John Dewey believed students shouldn't play a passive role in schools where they simply attend school to learn information. Rather, students should play an active role in their education. Instead of merely learning information, students should learn information that will benefit them in life. For example, linking math formulas to the real world so it would be meaningful to the students instead of routine memorization.
Since the Brooklyn Free School places the child in the center of their education, I think Dewey would be all for it. Dewey was a proponent of progressive education and Brooklyn free school is a progressive school. Unlike traditional public schools Brooklyn Free School gives the children a say in the curriculum - this democratic process is what Dewey was advocating for.
I wouldn't have mined if I went to this school as a child. Faisal Ali
I agree with Faisal in saying that Dewey would agree that this is not a terrible option. however I think he'd be somewhat concerned about the lack of order within the school. I believe he'd also wonder how this school helps the socialization of kids. But he'd agree that the school should form around student versus the opposite.
Dewey immediately starts off his article on what he believes education is with this statement: "I believe that all education proceeds by the participation of the individual in the social consciousness of the race". Through out his article he highlights his main opinion of schools being a center for social interaction and change more than actual learning or anything else. He believes that school is a place for the individual to interact with others socially and that how an individual ends up in life has direct correlation with their social experience in high school. I found it particularly interesting when he said this blurb about the education system: "The child is thrown into a passive, receptive or absorbing attitude. The conditions are such that he is not permitted to follow the law of his nature; the result is friction and waste." After reading Dewey's articles and especially this quote I came to the conclusion that he would fully 100% be in favor of the Brookyln Free School. The whole concept of this free school just scream individuality and social expression. I found it interesting that students at this school were given extreme freedom but rarely ever abused their freedom and also I found it intriguing that the students were the ones fully in control of every aspect of their schooling. I feel as though if I had went to a high school like this that allowed you to voice your opinions and treated you like responsible decision making adults, I would be a better person and less afraid to voice my opinions about certain things. I think Dewey is right in how big of a role social experience plays in education. I learned alot more about how to socialize and work with different types of people than I ever did in a history class. I wish my school had had policies like the Brooklyn Free School. I feel like students would feel more confident and happy in their school surroundings and the high school itself would then in return become a better more productive learning environment.
In general, I think Dewey would have approved of the methods of the Brooklyn Free School. When it comes to a child’s education, Dewey stated that “…it is impossible to prepare the child for any precise set of conditions” and that to “…prepare him for the future life means to give him command of himself…so that he will have the full and ready use of all his capacities.” So in other words, a child should be given the option to take a more active role in their education and decide some things for themselves, rather than to have everything laid out right in front of them for them to memorize and regurgitate. The Brooklyn Free School really allowed the students to have some hands on experience, and allowing them to make their own decisions and use their knowledge to carry things out accordingly helped them understand the material in such a way that what they learned will probably stay with them for a long time. Also, I think the tour guides really served as what Dewey would consider a good teacher. Dewey mentioned that a teacher should be fully engaged with a student’s learning and use their position to guide their students and help them make their own decisions, rather than completely control what they should and shouldn’t learn and do. The tour guides did exactly that, and they really allowed the students to interact with each other in such a way that probably wouldn’t have been possible in a typical classroom setting. Their shared experiences also helps them come together as a student body, which I think relates to Dewey’s idea of building a stronger learning and social community.
From what I can tell, I think Dewey would have been the Brooklyn Free School’s biggest fan. The ideology and methodology of the BFS seems to be the perfect realization of his philosophy. Dewey’s ideas “that the only true education comes through the stimulation of the child's powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself. Through these demands he is stimulated to act as a member of a unity, to emerge from his original narrowness of action and feeling and to conceive of himself from the standpoint of the welfare of the group to which he belongs,” is physically demonstrated in the BFS. Dewey’s emphasis on social knowledge is also carried out in the BFS.
At the same time though, I feel that Dewey would want more structure for the children’s education. While he favors education to be “controlled at every point by reference to the child’s powers, interests, and habits,” the BFS does not do this at all: children choose their classes, their levels of classes, and suggest classes to be created. This method does not at all foster children to pursue their talents and habits, but continuously fall prey to their interests. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but not a Dewey model.
Dewey also contends that school should be a representation of life; the vocal Malia herself states that she feels bad for adults, because the BFS is not at all like real life, and that adults do not have the freedom the BFS affords their students. In this way, the BFS falsely prepares its students for real life.
I think there are a lot of ideas in the Brooklyn free school that would align with Dewey’s personal pedagogy, the most relevant of which is catering to a child’s interests. In this school, children are allowed to study whatever, whenever they want. Dewey states that the role of the educator should be to observe the interests of the child in order to guide them into the societal role that most caters to said interests, as well as finding the place which allows them to be well accepted and receive help. I do not know how much the instructors at Brooklyn Free School are explicitly doing this, but I do think their actions to help guide and make purpose to conversations in school wide meetings are an implicit way of getting students to learn how to address their own issues and self-achieve help for these issues. This idea is also prevalent in Dewey’s belief of education. He says that education does not prepare children for the future in terms of memorizing a set of knowledge (knowledge that cannot be directly related to their present lives), but rather preparing them for the future by allowing the child to take command of his/herself, giving them the ability to manage situations as they come (preparing for the future by dealing with the present).
The final idea from the Brooklyn school that I think Dewey would support is the concept of not having grades, because, when there are no grades, there is no tendency to introduce certain subjects of education in certain areas of a child’s development. Rather, the child will interact with all subject areas, just at levels that are relevant to his/her stage of education. One area of the Brooklyn Free school that may not align with Dewey’s ideals is his firm belief in the domestic/technical education as a part of getting kids to acclimate themselves to civilization/society, based on activities they engage in at home. This is not to say students at the Brooklyn school cannot study these technical areas, it simply means that a free school has no specific areas of education that it values more than other areas of education; the kids have all the say in what they learn. From Dewey’s perspective, it is good to, “humor the interests,” in order “to substitute the transient for the permanent,” which I think the free school does a phenomenal job with. At the same time however, Dewey says the educator must link the underlying “power” of the child’s interests in order to place that student where s/he belongs in society; I do not think this specific facet of Dewey’s belief is something the Brooklyn Free School necessarily seeks to accomplish.
Dewey was obviously in favor of a very progressive education model, one that I believe is directly carried out by the Brooklyn Free School. The children dictate what they learn and take an active part in their education while the teachers are simply meant to provide "larger experience and riper wisdom" for the children. The discipline of the school is determined by the students as a collective group to encourage thinking for the good of the group.
However I would have to agree with Manon that one principle differs between Dewey's purpose and the Brooklyn Free School, the fact that the structure of the free school does not represent adult life, as Dewey thought schools should do. Surely it is wonderful that the children are given so much freedom and power in their education, but will they be willing to give it up when they must move into the workplace?
From my previous knowledge of Dewey, he was a democratic socialist- different from a Marxist-Leninist in that he wanted a socialist society to be put in place through reform and peaceful means, rather than through mass revolt. He saw schools that focused on the child as one of the first steps of this process- shifting away from authority and towards pure democracy. That being said, I think he would support the Brooklyn Free School, for the most part. He would probably love the idea of the children being in complete control of rules and the social aspects of the school. After all, he wrote that the context of the child’s learning should not be determined by adults. However, I think that he might raise questions to the role of the teachers at the Brooklyn Free School. In My Pedagogical Creed, he states several time that children should learn from the community as a whole, rather than directly from the teacher, and that the teacher was there only to provide wisdom and guidance. If I am correct in assuming that, wouldn’t this un-professionalize teaching? Why not just have any old person that could provide wisdom and guidance teach? I dunno… I guess I am kind of confused about what kind of role Dewey would want teachers to play in schools. He does make it clear that children should learn from the community as a whole, rather than directly from the teacher. However, he writes, “The teacher is not in the school to impose certain ideas or to form certain habits in the child, but is there as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these influences”. If the teacher is picking and choosing what sort of societal influence they want to hang on the child, wouldn’t their biases interfere with their teaching?
This laissez-faire concept that is the basis of progressive education seems very appealing. As someone who attended a private school for some years, I would disagree with the idea of "free-schools". In order for them to succeed the student must come from a professional background, where the parents are willing to help the student learn. Primary education sets the layout for development, and if we allow kids to just roam around and learn as they wish, then it's setting the system up for failure. I think what Dewey was trying to go for is that schools shouldn't be so stratified that kids feel like cows in a barn, where they become programmed to respond to certain stimuli. His socialist approach to the education system was to open doors for pragmatism: a place where intelligence could be brewed without forcing rubbish into the students’ brains. The problem with the Brooklyn Free School is that it takes Dewey's pragmatic idea to the edge. A place where students don't have to attend class, get to choose their own curriculum and complain about boredom isn't as ideal when looked at with a magnifying glass. He peels at the correlation of schools and civil society. In order to reform society we obviously have to start at the root, which in this case is education. The problem Dewey would see with the Brooklyn Free School is that they don’t have any discipline or structure. There is a way to practice democracy in schools without being so discombobulated
I feel Dewey would have loved the overall direction of the school and would feel that kids would really be learning. While I also believe Dewey would want a little bit more structure in the teaching of the students (mainly in the way of teachers promoting social awareness). One of Dewey's main focus of education was to have kids become more aware of their surroundings and community. He wanted their education to focus on real life issues that pertain to the kids. The BFS style of learning would defiantly foster an environment where kids will want to learn about issues that they feel are important. The only issue that I (And i would presume Dewey would feel also) Is that there needs to be some sort of direction in learning, (If the goal is more understanding of society and today's issues)
For kids to understand major issues they still need to understand the basics of that subject. (It is hard to understand the major issues of climate change if you do not know what carbon is). While of course kids in these programs are given a chance to learn these things, Dewey would (most likely/hope) they be able to learn important information too.
Dewey definitely would have been a vocal advocate for this school. Dewey was all for the empowerment of a child through his ability and active role to interact in different and unique experiences. The Brooklyn free school in simple terms left it all up to the children. Students called meeting on virtually everything and decided amongst themselves the outcomes of those meetings. Dewey would have loved this and would have most likely been all for it. However, not everything in the school was realistic in terms of the “Adult life” and I believe that Dewey would have wanted a school that was a little more representative of that. Thus perhaps under Dewey the structure of the school would be slightly tweaked.
I really enjoyed Dewey’s article because it appealed to one of my views of schooling. An education is not as simple as a file transfer on a computer. The student must be accepting to the information and willing to work to make sure it is ingrained. This is not easily accomplished because many students are not interested in every topic taught thus why it is important for students to some say in what they study. With interesting classes available to students, the eagerness to learn and strive can be increased. This is helpful both to the individual student and the class as a whole because of the feedback that students give each other. It also can create a better learning environment for the students. I believe that there is a subconscious learning that happens in school and is not talked about nearly as much as what is taught in class. A student’s perception of school could lead them to be “thrown into a passive, receptive or absorbing attitude" and affect them for the rest of their life. It could also be a positive experience and encourage them to reach new heights. That is why it is important to have a learning environment that encourages learning, curiosity, and dedication. These principles can help one live a successful live in a democratic world. I think Dewey would appreciate the Brooklyn Free School because it created a good setting for students to learn what they were passionate about and this could help the students in everyday life because of the strategies and principles forged from the school and help society with a revolutionized thinking adults.
I'm going to have to jump on with everyone else and say, I think Dewey would be a huge supporter of the Brooklyn Free School! That being said, I agree with Faisal and others who said he may not have supported the amount of freedom given to the students in the Brooklyn Free School. Dewey does say he believes it is the teacher's job to help guide education, and "select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these influences." That's a little different (I think) than saying, "Have at it! What do you want to study?"
After reading about the Brooklyn Free School, and their mission statement and goals, I'm a huge supporter. My high school was founded in 1960, and shared some of Dewey's similar ideals. It changed a lot by the time I went there, but we still had desks instead of couches, classrooms for lunch instead of a cafeteria, and "free blocks" where we got to choose what we wanted to study; or if we wanted to study. Having gone to an alternative education program, and one that is top-rated at that, I am a huge supporter for the Brooklyn Free School's statement, and Dewey's ideas about education.
I do, however, have a question. I wonder if Dewey believed that a "free" education where the students are responsible for their own learning should be a standard, or an option? The founders of my high school and, so it seems, of BRS, believed that alternative education was necessary to counteract the institution put in place by the government. Our school was based in the idea that students deserved more freedom of control over their education, but never did our Principal make any attempts to expand the philosophy into the other schools in the county, even though we were a public and extremely high-rated school. So I'm curious; what type of expanse do you think Dewey hoped for in his ideals of education?
The aspect of the Brooklyn free school that made me curious was the format of the actual schooling and learning. A big part of Dewey's writings was about how in learning how to be in society you learn what you need to learn to survive in society, for example you learn math because of its practical application in society. Unfortunately though the article mentions that all the students attended standard colleges after their schooling at the free school it gives little to no account of the learning just of the governance of the school which I actually feel Dewey was less concerned about. Someone brought up as well that the democratic system promoted by the Brooklyn free school isn t actually reflective of the way society works. Like one of the student says in the article she feels bad that adults can t vote on things in the real world. However, this could also be indicative of a result of our education system playing a part in creating a docile population. I would predict that a child who has been empowered by the Brooklyn free school would be more willing to speak out against problems in the workplace and in our government and community. In short creating a model democratic citizen. But then it becomes a discussion about obedience and how much obedience in society is necassary to hold up the status would. I personally have a liberal approach to obedience like Dewey and the Brooklyn free school, but how close to chaos can an organization come. Even at the Brooklyn free school there is the rule that you have to show up. Overall I think an article that went more in-depth about the actual learning that happened at the Brooklyn free school would give a fuller picture as to how much Dewey would support their approach to education.
I felt this topic was very interesting because it linked to my personal experience the most. I think Dewey was right to pick the side of moderation, meaning schools that aren't completely free yet not fully restricted. I feel that it is very important to give everyone a chance to be curious and learn about how what we learn in class links to real life. However, it is also very critical to be able to control what teachers discuss with the class so it is not TOO free. This is a very critical topic because it can be either very positive or absolutely destructive. -Mohamed Ibrahim
Based on the reading, Dewey would have completely agreed with the Brooklyn Free School. Dewey had many opinions and ideas which expressed the need for students to have an active role in their education. Students should be able to express their wishes go through school on whatever agenda they want. Dewey had a very progressive and alternative view to schooling which centralizes around the social benefit of schools. He believed that students should not just go to school because they are required, but go to school because they want to. Students should be benefiting from what they are learning, not just having a cram session to pass the test. What a student learns, they should take with them to apply to real life situations.
The Brooklyn Free School is almost an exact mirror of Dewey’s thought process. It is completely based on the student and centralized around their needs and wants. The students would have a say in their curriculum, what they wanted to learn. It would not be standardized like school systems today. Dewey and the Brooklyn Free School have a main goal in common which is to ensure that students are properly socialized. Both ideas focus around the social aspect and importance of schooling.
John Dewey believed students shouldn't play a passive role in schools where they simply attend school to learn information. Rather, students should play an active role in their education. Instead of merely learning information, students should learn information that will benefit them in life. For example, linking math formulas to the real world so it would be meaningful to the students instead of routine memorization.
ReplyDeleteSince the Brooklyn Free School places the child in the center of their education, I think Dewey would be all for it. Dewey was a proponent of progressive education and Brooklyn free school is a progressive school. Unlike traditional public schools Brooklyn Free School gives the children a say in the curriculum - this democratic process is what Dewey was advocating for.
I wouldn't have mined if I went to this school as a child.
Faisal Ali
I agree with Faisal in saying that Dewey would agree that this is not a terrible option. however I think he'd be somewhat concerned about the lack of order within the school. I believe he'd also wonder how this school helps the socialization of kids. But he'd agree that the school should form around student versus the opposite.
ReplyDelete-Sarah
DeleteDewey immediately starts off his article on what he believes education is with this statement: "I believe that all education proceeds by the participation of the individual in the social consciousness of the race". Through out his article he highlights his main opinion of schools being a center for social interaction and change more than actual learning or anything else. He believes that school is a place for the individual to interact with others socially and that how an individual ends up in life has direct correlation with their social experience in high school. I found it particularly interesting when he said this blurb about the education system: "The child is thrown into a passive, receptive or absorbing attitude. The conditions are such that he is not permitted to follow the law of his nature; the result is friction and waste." After reading Dewey's articles and especially this quote I came to the conclusion that he would fully 100% be in favor of the Brookyln Free School. The whole concept of this free school just scream individuality and social expression. I found it interesting that students at this school were given extreme freedom but rarely ever abused their freedom and also I found it intriguing that the students were the ones fully in control of every aspect of their schooling. I feel as though if I had went to a high school like this that allowed you to voice your opinions and treated you like responsible decision making adults, I would be a better person and less afraid to voice my opinions about certain things. I think Dewey is right in how big of a role social experience plays in education. I learned alot more about how to socialize and work with different types of people than I ever did in a history class. I wish my school had had policies like the Brooklyn Free School. I feel like students would feel more confident and happy in their school surroundings and the high school itself would then in return become a better more productive learning environment.
ReplyDelete-Jordan Hiegel
In general, I think Dewey would have approved of the methods of the Brooklyn Free School. When it comes to a child’s education, Dewey stated that “…it is impossible to prepare the child for any precise set of conditions” and that to “…prepare him for the future life means to give him command of himself…so that he will have the full and ready use of all his capacities.” So in other words, a child should be given the option to take a more active role in their education and decide some things for themselves, rather than to have everything laid out right in front of them for them to memorize and regurgitate. The Brooklyn Free School really allowed the students to have some hands on experience, and allowing them to make their own decisions and use their knowledge to carry things out accordingly helped them understand the material in such a way that what they learned will probably stay with them for a long time. Also, I think the tour guides really served as what Dewey would consider a good teacher. Dewey mentioned that a teacher should be fully engaged with a student’s learning and use their position to guide their students and help them make their own decisions, rather than completely control what they should and shouldn’t learn and do. The tour guides did exactly that, and they really allowed the students to interact with each other in such a way that probably wouldn’t have been possible in a typical classroom setting. Their shared experiences also helps them come together as a student body, which I think relates to Dewey’s idea of building a stronger learning and social community.
ReplyDeleteNavami Ravindra
From what I can tell, I think Dewey would have been the Brooklyn Free School’s biggest fan. The ideology and methodology of the BFS seems to be the perfect realization of his philosophy. Dewey’s ideas “that the only true education comes through the stimulation of the child's powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself. Through these demands he is stimulated to act as a member of a unity, to emerge from his original narrowness of action and feeling and to conceive of himself from the standpoint of the welfare of the group to which he belongs,” is physically demonstrated in the BFS. Dewey’s emphasis on social knowledge is also carried out in the BFS.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time though, I feel that Dewey would want more structure for the children’s education. While he favors education to be “controlled at every point by reference to the child’s powers, interests, and habits,” the BFS does not do this at all: children choose their classes, their levels of classes, and suggest classes to be created. This method does not at all foster children to pursue their talents and habits, but continuously fall prey to their interests. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but not a Dewey model.
Dewey also contends that school should be a representation of life; the vocal Malia herself states that she feels bad for adults, because the BFS is not at all like real life, and that adults do not have the freedom the BFS affords their students. In this way, the BFS falsely prepares its students for real life.
Manon Loustaunau
I think there are a lot of ideas in the Brooklyn free school that would align with Dewey’s personal pedagogy, the most relevant of which is catering to a child’s interests. In this school, children are allowed to study whatever, whenever they want. Dewey states that the role of the educator should be to observe the interests of the child in order to guide them into the societal role that most caters to said interests, as well as finding the place which allows them to be well accepted and receive help. I do not know how much the instructors at Brooklyn Free School are explicitly doing this, but I do think their actions to help guide and make purpose to conversations in school wide meetings are an implicit way of getting students to learn how to address their own issues and self-achieve help for these issues. This idea is also prevalent in Dewey’s belief of education. He says that education does not prepare children for the future in terms of memorizing a set of knowledge (knowledge that cannot be directly related to their present lives), but rather preparing them for the future by allowing the child to take command of his/herself, giving them the ability to manage situations as they come (preparing for the future by dealing with the present).
ReplyDeleteThe final idea from the Brooklyn school that I think Dewey would support is the concept of not having grades, because, when there are no grades, there is no tendency to introduce certain subjects of education in certain areas of a child’s development. Rather, the child will interact with all subject areas, just at levels that are relevant to his/her stage of education. One area of the Brooklyn Free school that may not align with Dewey’s ideals is his firm belief in the domestic/technical education as a part of getting kids to acclimate themselves to civilization/society, based on activities they engage in at home. This is not to say students at the Brooklyn school cannot study these technical areas, it simply means that a free school has no specific areas of education that it values more than other areas of education; the kids have all the say in what they learn. From Dewey’s perspective, it is good to, “humor the interests,” in order “to substitute the transient for the permanent,” which I think the free school does a phenomenal job with. At the same time however, Dewey says the educator must link the underlying “power” of the child’s interests in order to place that student where s/he belongs in society; I do not think this specific facet of Dewey’s belief is something the Brooklyn Free School necessarily seeks to accomplish.
Laura Zoellner
Dewey was obviously in favor of a very progressive education model, one that I believe is directly carried out by the Brooklyn Free School. The children dictate what they learn and take an active part in their education while the teachers are simply meant to provide "larger experience and riper wisdom" for the children. The discipline of the school is determined by the students as a collective group to encourage thinking for the good of the group.
ReplyDeleteHowever I would have to agree with Manon that one principle differs between Dewey's purpose and the Brooklyn Free School, the fact that the structure of the free school does not represent adult life, as Dewey thought schools should do. Surely it is wonderful that the children are given so much freedom and power in their education, but will they be willing to give it up when they must move into the workplace?
Taylor Thornberg
From my previous knowledge of Dewey, he was a democratic socialist- different from a Marxist-Leninist in that he wanted a socialist society to be put in place through reform and peaceful means, rather than through mass revolt. He saw schools that focused on the child as one of the first steps of this process- shifting away from authority and towards pure democracy. That being said, I think he would support the Brooklyn Free School, for the most part. He would probably love the idea of the children being in complete control of rules and the social aspects of the school. After all, he wrote that the context of the child’s learning should not be determined by adults. However, I think that he might raise questions to the role of the teachers at the Brooklyn Free School. In My Pedagogical Creed, he states several time that children should learn from the community as a whole, rather than directly from the teacher, and that the teacher was there only to provide wisdom and guidance. If I am correct in assuming that, wouldn’t this un-professionalize teaching? Why not just have any old person that could provide wisdom and guidance teach? I dunno… I guess I am kind of confused about what kind of role Dewey would want teachers to play in schools. He does make it clear that children should learn from the community as a whole, rather than directly from the teacher. However, he writes, “The teacher is not in the school to impose certain ideas or to form certain habits in the child, but is there as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these influences”. If the teacher is picking and choosing what sort of societal influence they want to hang on the child, wouldn’t their biases interfere with their teaching?
ReplyDeleteKatie Ketcham
This laissez-faire concept that is the basis of progressive education seems very appealing. As someone who attended a private school for some years, I would disagree with the idea of "free-schools". In order for them to succeed the student must come from a professional background, where the parents are willing to help the student learn. Primary education sets the layout for development, and if we allow kids to just roam around and learn as they wish, then it's setting the system up for failure. I think what Dewey was trying to go for is that schools shouldn't be so stratified that kids feel like cows in a barn, where they become programmed to respond to certain stimuli. His socialist approach to the education system was to open doors for pragmatism: a place where intelligence could be brewed without forcing rubbish into the students’ brains. The problem with the Brooklyn Free School is that it takes Dewey's pragmatic idea to the edge. A place where students don't have to attend class, get to choose their own curriculum and complain about boredom isn't as ideal when looked at with a magnifying glass. He peels at the correlation of schools and civil society. In order to reform society we obviously have to start at the root, which in this case is education. The problem Dewey would see with the Brooklyn Free School is that they don’t have any discipline or structure. There is a way to practice democracy in schools without being so discombobulated
ReplyDeleteStewart Bova,
ReplyDeleteI feel Dewey would have loved the overall direction of the school and would feel that kids would really be learning. While I also believe Dewey would want a little bit more structure in the teaching of the students (mainly in the way of teachers promoting social awareness). One of Dewey's main focus of education was to have kids become more aware of their surroundings and community. He wanted their education to focus on real life issues that pertain to the kids. The BFS style of learning would defiantly foster an environment where kids will want to learn about issues that they feel are important. The only issue that I (And i would presume Dewey would feel also) Is that there needs to be some sort of direction in learning, (If the goal is more understanding of society and today's issues)
For kids to understand major issues they still need to understand the basics of that subject. (It is hard to understand the major issues of climate change if you do not know what carbon is). While of course kids in these programs are given a chance to learn these things, Dewey would (most likely/hope) they be able to learn important information too.
Dewey definitely would have been a vocal advocate for this school. Dewey was all for the empowerment of a child through his ability and active role to interact in different and unique experiences. The Brooklyn free school in simple terms left it all up to the children. Students called meeting on virtually everything and decided amongst themselves the outcomes of those meetings. Dewey would have loved this and would have most likely been all for it. However, not everything in the school was realistic in terms of the “Adult life” and I believe that Dewey would have wanted a school that was a little more representative of that. Thus perhaps under Dewey the structure of the school would be slightly tweaked.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Dewey’s article because it appealed to one of my views of schooling. An education is not as simple as a file transfer on a computer. The student must be accepting to the information and willing to work to make sure it is ingrained. This is not easily accomplished because many students are not interested in every topic taught thus why it is important for students to some say in what they study. With interesting classes available to students, the eagerness to learn and strive can be increased. This is helpful both to the individual student and the class as a whole because of the feedback that students give each other. It also can create a better learning environment for the students.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is a subconscious learning that happens in school and is not talked about nearly as much as what is taught in class. A student’s perception of school could lead them to be “thrown into a passive, receptive or absorbing attitude" and affect them for the rest of their life. It could also be a positive experience and encourage them to reach new heights. That is why it is important to have a learning environment that encourages learning, curiosity, and dedication. These principles can help one live a successful live in a democratic world.
I think Dewey would appreciate the Brooklyn Free School because it created a good setting for students to learn what they were passionate about and this could help the students in everyday life because of the strategies and principles forged from the school and help society with a revolutionized thinking adults.
Craig Luskey
I'm going to have to jump on with everyone else and say, I think Dewey would be a huge supporter of the Brooklyn Free School! That being said, I agree with Faisal and others who said he may not have supported the amount of freedom given to the students in the Brooklyn Free School. Dewey does say he believes it is the teacher's job to help guide education, and "select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these influences." That's a little different (I think) than saying, "Have at it! What do you want to study?"
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about the Brooklyn Free School, and their mission statement and goals, I'm a huge supporter. My high school was founded in 1960, and shared some of Dewey's similar ideals. It changed a lot by the time I went there, but we still had desks instead of couches, classrooms for lunch instead of a cafeteria, and "free blocks" where we got to choose what we wanted to study; or if we wanted to study. Having gone to an alternative education program, and one that is top-rated at that, I am a huge supporter for the Brooklyn Free School's statement, and Dewey's ideas about education.
I do, however, have a question. I wonder if Dewey believed that a "free" education where the students are responsible for their own learning should be a standard, or an option? The founders of my high school and, so it seems, of BRS, believed that alternative education was necessary to counteract the institution put in place by the government. Our school was based in the idea that students deserved more freedom of control over their education, but never did our Principal make any attempts to expand the philosophy into the other schools in the county, even though we were a public and extremely high-rated school. So I'm curious; what type of expanse do you think Dewey hoped for in his ideals of education?
Whoops! Miranda!
DeleteThe aspect of the Brooklyn free school that made me curious was the format of the actual schooling and learning. A big part of Dewey's writings was about how in learning how to be in society you learn what you need to learn to survive in society, for example you learn math because of its practical application in society. Unfortunately though the article mentions that all the students attended standard colleges after their schooling at the free school it gives little to no account of the learning just of the governance of the school which I actually feel Dewey was less concerned about. Someone brought up as well that the democratic system promoted by the Brooklyn free school isn t actually reflective of the way society works. Like one of the student says in the article she feels bad that adults can t vote on things in the real world. However, this could also be indicative of a result of our education system playing a part in creating a docile population. I would predict that a child who has been empowered by the Brooklyn free school would be more willing to speak out against problems in the workplace and in our government and community. In short creating a model democratic citizen. But then it becomes a discussion about obedience and how much obedience in society is necassary to hold up the status would. I personally have a liberal approach to obedience like Dewey and the Brooklyn free school, but how close to chaos can an organization come. Even at the Brooklyn free school there is the rule that you have to show up. Overall I think an article that went more in-depth about the actual learning that happened at the Brooklyn free school would give a fuller picture as to how much Dewey would support their approach to education.
ReplyDeleteEmily marsh
DeleteI felt this topic was very interesting because it linked to my personal experience the most. I think Dewey was right to pick the side of moderation, meaning schools that aren't completely free yet not fully restricted. I feel that it is very important to give everyone a chance to be curious and learn about how what we learn in class links to real life. However, it is also very critical to be able to control what teachers discuss with the class so it is not TOO free. This is a very critical topic because it can be either very positive or absolutely destructive. -Mohamed Ibrahim
ReplyDeleteBased on the reading, Dewey would have completely agreed with the Brooklyn Free School. Dewey had many opinions and ideas which expressed the need for students to have an active role in their education. Students should be able to express their wishes go through school on whatever agenda they want. Dewey had a very progressive and alternative view to schooling which centralizes around the social benefit of schools. He believed that students should not just go to school because they are required, but go to school because they want to. Students should be benefiting from what they are learning, not just having a cram session to pass the test. What a student learns, they should take with them to apply to real life situations.
ReplyDeleteThe Brooklyn Free School is almost an exact mirror of Dewey’s thought process. It is completely based on the student and centralized around their needs and wants. The students would have a say in their curriculum, what they wanted to learn. It would not be standardized like school systems today. Dewey and the Brooklyn Free School have a main goal in common which is to ensure that students are properly socialized. Both ideas focus around the social aspect and importance of schooling.