Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education

John Dewey's writing style will never set the world of letters ablaze, though there are a few of us who actually like his ordinary, Yankee prose. But you've got to be prepared for this if you're going to attempt to penetrate his thought. With that said, this is not a bad place to start for someone looking to get into Dewey's thought. Although counted as part of his "middle" period, it nevertheless represents his mature thought on the connection between moral thought, educational policy, the democratic ideal, and the theory of inquiry. As such, there is a great deal going on and the patient reader is rewarded with an extraordinary range of relational connections which Dewey's prose -- since it is as lacking in style and extravagant rhetoric as possible -- might easily disguise by its superficial ordinariness. Democracy, for Dewey, is nothing so simplistic as just the franchise, and education is nothing so brutal as schooling. The ideal of democracy is that of the maximization of opportunities for human growth, opportunities which can only manifest themselves in a community that shares in the ideals of personal and social growth. Education, on the other hand, is more or less the same thing as human growth. It is intrinsically moral, and is only possible in a context of free, intelligent inquiry. Hence, education is the foundation of democracy, and democracy is the manifestation of a durable educational ideal. (Schooling, on the other hand, is often enough the place where the entrenched powers of society strangle inquiry, and obliterate education for the sake of conformity and regimented training.) It is worth mentioning that this volume, as part of the Collected Works, includes important critical essays and editorial matter from top Dewey scholars. Consequently, even if you have, or can get, an older edition of this book, it is well worth your trouble to choose this edition instead.

This book is one of the great milestones of American history and philosophy and particularly education. It's as relevant today as the day it was written a century ago.

Dewey's classic work, although tedious at times, is a cogent and landmark exposition of progressive educational theory. Democracy for Dewey was both a means and an end to the building of a good and just society. In this regard he sought to develop strategies and methods for training students through learning and discipline to become socially responsible adults and conscientious citizens concerned with the rights of others and the common good and to be equipped with the knowledge and technical skills to be productive members of society in the context of our modern industrial world. Dewey is truly a giant not only of modern educational theory but of progressive humanitarian thought generally. Those who disparage him in a knee jerk fashion out of a misguided effort to trash the "liberal establishment," like the Intercollegiate Scholastic Insititute (ISI) which named "Democracy and Education" as one of the five worst books of the 20th Century, have radically misconstrued Dewey's views which merit serious study and application in practice. Dewey was truly one of the great Americans of the last century of which all people of good will can be proud.

Dewey describes a philosophy of education that values and respects the learner through experiential and situated educational experiences. Despite the fact that Democracy and Education was published at the beginning of the century, many of the common sense ideas that Dewey suggests have yet to be implemented in American education. Democracy and Education supplies educators with a valuable alternative to the traditional philosophy of education that is based on a socially constructed dis-connect between formal schooling and the social context that educatoin is situated in. Dewey starts with what he sees as the foundations of education, then builds a philosophy of education that sees a democratic society as the ultimate goal of American education.

Perhaps the fact that this great work receives so little attention is indicative of what ails education: educators focus their attention on all the latest drivel concerning education while only paying lip service to Dewey, who remains the highest-ranking educational philosopher. It pains me to hear and read bungling educators mindlessly parrot Dewey's catch phrases (e.g., "learning by doing") while pushing educational doctrines completely antithetical to Dewey's ideas. Dewey had it right, but is grossly misunderstood by the bozos who vapidly regurgitate his words and phrases. In other words, I recommend that you go to the source.If you are in any way concerned with or interested in education and happen to stumble upon this lonely page, do yourself, your kids, and/or your students a favor and study this book carefully; It eclipses all other books on education.