Relating The Ideas of JOHN DEWEY to Modern Scholarly Activities

Relating the ideas of JOHN DEWEY  to Modern Scholarly Activities

“Introduction with Historical Outlook”

            The first figure found to be formalized the idea of naturalistic psychology into a distinct approach was john, Dewey. He firmly believes that people have the responsibility to make the world a better place through social reforms. The traditional system was totally beyond the scope of young learners, as claimed by John Dewey. Hence, he regards education to be a process of living and not a preparation for future life. These sets of beliefs made john Dewey a unique philosopher aside from idiosyncratic philosophers, who supported traditional classroom settings. In contrast to conventional classrooms, Dewey thought that schools and classes should be characteristic of real-life conditions, allowing children to engage in learning activities interchangeably and flexibly in a variety of social settings. (Dewey, 1938; Gutter, 2014).

              He thought that introducing too much burden of academic context on children's social lives is an indication of unethical practice. This philosophy has left a lasting impression on educators. (Schiro, 2013). He declared in 1938 that the central aim of schooling and getting a higher education is not the preparation of life but to educate them on how to live practically in the current immediate environment. Interaction of students with their background can help them adapt and face many realities according to Dewey's perception.

            “Journey from Philosophy to Social Psychology”

        The journey from human sciences to developmental psychology is not different from each other.  The changes that Dewey eye witness reflects a broader range of challenges in the life of American citizens. Dewey thought that a person should have a self-determining will, so he wrote a book with a dual opinion of presenting the new scientific psychology with a brief introduction to philosophy.

            Consciousness is a primary characteristic of self consideration, according to John Dewey. Science of knowledge is called psychology. In that era where Phycology is limited to laboratory techniques, Dewey books come as a significant defense to the world's ethical idealism. (Rockefeller, 1991, p. 101).

                 Social Psychology, a need of present world

According to the Dewey the real act is seeing the sensation of light as burning stimulus. He wants to discriminate the ways between facts and ideas. Fact should always be pointed as evidence in relation to ideas. He wants to make people learn that light in the end of tunnel is not illusion but the tunnel is. The act of understanding and grasping must be defined as context of child (Dewey, 1896b, p. 104). He led the foundation of laboratory school in university of Chicago and used it as a source for normal social life interactions to make the aim real and to approve the command of intelligence and moral passion, (Dewey, 1901, p. 282). With the passage of time he thought to control all features  of school to make the end real including labor cost, functional infrastructure development etc. the work of Dewey school set sense for inquiry, nature of experience and various worth exploring topics such as child mental development.

Evidence in the 21st Century

            John Dewey is known as the father of intensifying education and advocate for social learning. His ideas of philosophies to promote student engagement in classrooms of the united state even after his death, (Slaughter, 2009). The arrival of new technology such as cell phones, tablets, the internet, and laptops provides an effective way of promoting student learning as a lifelong passion.

             Dewey's theory of human knowledge is still noticeable through properly aligning technology even after 50 years of his death. According to research-based evidence, this theory provides a powerful connection between academic learning abilities in academia and social learning. This idea is also apparent in the responsive classroom approach. The establishment of these rooms on providing high-quality education and beginning to save a peaceful learning community (Responsive Classroom, n.d.) The following four points are suggested by Dewey that can be related to the modern world education system for the foundation of the classroom community upon specific guidance.

• Creating a friendly environment with usage of soft tone by educators so that the students feel safe and make the best use of their abilities
• Making a proper schedule of the school day including behavior studies
• Providing the physical learning space for each student
• Setup learning goals for the whole year
• Building a positive relationship and understanding among teachers and students.
• Encouragement of student to find interest in developing concepts relevant to science subjects

            These are the approaches selected for responsive class by john Dewey. In comparison, the method used in reactive class was the morning meeting that supports Dewey's theory of social, emotional learning. The environment of morning meetings provides a trustful learning display (Kriete, 2002, p. 9). Academic achievement is entirely achievable if students gain the trust of their classmates. The morning meeting aims to provide a fun, belonging, and providence of moral values to students in a friendly and warm environment. The idea of energizing students in morning class is still applicable in schools of unites states because it allows students to take a break from intense studies and provides mental relaxation too. 

 Conclusion

            The main focus in conventional class rooms is to make student ready for passing board exam and assessment of their abilities by completion of various assignments. The most authoritative philosopher to footprint education was john Dewey, (Theobald, 2009).   John Dewey theories are still present all over the world including class rooms of United States. These educational institution are still placing significance on the importance and appropriateness of the 

·        Establishment of community

·        Building strong relationship

·      Development of critical level thinking skills for real life implementation and

·  Following interest of students when planning for extracurricular activities etc.

            Dewey and his colleagues draw our attention and awareness towards encasing social exceptional values and social practice that stand besides or even behind various tools. Although he is not   well known psychologist and there are many reason behind this statement but to acknowledge his theories, we should renounce social development to individual fabric and how we might achieve it. John Dewey views have significant impact on today’s education system because he provides us the physiological basis for learning by experimental work.   We can learn a lot about the facts, values of psychology with familiarity of john wisdom.

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