgrounds and resources? Each school district would be different just as each class we teach will be comprised of different students with different backgrounds, creating a new experience for us. Although we may be able to relate past experiences to new ones, they will not always be just alike.

Another idea that struck me was with growth through situations and interaction with one another (p. 42). The analogy to the infant was useful to me in that a baby crying does not mean just one thing. Through interactions with the infant, the mother can figure out what the child may need at that time. Likewise, as teachers, through each interaction and situation with students, we can deduce what each student’s different needs may be. Also Dewey mentions that the environment plays a role in the situation and interaction at that time. As I mentioned earlier with different experiences, these environments play a role in how we, as teachers, will react to different situations. One question that I had out of all of this is how can we not let our past experiences determine how we react to new ones?

The New "ism" in Teaching

I have read 2 of the required chapters in John Dewey's Experience & Education and the writing is so relevant that it is difficult to believe the text was written 70 years ago. It makes me recall Tyack and Cuban's grammar of schooling. Are we so set in our ways as educators that improvement becomes very difficult?

While the author is addressing traditionalism vs. progressive-ism, it seems equally applicable to the new ism in teaching, constructivism. The new math standards, and I assume other disciplines as well, draw heavily from the constructivist learning theory. Summarized, this learning theory states that students "construct" new knowledge from their experiences, rather than being told information from a teacher.

I agree with the author that as a future teacher I want the experiences my students have to be agreeable and have a positive effect on further experiences. The challenge I see is how to do that in a strictly constructivist atmosphere. A constructivist classroom is one that moves at a very slow pace as students develop basic theories and understand them. Students develop a deep understanding of material in this atmosphere. The vex is the larger amount of material that is included in any one classroom standard and the associated pace a classroom must keep, to include the required material. This is compounded by standard end of course testing, that is used to judge students and teachers.

Here are my questions for the class to consider:

1. Is there a philosophy of experience and education - how do new teachers develop one?

2. How can we follow the author's advice to take the best of each 'ism' and develop it into a teaching style?

3. Who decides what the best of each 'ism' is?

4. As future teachers, will we have time, resources, and support from administration to develop changes to our instruction based on the interests and feedback from each group of new students in our classes?

5. As future teachers, how do we try to keep grounded and not abandon our current work and jump on the next 'ism' band wagon. How can we work to try to determine what is worth adopting from the new theories? How often are new theories put forward?

6. How many years does it take to 'perfect' a classroom plan so that only minor changes are needed from year to year?

7. Is a teacher's work ever done?