John Dewey
John Dewey’s thoughts on education are often linked with the progressive movement in education. His philosophy of education basically is that educators must teach so students are ready to contribute to society. Schools need to teach social aspects as well as educational concepts. Schools should also provide social reform. Dewey’s theory focuses on the idea that education has a social purpose as well as a purpose for one’s self. As one is learning and gaining an education, social processes should be meshed with the learning. He felt approaches in the classroom should be experimental.
The idea behind Dewey’s theory is that it is important for students to learn about things they can relate to and things they have prior knowledge about. Students should be able to build on this background knowledge and use their skills to live in a progressive democratic society. Dewey believed that students needed to learn beyond regular rote. Students must learn how to think. He felt that schools should “teach students how to be problem-solvers.” It is the teacher’s job to help students learn how to think rather then have the students become containers of rote memory. Students should be analyzing and making judgments using reflective thinking. The teacher should not just lecture content to the students. Students need to go beyond just memorizing curriculum. Dewey also felt there should be a balance between the teacher and student. The idea was to have them both work to become partners. Dewey felt it was important for the students to make independent discoveries. He felt students should be active and thatsthe best way to learn is by being actively involved and by doing. The teacher’s role is to act as the guide or the facilitator.
It was also Dewey’s belief that students need to learn about good judgments. When these students become adults they should be able to "pass judgments pertinently and discriminateingly on the problems of human living."
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