Democracy And Education :: John Dewey
Democracy And Education :: John Dewey === https://tlniurl.com/2tlxsH
What is particularly interesting about this book is the link Dewey highlights between democracy and education reflecting his advocacy of democracy. Democracy is not only about extending voting rights, a big issue in 1916, but also equipping citizens with the ability to take on the responsibility to make informed, intelligent choices and decisions leading to the public good. He believed that democracy is not just a political system but an ethical ideal with active informed participation by citizens.. Established beliefs and theories should be critically questioned and revised in the light of developments, pragmatically evolving to meet the needs of changing times. If democracy is to work it required informed, knowledgeable and wise citizens and, therefore, education has a moral purpose. Classroom teachers and schools have a responsibility to nurture character as well as teach knowledge and skills.
The writings of John Dewey span a broad range of subjects, including psychology, epistemology, ethics, and democratic politics, but his philosophy of education lies at the heart of his work. Democracy and Education, published in 1916, is Dewey's seminal work on education and arguably its most influential on this topic. In Democracy and Education, combining his philosophical pragmatism and his progressive pedagogical ideas, Deweyoutlines the social role of education, both formal and informal, as the transmitter and bearer of a society's identity through the preparation of youth for adult society. This general discussion is then applied to the type of contents and methods that are necessary in a progressive democratic community. The final section of the book examines the intellectual roots of social divisions that impede the application of democratic education in the contemporary society. These divisions stem from the dualisms embedded in philosophical systems of education, which dichotomize certain domains or relationships, such as the mind and the body, the mind and nature, and the individual and society. Dewey argues for a philosophy of education that nullifies these dualisms, and is centered on the freedom of the mind and thought in directed, social activity. Dewey defines education as a process of growth, and it is through this concept that he links education with democracy. Democracy, understood