Jeffrey+-+pro+-+SP12

John Dewey was born on October 20, 1853 in Vermont. He attended the University of Vermont. He taught at a school in Pennsylvania for 2 years before he found that primary and secondary education was not for him. After studying with many famous professors at Johns Hopkins University, he obtained his Ph. D from the School of Arts & Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. He then wrote a book titled "The Psychology of Kant". Dewey wrote many books and most of his books were concerning education. However he also wrote on topics like nature, art, logic, and inquiry. He was a strong advocate of Progressive Education.

Dewey had a strong view on progressive education, which is the straying of learning styles from the standard curriculum. He states that education is “participation of the individual in the social consciousness of the race”. Dewey thought that the standard way of teaching was not actually helping students learn anything but the books. He felt that the books were not always a good way to teach students to apply their knowledge for the use of others. He also states that " Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." Dewey really wanted people to acknowledge that education is the very basis of life and how we must live. In order for anyone to succeed he believed that they must be constantly learning new things that they can use and gain from; not the jargon commonly found in textbooks. Dewey believed in making others think for themselves. Another important ideal that he had for education was "The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs."

Dewey wanted to change the way that children were being educated in the schools. Some of the new ways that he wanted kids to be taught are emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects, expeditionary learning, experiential learning. He thought that this would increase their potential of creativity. Strong emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking would allow them to learn to think for themselves. Collaborative and cooperative learning projects that would give them the social skills for the rest of their lives. These are just a view of his firm beliefs in change. Dewey knew that in order to change something he would have to be able to show how this would be better than the old way of teaching to the test; and not teaching what is going on out side the classroom. Dewey knew that this would have to be the future.

"Progressive Education." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

"John Dewey Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

"John Dewey." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

"Message from the Chair." Brock University. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .