I am a big proponent of self-learning and I am certain that it is a crucial part of the learning process. Learning about different topics of interest is an uniquely human endeavor. We all in our own ways become experts in our areas of interest or hobbies.

In a traditional learning environment, self-learning is fostered through broad individual assignments that may be based on a set criteria. A traditional example of this would be a research paper. It is up to the self-learner to find sources, evaluate them, and develop their own thoughts on the topic. Most of the “learning” being done is up to the student. The course that they are writing it for has progressed far enough that the teacher views them as capable enough to write their paper.

Research papers are not the end all of self-learning. Self-learning was a big part of what John Dewey thought in regards to education. Schools were set up that allowed students to teach themselves (Reed 91). Ideas about self-learning have not faded into obscurity 70 years after Dewey died. Students developing their own curricula may not be mainstream, but that is not to say that it does not happen. Not only are traditional examples available, but there programs like EL Education. One of EL Education’s 10 design principles is solitude and reflection. EL goes on to state that “students and teachers need time alone to explore their own thoughts.” Many of the other design principles within EL  emphasize this form form of education and provide a foundation for a unique learning environment.

I have never thought of myself as a teacher. I have never been good with my peers in helping them understand a topic or subject. I have only understood ideas in my own way. If I even try to teach someone something, I will end up taking over and showing them how to do it or even just filling it out myself. I knew one day I would never teach anyone but my life has taken a one eighty on me and now I have been given the chance to explore the idea of teaching. With this field work class, I will be able to fully understand the elements involved with the profession. There are principles that I have covered in a packet that I was given that allowed me to begin my journey. I hope to conquer them and with confidence in myself, my peers and my instructor I will hope have the tool necessary to gather learners together and give them great knowledge I have acquired through my life experience.

EL Education has laid out some principles for new beginners and even for some experts in the field of teaching. These principles showed me areas in myself that I will definitely need to work on if I expect to teach students. For example, one of the design principles is empathy and caring. The description states that there must be mutual respect between the student and the instructor and that every student must fell physically and emotionally safe. This a huge area I need to improve on, although it is not mentioned in the description it allowed me to think about having empathy for a student and give deep concern and care for those who are struggling. I have a tendency to leave those who don’t understand behind because I believe that I need to keep moving get the job done.

John Dewy wrote many statements that I as a student agree with. For example, the biggest statement made that I sole agree on is “the only true education comes through the stimulation of the child’s powers by the demands of the social situation in which he finds himself” (Dewey 93). This I believe is the truest statement made throughout the entire packet due to my own personal experience. I have learned more through being thrown into a social atmosphere that I don’t fully understand than being in a room getting taught on a white board.

-Matthew Jingle

HR: Readings

I believe one of the most important aspects of John Dewey’s ideals is his notion that “education… is a process of living and not a preparation for future living” because I feel as if it relates to a number of various principles that EL Education espouses. Throughout my education I have often found that the pressure placed on me to perform hinders my ability to properly enjoy and explore my education. Particularly in high school I was discouraged a number of times by faculty and administration to pursue my interests in school because they believed that, if I were to have challenged myself,  I would not have excelled. My sophomore year of high school I took the CP literature course and got a B, and while I was interested in taking the Honors course during my junior year, I knew that I would have needed to get an A in the CP course to move up to Honors. After discussing the dilemma with my teacher I discovered that I could get forms signed by members of the faculty, staff, and my parents to get into the course. My parents encouraged me to take the class and happily signed the forms I handed over to them, but when I gave the form to my CP literature teacher, the Vice Principal, and my the teacher who would was going to be teaching the Honors class, I was told multiple times by them that there was a strong chance I wouldn’t succeed in the class and they rather forcefully recommended that I remain in CP. When I got a B in the Honors course and wanted to take the AP literature course my senior year, I was made to go through the whole discouraging experience again, but lo and behold I got an A in the class and I passed my AP exam – I may have shown up late and without a pencil, but I passed.

Those teachers who discouraged me from challenging myself were preparing me for future living. They wanted to ensure that I had the best grades that I could have had on my high school transcript for when I applied to college. Yet, I truly believe that if a student’s’ interests aren’t cultivated and challenges aren’t put before them there is very little chance of that student succeeding. Not only is it important for the student to cultivate their passions, but it is also important that they realize their own capabilities and self-worth as a student. Moreover, I feel as if doing these empowering things for students is what best prepares them for their future – grades are not necessarily indicative of someone’s future success or lack thereof, but their confidence, passion, ambition, etc.

When I was in the Boy Scouts, I had the opportunity to work at a summer camp and my job was to teach merit badges to classes with a variety of ages ranging from 11 to 17. This was very difficult strictly because the varying ages. The older kids wouldn’t care about anything I was saying, they just wanted to get the badge without doing any work. Meanwhile I was trying to keep the younger kids from bouncing off the mountains. However this challenging experience helped me because, “learning happens best with emotion, challenge, and the requisite support” (El Education Core Practices).

I had several different classes and they each were a week long then the next week I would get another group of kids. So after the first day of instruction I had to assess how the rest of the week was going to be. Most of the kids enjoyed walking around and me using physical real life examples to teach them the requirements for the merit badge. The younger kids were able to move around and would pay attention when I would stop them. The older kids didn’t complain much because they weren’t just sitting there listening to me lecture. I would also get the students involved by quizzing them after the lesson by having them point out examples of plants or whatever I taught that day.

As John Dewey said, “every genuine experience has an active side, which changes in some degree the objective conditions under which experiences are had” (Dewey, 109). I believe what Dewey meant by this is every experience we have with one thing changes our perspective on that subject each time we are involved with said subject. Given that this was my first and only experience with teaching, as Dewey stated, the experiences I gain in fieldwork will change my perspective on teaching. This first experience I had with teaching was good for me, EL Education says, “People discover their abilities, values, passions, and responsibilities in situations that offer adventure and the unexpected” (EL Education Core Practices).

Amongst all the classes I took as a student in High School, my best experiences come from taking AP English Senior year. Over the course of the year I improved the most on my writing and critical thinking. I attribute the majority of this growth towards practical exercises such as writing peer reviews and reflection. Activities like this not only corrected my writing, but also strengthened my confidence and opened my eyes to new ways of thinking. While I took almost everything we did for granted in High School, I now realize the advantage that this gave me over so many other students. This approach to learning is supported by EL Education’s “Core Practices: A Vision for Improving Schools.” Within this textbook, teaching designs are explored to further construct learning expeditions and achievement. The concept of peer review and consulting can also be found again in John Dewey’s “Philosophical Documents in Education.” In chapter 8 of this book Dewey discusses the ‘implications of human interaction’ in learning. The idea that “men associate together in all kinds of ways and for all kinds of purposes” supports the idea of discussion within the classroom. Dewey also notes that a “lack of the free and equitable intercourse” can lead to an intellectual imbalance. To put this more simply, Dewey explains that the greatest improvement is found in diversity and being challenged by others. The greatest point that Dewey made in this chapter is that “isolation makes for rigidity and formal institutionalizing of life.” I have found through my own experience that the best way to accomplish this design is through controlled and constructive criticism among my own peers. The opportunity to correct and learn from students at the same level offers unique perspectives like no other. I hope to see more practice of peer review and consulting in class rooms in the future.

What sets the EL education curriculum apart from other methods of teaching is their idea of balanced education and completeness of an individual. Their focus is not simply on how to get students into colleges or into their desired fields, but to develop students of character well versed in all topics. Their model “fosters and celebrates student’s character development…to become effective learners and ethical people who contribute to a better world” (EL Education Core Practices) reminds me of the liberal arts education of ancient Greece where students learned much more than the simple regurgitation of facts. Many schools today have created such a reliance against these classical ideals, instead focusing on rope memorization and reciting. Education “cannot, therefore, be true that the proper studies for one grade are mere reading and writing, and that at a later grade, reading, or literature, or science may be introduced”(Dewey), in much in the classical way, “the progress is not in the succession of studies, but in the development of new attitudes” (Dewey). What was interesting about this for me is that it gave me the criteria to evaluate my own education in public school. I think that us especially as English majors take for granted where we came from as students. All the skills that come so seemingly naturally to us that create the foundation of the major had to be taught at one point. I feel that it is easy to forget the process that it took to get us where we are now. I was very fortunate to go to a school that seemed to have internalized many of these principles. My school had focuses on more than just academic success, but showcased quality student work. There were many exhibitions of fine arts and sciences. There was also an emphasis on development of character but to me it always felt pushed. I think that it is hard for schools to focus on character development without students feeling like it is some sort of gimmick not to be taken seriously.

The ideas that are found in both EL Education: Core Practices and Dewey’s “My Pedagogic Creed” that I connect with the most are that education is the basis on which we, has humans, develop as members of the human community and that education is what forms us as either morally upright or reprehensible beings. Dewey’s Pedagogic Creed states

“I believe that – all education proceeds by the participations of the individual un te social consciousness of the race. This process begins unconsciously almost at birth, and is continually shaping the individual’s power, saturating his consciousness, forming his habits, training his ideas, and arousing his feelings and emotions. Through his unconscious education the individual gradually comes to share in the intellectual and moral resources which humanity has succeeded in getting together. He becomes an inheritor of the funded capital of civilization. The most formal and technical education in the world cannot safely depart from this general process.” Dewey (92-93)

Moreover, EL Education’s Core Principles states “Work to become ethical people” (VII) as a dimension of student achievement.

As I am a student of philosophy morality being paired with education is rooted into my own belief deeply. For example, I see this in my own experience with education. From a young age, I saw my parents methodically live in accordance to a specific philosophy. Additionally, both my mother and father believed in educating through literature and they often read me the great American writers (I.e. Emerson, Thoreau, and Franklin) as bed times stories. The example set by my parents through practicing their philosophy and demonstration with literature are the foundation of what I believe today. As anecdotal as my experience may be I still believe that it is representative of the validity of Dewey’s ideas. Logically, it makes sense that education is what can lead a person to being moral or ethical. If a person is exposed to only bad ideas then why would they have any reason or ability to challenge them. This is way it is essential for education to present good ideas to individuals.

HR: EL Education: Core Practices and Dewey’s “My Pedagogic Creed” (found in Philosophical Documents in Education handout)

One key note that I would like to address in the Dewey reading is his notion on the educational process having two sides. He states “this educational process has two sides-one psychological and one sociological-and that neither can be subordinated to the other, nor neglected, without evil results following” (Dewey 93). This is an interesting way to view education because when I look at education today, I think of factory style teaching, standardized test, and structure with no ability to wonder off and create something new and different. I would not have pictured the importance of understanding the psychological and sociological aspects to a certain extent that Dewey deems necessary. Dewey continues with “The psychological is the basis. The child’s own instincts and powers furnish the material and give the starting point for all education” (Dewey 93). I believe using this ideology as a starting point would be a great conversation starter. Instead of focusing on the masses of students, generalizing the teaching styles, and generalizing the topics, I believe we should look at how we can affect students individually by getting rid of the simplistic factoring teaching and introducing a new way of educating each other. One idea would be to introduce a student teaching time. Where a student, no matter how right or wrong they are, would get in front of the class and teach their fellow class mates the topic of the day. It could be for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of class and the teacher would come in after and teach the topic at hand the “correct way”. I believe a program like this would go hand and hand with Dewey’s thoughts on the educational process. It would encourage kids to be themselves, teach how they would like to teach, build confidence, and it would allow the teachers to analyze their students to figure out new ways to connect with an individual student.

Aaron Kempf
Response 2
John Dewey

John Dewey – Genius or Madman?

Born 1859 in Vermont, John Dewey led a life in which social justice was nothing short of a priority. With many pieces of writings detailing his life and aspirations “much of it treats him either as a saint or a villain.” Dewey addresses schools as a social institution that is set in place to serve as a community for its students. Education was viewed by Dewey as a “process of living and not a preparation for future living. In relation to my personal experience, this has not remotely been the case. Mr. Dewey would roll over in his grave if he were to glance at the highschool environment I was raised within, as during my time in school, the lone intention of the school administration was to get us out of school and onto future milestones. There was no time to enjoy the process of living and developing as Dewey speaks of in part 2, as bringing in and pushing out students became more of a chore than a job for educators. Thus, when dewey asserts that “much of present education fails because it neglects this fundamental principle of the school as a form of community life”, based on my life experiences, I have no choice but to wholeheartedly agree. Out of the many remarks Dewey makes regarding the subject matter of education, his assertion that “we violate the child’s nature and render difficult the best ethical results by introducing the child too abruptly to a number of special studies”, stands out, as it brings back vivid memories of my own personal learning past. A large part of Dewey’s argument revolves around the idea that learning needs to be centered around a students life experiences. Within my time of preparing for highschool education this wasn’t a focus at all, as students were selected by teachers which classes they were to take, and there was little to no wiggle room once a decision had been made. Rich, poor, educated, or disinterested, the life experiences of students played no role in which category we were bunched into. Thus, Dewey would be furious to learn that educationally interested students are today held back by class clowns, and students with lower learning ceilings are limited by being overshadowed by future valedictorians.