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Birth and Education
John Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont on 20 October 1859. He attended the University of Vermont (1879) and, after a short teaching career entered Johns Hopkins University and received his Ph.D. from the School of Arts and Sciences (1884). -
Philosophy of Pragmatism
This is a great video in it's whole, but for today's purposes, up until 1:30 is most relevant. https://youtu.be/S93jMOqF-oE Pragmatism is a tradition that took hold in America around 1870.
It is defined as a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected. -
Early Professional Career and First Work
John Dewey joined the staff of the University of Chicago in 1894 and here began to associate with the Pragmatic Philosophy. It was here that he initiated the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and where he conceptualized his first major work on education, The School and Society (1899). -
John Dewey and Pragmatism
In 1894, while at the University of Chicago, Dewey's beliefs began to align with the Philosophy of Pragmatism. John Dewey was a leading proponent of the American school of thought known as pragmatism, a view that rejected the dualistic epistemology and metaphysics of modern philosophy in favor of a naturalistic approach that viewed knowledge as arising from an active adaptation of the human organism to its environment ("Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy"). -
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Pragmatism and Education
Progressive education is essentially a view of education that emphasizes the need to learn by doing. Dewey believed that human beings learn through a 'hands-on' approach. This places Dewey in the educational philosophy of pragmatism. Pragmatists believe that reality must be experienced.
John Dewey's views on education were such that students must have 'hands-on' interaction to learn. https://study.com/academy/lesson/john-dewey-on-education-impact-theory.html -
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Major Contribution
John's Dewey Laboratory School, the elementary school that he founded while at the University of Chicago, changed the curriculum of schools forever. This pioneer school emphasized the child and their creativity are the theories still employed in Montessori and other Philosophy for Children like schools today. -
Contribution to Psychology
Considered one of the fathers of functional psychology. His paper "The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology," published in 1896, is regarded as the first major work at the University of Chicago. Fun fact, a Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Dewey as the 93rd most cited psychologist of the 20th century. Dewey, J. (1896). The reflex arc concept in psychology. Psychological Review, 3(4), 357–370. -
Contribution to Progressive Education
Highly influential, The School and Society: Being Three Lectures contained Dewey's proposition for progressive educational reform as well as experiments conducted at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Dewey, J. (1990). The School and Society: The Child and the Curriculum. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. -
Philosophy of Pragmatism in Education
John Dewey's belief in the connection between social and educational progress led him to conclude that many traditional educational processes had been lost with industrialization. Prior to industrialization, children learned beside their parents and that most of this learning took place in the childhood home.
His proposition for a new education followed the social evolution shifts in society.
(meat and potatoes of video starts @1:45)
(https://youtu.be/lDFWkpHbY8E) -
Contribution to Feminism
He supported women's suffrage and coeducational experiences, appeared to believe women and men should be treated as equals, and respected the opinions of many female colleagues—all progressive positions for his time. He wrote an article published in the New York Sunday Times in 1909 supporting the movement. Vorsino, Mary. “Re-Reading Dewey Through a Feminist Lens.” Education Perspectives, vol. 47, 9 Nov. 2015, pp. 50–54. Dewey, John. “Women Suffrage.” New York Sunday Times. -
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Dewey Commission
The Dewey Commission (officially the "Commission of Inquiry into the Charges Made against Leon Trotsky in the Moscow Trials") was initiated by the American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky.
The commission proclaimed that it had cleared Trotsky of all charges made during the Moscow Trials and exposed the scale of the alleged frame-up of all other defendants during these trials.
The Dewey Commission published its findings in the form of a book titled "Not Guilty". -
Experience and Education - the Book
In 1928 John Dewey wrote a profound and short book, "Experience and Education." In this book Dewey continually emphasizes experience, experiment, purposeful learning, freedom, and other concepts of progressive education. Dewey, John. Experience And Education. New York: Macmillan, 1938. -
Later Life and Death
John Dewey died on 01 June 1952 at the age of 92 from pneumonia.
He was a life long advocate of education reform and wrote up until his death.
Throughout his lifetime, he published over 1,000 works. He wrote 700 articles in 140 journals and 40 books. -
Commemorative Stamp
In 1965, John Dewey was honored for his contributions to society with a commemorative stamp.
