Journal #5

Journal #5 John Dewey Reading


This Colloquium course can be directly related to John Dewey’s philosophy of “hands on”, and experimental learning. For the most part our generation has had a traditional learning experience, pounding students with information and expecting them to know exactly what the professorss are preaching. Part of John Dewey’s philosophy suggests that, “ New education and progressive schools is of itself a product of discontent with traditional education. It imposes adult standard methods, and methods upon those who are only growing slowly into maturity. The gap is so great that the methods of learning and behaving are foreign to the existing capabilities of the young. “ ( John Dewey, Traditional versus progressive education, University Colloquium, 2009). To translate this, John Dewey believed in a progressive learning style and the new generation of students has migrated so far off the path of experiencing learning progressively. Students must be taught traditionally and experimentally in order to get a better understanding of our environment and in order to interact with our planet. The experience must come from within in order to appreciate the learning process, knowledge must be transmitted in the classroom as well as interaction in order to understand how it works. “History of education is development from within, based upon natural endowments; and that education is a process of overcoming natural inclination” (John Dewey). The readings of John Dewey Traditional versus Progressive Education had a great influence on me because I strongly believe in traditional and experimental learning. Experience is what makes a person who they are, and I believe my education and experiences have elevated me to better understand the environment and learn from my discoveries. This passage was indeed very interesting and enables one to think of how they got to where they are today. “History of education is development from within, based upon natural endowments; and that education is a process of overcoming natural inclination” (John Dewey). My development as a person is from what I have experienced in the region I was raised in, Southwest Florida.
Bibliography:
John Dewey, Traditional versus progressive education, University Colloquium, 2007 Lad Custom Publishing, Inc