A Lesson on Prophet Dewey

So...let's talk about Dewey. I had never heard of him until I read the articles for Friday. I must say, with the way Rich and Reeves' article talks about him, one would believe that the man was some sort of prophet to the church of educational technology. The article opens by stating that although Dewey died over half a century ago, he would endorse the use of the modern technology used in today's classrooms because the use of such technology is in line with his philosophy of education. The article supports this argument by quoting Dewey as he states his distaste of objectivism and his support of learning by doing with moderate teacher supervision: two concepts that lie at the foundation of instruction with technology. The quotes from Dewey - written years ago in a world different from our own - were embedded into the text and surrounded by explanations of how his words endorse the use of technology in the classroom: an issue that we face today. I'm not going to lie, the entire time I was reading this text, I felt as if I was at a Bible study discussing the book of the prophet Dewey with six or seven strangers.

I think if there was a church of Dewey, members would have to recite his Pedagogic Creed at every service. That's a shame; that article wasn't exactly short... Also, children would be forced to memorize it before they could be confirmed. Poor children...

Anyway, the thing that struck me the most about Dewey's Pedagogic Creed is Dewey's belief that school should simplify a child's existing social life. I would love to see this work in real life. In my entire schooling career, going to school definitely never simplified my social life. If anything, it complicated it quite a bit. Before I started kindergarten, I really only knew my family. Then I went away to school and met all sorts of crazy people. Some were nice, some were mean, some were bossy, some were tall, some were smelly... And we need to deal with all of these people in as civil of a manner as possible. But we're all so different that somewhere down the line, we're going to have a conflict with somebody. Little kids argue over toys and friends. When we get older, kids start to form cliques and start alienating people who they perceive as undesirable to the social "image" that they're trying to attain - and that's BEFORE middle school. Once middle school rolls around, all these new changes and "feelings" are mixed into the already-complicated equation. People start dating. Some kids develop bad habits... And then high school. Let's not even go there. Basically, if I want to be in an environment where I have the most simplified social life, school is the last place I would go.

Also in Dewey's Creed: "I believe that next to deadness and dullness, formalism and routine, our education is threatened with no greater evil than sentimentalism." It looks like the church of Dewey has found itself a devil.

"Teaching Generation M" was an article that did exactly what the title implied it would do: teach me things! I learned all these interesting facts about Google that I never thought to research. First of all, I had always wondered whether Google or Yahoo! had existed first, and now I know that it was Yahoo! I can sleep well tonight knowing that that question is finally answered. And I had always wondered why hitting the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button after typing "miserable failure" into the Google Search Bar always brought me to George W. Bush's biography. The world makes so much sense now.

Also, the article talked about teenagers using Wikipedia and Google as sources in research projects: "They may still use [them], but cite information from other sources" (174). Gee, I've never seen that happen before...

So basically, I took a lot out of those readings.

One closing comment: Can we please appreciate Rich and Reeves' utter enthusiam for Dewey? "...The Collected Works of John Dewey, published by the University of Illinois Press, runs to 37 volumes!" (54). I mean, look at that exclamation point. Feel that enthusiasm. Exclamation points are very rare in scholarly articles such as these. Rich and Reeves want us to be just as excited as they are that Dewey has produced 37 whole volumes of material for us to read. I want to pick up a copy of each of those 37 volumes right now so I can read a chapter right before bed every night. That will give me enough bed time stories to last me until I'm old. Then, before I go to bed, I can recite Dewey's Pedagogic Creed wearing my Dewey-face PJs with a signed poster of Dewey over my bed that is covered in Dewey-face sheets. Some would call it an obsession; I think it's just a replication of what I believe Rich and Reeves' bedrooms look like.

Okay, I'm done.