Table of ContentsSummaryProgressive Education in the 21st CenturyProgressive Education in LifeProgressive Education in SchoolConclusionReferencesSummaryThis essay will attempt to explain why John Dewey's theory on democracy and education is still relevant in 2019 and how revisiting his theories can improve the overall well-being of our citizens. The world we live in has become a very divided nation due to the many cultural and political issues that flood the media daily. The reason for the division is that people forget what it means to be human and how to show love to others who may not feel comfortable enough to stand up for what they truly believe in. Dewey explains in his essays that the way to rectify this division is to allow all individuals to come together and contribute to society so that we can all grow and learn from each other. This includes the idea that no one should be left behind or made to feel different simply because they have a strong belief that doesn't align with your true values. Everyone should be accepted and loved for exactly who they are, and schools today need to start promoting this concept more. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Progressive Education in the 21st Century John Dewey's significant approach to education still exists to this day. The whole notion and idea of ​​school has always intrigued me ever since I decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life as an educator. I believe that giving your life to your children and helping them grow and succeed is the greatest gift anyone could ask for. John Dewey's theory of education began in the early 1900s and is still as relevant as ever, which is amazing in itself. I couldn't imagine writing philosophies hundreds of years ago that would still be used today and serve as a guide on how to treat others with respect and dignity. His main idea as a progressive was that children should be the center of the classroom and that the student's academic needs and interests should always take precedence over anything else. Students should learn real-world problems that they can use long after graduation, instead of being taught generic concepts from outdated textbooks. Students should be allowed to explore and formulate their own questions about everyday life instead of just being handed them on a silver platter. But also, teachers must prepare their students to become advocates for their own lives and allow them to grow up in a world where they will be good and honest citizens because they are the future. We want to leave our children with the idea that they hold the key to all success in their lives as long as they hold on to these aspirations and dreams. In this article, I will demonstrate why John Dewey's approach to education not only affects students inside the classroom but also outside it. Progressive Education in Life After reading John Dewey's book "Democracy and Education" I was really blown away by a comment he wrote that it still resonates with the current state of the economy in which we live in today: A democracy is more than a form of government; it is above all an associated way of life, of shared shared experience. The spatial extension of the number of individuals who participate in an interest, so thateveryone must relate their own action to that of others and consider the action of others to give meaning and direction to their own, equivalent to decomposition. of these barriers of class, race and national territory which prevented men from perceiving the full scope of their activity. I think what's amazing about the quote above is that it can be interpreted in many different ways. The first is that when people decide to participate in a cause, they need to understand how their actions can affect other people, especially those who feel like they don't have a voice today. You can either have a positive or negative mindset towards others. If you go around and try to help those who are struggling to understand the world around them, the outcome won't matter because people will always remember how you made them feel and the efforts that you have deployed to change their lives. But if you approach things with a negative mindset, these are the types of people to avoid since their main intention is to bring others down to their level. You can't just walk around and feel like no rules apply to you and that you're just above everyone else. Being a role model for children is what I plan to do when I become a teacher, because we want to make today's young people understand that it is so easy to make a difference in life of a person. Recently in one of my graduate classes we were watching a short video about Summerhill School, located in Suffolk, England. This British boarding school was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill. Although this school is one of the oldest progressive and democratic institutions still standing today, there have been criticisms in the past about the way the school was run. AS Neill's biographer, Richard Bailey, argued that "Neill appears to have had an indifference to the outside world. His lessons were presented as take it or leave it. However, absolving oneself of responsibility for one's students' learning, for all its other possible virtues, risked losing those who needed it most. After searching the school's main website, they mentioned on the homepage that their students were "under no obligation to attend" their classes and that "all classes are optional." John Dewey states in his 1937 book, Experience and Education, that there is "a fundamental unity in the idea that there is an intimate and necessary relationship between the process of actual experience and education" (Dewey, 1937 , p.7). This point sums up this concept perfectly and would go against all the rules and beliefs of Summerhill School. Dewey suggests that there must be a clear correlation between actual learning and growth when you get to school. If you come to school without this drive to improve and without any proper guidance on the course material, this relationship that John Dewey speaks of will not work and will unfortunately limit the potential of all prospective students, especially those with difficulties at school. . Every student learns material at a different pace and John Dewey was a strong advocate of determining what works and what doesn't work for each class. If you take no responsibility for your students, then being an educator is clearly not the right profession for you. Another way the above quote from Democracy and Education can be interpreted is by being compassionate towards others and particularly respecting their opinions. if they differ from yours. THEprinciple above couldn't be more relevant, especially given the insane amount of division currently plaguing our educational and political climates. When you disregard the views and opinions of others, society divides. No one wants to feel like an outsider, but unfortunately, with all the social media bullying we experience today; people are afraid to be themselves because the current culture we live in has become too sensitive to everyday issues. The point I'm trying to make here and bring back to John Dewey is that members of society should be allowed to express themselves freely without fear of being judged or reprimanded for not conforming to what society expects of you. Dewey states in his 1939 essay, “Creative Democracy: The Task Before Us,” that “the task of democracy is always that of creating a freer and more humane experience in which all share and in which all participate.” ". We must begin to move toward a world in which individuals in a community can all come together to share their thoughts and feelings about how to improve society as a whole. Dewey suggests that when people feel to contribute and actually make a difference, that feeling will inspire them to stand up for themselves and those who don't feel like they have that voice to stand up for what they believe in for me, that's. everything and it is honestly what shapes and trains a person to grow up to be a good and decent human being But educators must understand the great responsibility that falls on the education of students today. “Recent decades have also given rise to the standards and accountability movement, which in turn has led to an increased value placed on student performance, assessment, and standardized testing. This quote from Mordechai Gordon, author of a scholarly article on the theoretical philosophies of John Dewey, truly illustrates the constant stress and pressure teachers face in today's economy. But Gordon also explains how Dewey “lived in a time when the winds of change were blowing across society in general and education in particular (Gordon, 2016, p. 1079). The main point expressed here is that education is always changing for the better and unfortunately also for the worse. New laws can be passed that could reduce funding for after-school activities and other educational programs that students actually need, but teachers cannot let political issues prevent them from fully doing their jobs. But with all the advances in technology and social media apps that can now be used in the classroom, teachers can adapt and modify their lesson plans to meet the individual needs of their students. Instead of constantly conforming to what the school wants for your class, the teacher should know deep down in their heart what works and what doesn't work for each student. Teachers must be their own advocates and do what is ultimately best for their children. The quote below from John Dewey perfectly expresses my views on the educational process and why educators cannot allow a single student to fall behind in their class: Nothing can be developed from nothing, but the raw can be developed from the raw - and this is what surely happens when we return the child to his achieved self as a finality and invite him to weave new truths of nature or nature. driven from this. He iscertainly as futile to expect a child to evolve a universe from his own mind as it is for a philosopher to attempt that task. School should be a place where people can actually come together and have real conversations and make real connections. In Dewey's work, the way I conveyed his idea of ​​education was not in the physical sense of school, where you come every day and learn in front of a board all day. But in the sense that people will become stronger as a society by listening to others and engaging in real conversations that will help them improve their social interactions in and out of school. Being a teacher is such an amazing job because when you look at each school year, you only have a limited amount of time to make a difference in the lives of your students because they will eventually graduate and move on to the next grade. So you want them to know that you did everything in your power to help them grow and live their lives to the fullest. This point led me to find information about John Dewey High School, located in Brooklyn, New York and founded on Dewey's philosophy of education. "The aim of democratic education is not simply to make the individual an intelligent participant in the life of his immediate group, but to bring the different groups into such constant interaction that no individual, no group economy cannot claim to live independently of others. » (Dewey, 1916, p. 116). » This quote from John Dewey perfectly sums up the statistics above because they show how diversity is a crucial part of success in life and in school. When you create a home where everyone is accepted and no one is seen as different, you create a harmonious community full of love and support. When schools are diverse, you have the opportunity to learn from other people who have lived all over the world and experience everything they learned in their hometown. When you isolate people and discriminate based on race, gender, and disability, that's when bias comes into play and you're setting students up for failure. John Dewey attempts to show that looking at the world through an open-minded lens is the way to live a prosperous life. Ultimately, we're all here trying to connect and find our place in this world, so instead of excluding people, let them in and give them the opportunity to share their story with the world. If you also notice in the statistics above, student and teacher attendance are among the highest numbers on this list, meaning this school upholds the traditions and beliefs of John Dewey's work. Showing up every day to do your job and being there to guide your students is the essence of what makes teaching an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling profession. From my experience working as a teaching assistant with children with special needs, the job definitely has physical and emotional challenges, but the lasting relationships and bonds you create with the children are what makes this profession so memorable.ConclusionIn summary, I would like to end this article with a quote from John Dewey's 1922 book, "Human Nature and Conduct", "The recognition that good is always found in an actual growth of "The importance of activity prevents us from thinking that well-being can consist of the happiness of a soup kitchen, in the pleasures that we can confer on others outside." This shows that the good is of the same quality wherever it is found, whether in,. 10, 1077-1091.