The School and Society/The Child and the Curriculum

by John Dewey, Philip W. Jackson (Introduction)

This edition brings Dewey's educational theory into sharp focus, framing his two classic works by frank assessments, past and present, of the practical applications of Dewey's ideas. In addition to a substantial introduction in which Philip W. Jackson explains why more of Dewey's ideas haven't been put into practice, this edition restores a "lost" chapter, dropped from the book by Dewey in 1915.

Genres: Education, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology, Teaching, History, Academic

252 pages, Paperback

Published September 18, 1991

About the author

John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey, along with Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, is recognized as one of the founders of the philosophy of pragmatism and of functional psychology. He was a major representative of the progressive and progressive populist philosophies of schooling during the first half of the 20th century in the USA.

In 1859, educator and philosopher John Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont. He earned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University in 1884. After teaching philosophy at the University of Michigan, he joined the University of Chicago as head of a department in philosophy, psychology and education, influenced by Darwin, Freud and a scientific outlook. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1904. Dewey's special concern was reform of education. He promoted learning by doing rather than learning by rote. Dewey conducted international research on education, winning many academic honors worldwide. Of more than 40 books, many of his most influential concerned education, including My Pedagogic Creed (1897), Democracy and Education (1902) and Experience and Education (1938). He was one of the founders of the philosophy of pragmatism. A humanitarian, he was a trustee of Jane Addams' Hull House, supported labor and racial equality, and was at one time active in campaigning for a third political party. He chaired a commission convened in Mexico City in 1937 inquiring into charges made against Leon Trotsky during the Moscow trials. Raised by an evangelical mother, Dewey had rejected faith by his 30s. Although he disavowed being a "militant" atheist, when his mother complained that he should be sending his children to Sunday school, he replied that he had gone to Sunday School enough to make up for any truancy by his children. As a pragmatist, he judged ideas by the results they produced. As a philosopher, he eschewed an allegiance to fixed and changeless dogma and superstition. He belonged to humanist societies, including the American Humanist Association. D. 1952.

Reviews

[Amy Hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worth the read if only because of how influential Dewey has been, but definitely a frustrating read. While he makes a lot of suggestions that are definitely good, particularly with regard to teaching hard science, he has a very particular philosophy running behind all his suggestions that he never fully explains. That wouldn’t necessarily be frustrating, but in his case I think the shady presentation was intentional. He hides behind nebulous terms like “social good”, and the few times his philosophy peaks through it points to ideas quite radical for the time. (Or maybe I should call them progressive) I got the sense he was trying to slip his philosophy to his audience on the sly, which makes it hard for me to respect him. On top of that, the bits of his philosophy that did come through reminded me of the N.I.C.E. in Lewis’ “That Hideous Strength”.

[Jes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really, really good and I would recommend it to anyone who teaches at any level. Some previous reader of the library copy had written 'YES!' in the margins next to all the best passages, and I very much agree. Also just leaving a note for myself to come back to the chapter about how the different phases of the educational system came into being, because I thought that was a VERY useful way of understanding why the different grade levels, including the university, don't seem to be good at communicating with each other (short version: they emerged at different points of history in different places, had different values, and were designed to serve different purposes). Also note to self to type up quotes from it before I return the library copy!

[Tysseer Harak · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب جيد وأفكار مستنيرة ومتميزة, وفي نفس الوقت ترجمة ضحلة وتنم عن جهل لغوي وفقر فكري للمترجم (ألأذي يفترض فيه التخصص)
الكاتب (جون ديوي) صاحب البصمة الواضحة في تطوير التعليم , يناقش فكرة مهمة جدا وهي أن التعلم لا يجب أبدا أن يكون شيء معزول ومنفصل عن الحياة, وأن من الأسباب الرئيسية لمشاكل المدرسة وعدم محبة الطلبة لها هو إحساسهم أنهم يلعبون دورا مرسوما وغير واقعي ومفروض عليهم قسرا دون أن يدركوا الفائدة منه لأنهم لا يطبقون ما يتعلمونه في حياتهم اليومية, فصحيح أن التعليم يهدف ل"بناء المستقبل" إلا أنه لا يجب أبدا أن يغفل حاضر الطالب, وأن المتعلم الحالي اليوم هو بشر لابد من النظر له بعين الاهتمام وأن يكون له دور فاعل في مجتمعه يقوم من خلاله بالتعلم وهو يؤدي مهنة مفيدة ومناسبة له
ملاحظات كثيرة ترد على الذهن عند قراءة هذا الكتاب , أولها أنه قد نشر في حوالي 1915 وقد تزامن في نشره مع عدة ثورات علمية وتعليمية بخصوص التعامل مع الأطفال وتناول التعليم (مثل مونتسوري مثلا وغيرها من العلماء الذين طرحوا أفكارا لازالت تؤثر حتى الآن في التعليم)
بالرغم من هذه الطروحات التجديدية , لازالت المدارس -حتى المتقدم منها- في بداية الطريق بالنسبة للتجديد الحقيقي في نموذج المدرسة القديم, بالرغم من المجلدات التي كتبت ولازالت تكتب في الموضوع, وهو ما يخبرنا عن كم التصلب في نظم المدرسة وصعوبة تطويرها تطوير حقيقي وشامل
من الملاحظات الطريفة أيضا أن الكاتب يكتب في عام 1915 عن قضايا التعليم, بينماالترجمة السيئة بالعربية تصدر في 1978 ! وهو مؤشر على الفجوة الحضارية بيننا وبينهم في مجال التعليم , بالرغم أنه أهم المجالات وخاصة بالنسبة لأمة لا تمتلك التكنولوجيا ولا العلم ولا الأبحاث وبالتالي تحتاج لتعليم يعوضها عن كل هذا النقص.
يميل الكاتب للتدليل على صحة أفكاره بالاستشهاد بأحدث التقنيات في عصره -الطباعةالرخيصة والتليغراف (نظام البرقيات) - كوسائل تفرض تغيرا في التعلم وتناوله وطرق نشر المعرفة وغيرها من الآثار لوجود تكنولوجيا حديثة ... الطريف أنني قرأت كتابا كتبه أحد المجددين في التعليم (deschooling socient) تمت كتابته في السبعينيا, وكان الكاتب ينظر نفس النظره للاختراعات الحديثة كالتلفاز المنزلي الملون وأشرطة الفيديو, ثم تجد الكتاب الحاليين يميلون للتدليل على أفكارهم بالدعوة لاستخدام الحاسوبات والانترنت ومواقع التواصل الاجتماعي ... وكأن الأفكار والطفرات في التعليم مرتبطة ارتباطا وثيقا بالقفزات العلمية والمخترعات الحديثة, التي تفتح الباب لمن يدعون للتخلي عن الأفكار البالية القديمة لوجود وسائل تسمح بتطبيق أفكار جديدة ومختلفة. ومن المثير للاهتمام متابعة هذا التطور والعلاقة بين وجود مخترعات جديدة وبين مناداة التطويريين في التعليم بتطوير التعليم ليستخدم هذه الاختراعات :)
الخلاصة الأفكار جيدة ورؤية الكاتب (بالرغم من قدم الكتاب) مازالت مفيدة وخصوصا للدول المتأخرة تعليميا, ولكن الترجمة في غاية السوء ويفضل الاطلاع على النص الأصلي

[الشناوي محمد جبر · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب قديم (1915) للمفكر والفيلسوف التربوي المعروف جون ديوي يتحدث فيه عن دور المدرسة في المجتمع، فالمدرسة لها دورها في التقدم الاجتماعي، ولها دورها في تطوير حياة الطفل إذا أديرت العملية التربوية وخطط لها بطريقة صحيحة تعتمد علي الجانب العملي النفعي الذي يكسب الطفل المهارات العملية التي تفيده في حياته العملية.
الفيلسوف التربوي جون ديوي مشهور جدا بفلسفته البراجماتية النفعية التي تقوم عليها النظم التربوية الأمريكية التي طرحت الفلسفات النظرية جانبا و ركزت اهتمامها بالفلسفة العملية النفعية وخير من عبر عنها وقادها لهذا الاتجاه هو جون ديوي.
الكتاب منقول للغة العربية بعد صدوره بأكثر من خمسين سنة وهذا التأخير في الترجمة يوضح بجلاء مدي أهمية تطوير شئون التربية والتعليم في بلادنا حيث تحتل مؤخرة الاهتمامات اليومية للمواطن العادي والحكومات في نفس الوقت.

[Kathrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who, since Dewey, has thought about the foundations of American schooling as deeply? What is the purpose of school? To learn how to pass a test, or to learn how to interact in a socially and culturally dynamic world? One hundred years old, and still relevant.

[Asmaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

الكتاب فيه أفكار جيدة جدا ولكن التقييم على الترجمة ، بشعة ّ!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant! a must-read for any teacher

[Reece · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve not previously read Dewey’s literature, though his influence has been pervasive all the same – years of hearing his name in courses on education without ever having been assigned one of his works to read have certainly sparked my intrigue. For some reason, though, I just never wound up picking up either of the books I’ve kept on my shelves for a while. Of course, that has changed now.

The selected works featured in this centennial publication are of immediate interest. The first, The School and Society, reads like an early and hugely positive review of Dewey’s own laboratory schools in Chicago. His examples of successfully implemented teaching methods, differentiated from content-centric lecturing, seem like a lovely expression. On the other hand, one feels as though his own pragmatic and psychological ideal is more or less impossible to implement in nearly any other teaching environment. In the scope of a public school classroom, how is the teacher meant to account for differences in student-teacher ratios, resources, administrative support for innovative and/or unprecedented teaching methods, etc.? As wonderful as it is to have an example like the one present in Dewey’s schools, we are left without any applicative means for the majority of American classrooms. Nor does Dewey necessarily put his foot forward towards offering advice on what such a compromise between these two radically different environments might look like.

I don’t necessarily find much fault in him, all the same. I believe the strategies espoused in the book to be resourceful and inspirational in a couple of ways. I certainly agree with Dewey’s position on finding ways to connect the lived experience of the student to the actual curriculum, and further find no fault in his criticisms of lifeless, abstracting pedagogies so commonly employed, even now. It’s a worthwhile read, even if its contents seem so incredibly distant.

[Kevin Fulton · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this book Dewey applies his philosophy of "How We Think" (A worthwhile, if hard read) to the classroom. While his theory is solid, his application is rather poor.
Dewey wants students to connect what they are learning to their everyday lives, which is a great goal. But the way he seeks to accomplish this will hurt students, especially struggling students.

[Ilana Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although written at the turn of the century, there are a lot of great (and practical) ideas about education in here. Anticipate that some of it will be ���dated,��� but also that you���ll wonder why the insights here are not employed more often in modern teaching and administration.

[Cassandra Carico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I strongly believe in Progressivism and believe that more hands on learning needs to be incorporated into the modern classroom. John Dewey's ideas are very sound and should be explored in depth once again.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this, I believe, for my philosophy of education class during my first graduate program. Dewey is the kingpin of the education system.

[Matt Hutson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The child is the starting-point, the center, and the end. His development, his growth, is the ideal. It alone furnishes the standard. To the growth of the child all studies are subservient; they are instruments valued as they serve the needs of growth. Personality, character, is more than subject-matter. Not knowledge or information, but self-realization, is the goal." ⠀
-John Dewey, The School and Society and The Child and the Curriculum⠀
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Here are four questions this book tries to answer or at least bring up for interpretation. ⠀
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1. What can be done, and how can it be done, to bring the school into closer relation with the home and neighborhood life—instead of having the school a place where the child comes solely to learn certain lessons?⠀
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2. What can be done in the way of introducing subject-matter in history and science and art, that shall have a positive value and real significance in the child's own life; that shall represent, even to the youngest children, something worthy of attainment in skill or knowledge; as much so to the little pupil as are the studies of the high-school or college student to him?⠀
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3. How can instruction in these formal, symbolic branches—the mastering of the ability to read, write, and use figures intelligently—be carried on with everyday experience and occupation as their background and in definite relations to other studies of more inherent content, and be carried on in such a way that the child shall feel their necessity through their connection with subjects which appeal to him on their own account?⠀
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4. Individual attention. This is secured by small groupings—eight or ten in a class—and a large number of teachers supervising systematically the intellectual needs and attainments and physical well-being and growth of the child.⠀
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My thoughts on the book.⠀
There were many valid points brought up that are still relevant today. However, the examples were outdated as this book was published in 1899 therefore it was harder to see his principles being applied in 2021. Other than sifting through the outdated examples, it is a solid book about education and child development.

[Leonardo]

Según Dewey, el problema central de los métodos educativos convencionales es la pasividad que engendran en los alumnos. Las escuelas son tratadas como espacios para escuchar y absorber,
pero nunca se prioriza el análisis, la indagación y la resolución de problemas. Cuando se espera de los alumnos que sean oyentes pasivos no sólo se impide que desarrollen sus facultades críticas, sino que posiblemente se las debilita: “ El niño se aproxima al libro sin sentir hambre intelectual, sus sentidos no se encuentran en estado de alerta ni adopta una posición inquisitiva. El resultado de todo esto es deplorablemente común: la dependencia abyecta con respecto a los libros es tal que debilita y paraliza el vigor del pensamiento y la curiosidad”. Tal grado de sometimiento, que en sí mismo es negativo para la vida en general, resulta fatal para la democracia, ya que ésta no puede sobrevivir si sus ciudadanos no son seres activos en estado de alerta. En lugar de limitarse a
escuchar, el niño debe mantenerse siempre en actividad: descubrir cosas, reflexionar sobre ellas y hacer preguntas. Dewey deseaba entonces “el cambio de una energía más o menos pasiva e inertemente receptora a otra bulliciosamente desplegada”.

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[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of repetitive but it's also a bolt of lightning, especially in these times. Our society instrumentalizes kids and what they learn and if they don't submit finds things wrong in them. There's so much to learn from how kids learn and Dewey reminds people who work with kids to find those things every day.
Jackson helpfully reminds us that Dewey was teaching the sons and daughters of U. Chicago professors or general Progressives who lived around the area and charged somewhat high tuition, so the Lab school is correctly identified as kind of a self-selecting bubble and its accomplishments could have as much to do with the families around the school and U. Chicago's efforts to keep profs living in Hyde Park as it does with the methods of the school. He also reminds us that Dewey was super vague about his psychological principles and pedagogy and that the school no longer practices "constructivism," if it ever did.
Still. Still. If every school was a part of a society rather than apart from it, if every school put the child in the center of the curriculum and gave her maps to use to find her way to meaning in whatever she did, if every school was well-resourced enough for field trips and work shops and textile labs and 10:1 student to faculty ratios, well...
we wouldn't be prioritizing reopening schools below reopening bars in the U.S. during Covid, would we?

[Jeff Durant · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...simply studying lessons out of a book is only another kind of listening; it marks the dependency of one mind upon another."

Reading is "harmful as a substitute for experience", and "all-important in interpreting and expanding experience".

" To see the outcome is to know in what direction the present experience is moving, provided it move normally and soundly. The far-away point, which is of no significance to us simply as far away, becomes of huge importance the moment we take it as defining a present direction of movement. Taken in this way it is no remote and distant result, but a guiding method in dealing with the present."

"To find satisfaction in its own exercise is the normal law of mind, and if large and meaningful business for the mind be denied, it tries to content itself with the formal movements that remain to it, and to often succeeds.."

"...oppositions are rarely carried out to there logical conclusion. Common-sense recoils at the extreme character of these results. They are left to theorists, while common-sense vibrates back and forward in a maze of inconsistent compromise."

He certainly knew how to express his ideas. A bit idealistic though.

[Ty Luizinho · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wordy read, but one important insight stands out as the overarching theme of both these essays:

If you divorce education from the child’s inner and outer life as an individual, you get learning because you’re forced to. That’s no good, no one learns because they’re forced to. It is when the material directly resonates with the child’s life, a problem to be solved, an adventure to be had, a solution to help a friend out, that it stops being force fed regurgitation and more of an active, living education directly applicable to the child’s life - because that is how it is when they come of age to (hopefully) become contributing members to society.

The book is more theory than practical in ways educators can achieve this ideal.

One modern insight I borrow from Jonathan Haidt is that what used to be a play-based childhood is now screen-based. Therefore, children encounter less problems where they can use their education to achieve a tangible solution in their lives. Computer science, digital creativity outlets have somewhat ameliorated this, and trolls to defeat do exist online, but when was the last time a child explored under an actual bridge?

[Britta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dewey was a great nineteenth and twentieth century educational innovator whose ideas are only starting to be picked up by mainstream education today. As an educator working in the constricting, testing dominated world that is present day American public education, reading Dewey is a breath of fresh air. I think many of his ideas are inaccessible to the average public school--they require more money and time to implement than many American public schools have on hand to freely use. That said, I also think many of his ideas can be easily modified and brought into present day classrooms with appropriate support from admin and the surrounding communities. He verges on the overly idealistic at times, which is why I'm only giving this four stars. However, I also believe his basic idea of a child-centered, growth oriented, inter disciplinary school and curriculum are essential for American educators to consider as we look towards the future of public education.

[Mike Horne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The battle between the Ancients and the moderns in education is began in 1900 by John Dewey in this book. You can forgive Dewey for having such a positive almost naive vision of the fresh century. The hard Sciences had made such progress, and the social sciences -- psychology, sociology, economics, political science, education -- would soon get rid of all poverty, corruption, crime, and war.

The new moderns who want to get rid of content for "critical thinking" have no such excuse.

[Mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was concerned about the "laboratory" school at the University of Chicago, but it quickly went downhill with his thought of the U.S. being a democracy and his socialism. Regardless, I don't think children should be used for experimentation.
It seemed his thoughts were in conflict with reality and it was dead in the water from the beginning running a deficit.
I'm sorry I wasted money on this book.

[Kate Ellesworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying a walk through the history of progressive education. Reading Dewey reminded me of how much psychology has changed our understanding of child development over the past 120 years since Dewey wrote these essays--and how little the arguments about the child in society and schooling have changed.

[Claire Stanovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Good sentiments. A call to arms for a new transformation of the education system to benefit the whole child post-Industrial Revolution influence on education. Way too wordy and intellectual sounding for my personal taste. However, given the time period…

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am totally counting this one because I read the entire thing in one day for an assignment. It needs to count for my reading challenge. lol...

[Ms Lapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the ideas are dated or overly idealistic, but Dewey remains foundational for an understanding of progressive education.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dewey is not an easy read, though this is more accessible and concrete than some of his other works.

[Haylee Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little hard to understand at times, but still relevant 100+ years later.

[Beththena Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - Dewey's perspective on child centered pedagogy and philosophy pf education which is focused primarily on experiential learning and student interest

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read for anyone but especially for educators.

[Bayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

من أفضل الكتب التي قرأتها لهذه السنة