IndexAbstractProgressive Education in the 21st CenturyProgressive Education in LifeProgressive Education in SchoolConclusionReferencesAbstractThis essay will attempt to explain why John Dewey's theory of democracy and education is still relevant in 2019 and how looking back at his theories can improve the overall well-being of our citizens. The world we live in has become such a divided nation due to the many cultural and political issues that crowd the news media on a daily basis. The reason for the division is because people are forgetting what it means to be human and how to show love to others who may not feel comfortable enough to talk about what they truly believe. Dewey explains in his essays that the way to correct this situation is to divide means to allow all individuals to join together and contribute to society so that we can all grow and learn from each other. This includes the idea that no one should be left behind or made to feel different just because they have a strong belief that doesn't resonate with your true values. Everyone should be accepted and loved exactly for who they are, and schools today need to start promoting this concept more. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayProgressive Education in the 21st CenturyJohn Dewey's significant approach to education still exists today. The concept and the very idea of ​​school have always intrigued me since I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as an educator. I believe that giving your life to children and helping them grow and succeed is the best gift anyone could ever ask for. John Dewey's theory of education dates back to the early 1900s and is still as relevant as ever, which is amazing in itself. I couldn't imagine writing philosophies hundreds of years ago that would still be used today and be a guiding light on how to treat others with respect and dignity. His main idea as a progressive was that children should be the center of attention in the classroom and that the student's academic needs and interests should always take precedence over anything else. Students should learn about real-world issues that they can use with them long after graduation instead of learning generic concepts from outdated textbooks. Students should be allowed to explore and formulate their own questions about everyday life instead of simply being handed them on a silver platter. But teachers should also prepare their students to be defenders of their own lives and allow them to grow up in a world where they will be good and honest citizens because they are the future. We want to leave our children with the idea that they hold the key to success in their lives as long as they maintain those aspirations and dreams. In this article I will demonstrate why John Dewey's approach to education not only affects students inside the classroom but outside as well. Progressive Education in LifeAfter reading John Dewey's book titled "Democracy and Education", I was really struck by a comment that said: He wrote that he is still in tune with the current state of the economy we live in today: A democracy is more than one form of government; it is first and foremost a way of associated life, of shared shared experience. The extension in space of the number of individuals participating in an interest such that each must relate his own action to that of others, and consider the action of others to give meaning and directionto one's own, is equivalent to the breakdown of those barriers of class, race and national territory that prevented men from perceiving the full extent of their activity. I think the amazing thing about the quote above is that it can be interpreted in many different ways. The first is that when people decide to participate in a cause, they need to understand how their actions can affect other people, especially those who feel they have no say today. You can walk around with a positive or negative mindset towards others. If you go around and try to help others who are struggling to make sense of the world around them, it doesn't matter what the outcome will be because people always remember how you made them feel and the effort you made to change their lives. . But if you approach things with a negative mindset, these are the types of people to avoid as their primary intent is to bring others down to their level. You can't just walk around and think that no rules apply to you and that you're just above everyone else. Being a role model for children is what I plan to do when I become a teacher because you want to mold today's youth to know that it is so easy to make a difference in a person's life. Recently, in one of my undergraduate classes, we were watching a short video about Summerhill School, which is located in Suffolk, England. This British boarding school was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill. Even though this school is one of the oldest progressive and democratic institutions still in existence today, criticism has been raised in the past about the way it has been run. AS Neill's biographer, Richard Bailey, argues that “Neill seems to have an indifference to the outside world. His lessons were presented as “take it or leave it.” However, to absolve itself of responsibility for its pupils' learning, and all its other possible virtues, risked losing those children who needed the lessons most." After researching the school's main website, they mentioned on the home page that their students are "under no obligation to attend" classes and that "all classes are optional." John Dewey states in his 1937 book, Experience and Education, that there is a “fundamental unity in the idea that there is an intimate and necessary relation between the process of actual experience and education” (Dewey, 1937, p. 7) . This point sums this up perfectly and would go against all rules and beliefs of Summerhill School. Dewey suggests that there must be a clear correlation between effective learning and growth when going to school. If you come to school without that drive to improve yourself and without proper direction on the course material, that relationship that John Dewey talks about will not work and will unfortunately limit the potential of all potential students, especially those who are struggling in school. . Each student learns material at a different pace, and John Dewey was a great advocate of finding what works and what doesn't work for each classroom. If you take no responsibility for your students, then being an educator is clearly the wrong profession for you. Another way the above quote from Democracy and Education can be interpreted is to be compassionate towards others and respect their opinions above all. if they differ from yours. The above principle couldn't be more relatable, especially given the insane amount of division currently plaguing our educational and political climate. When you don't consider the views and opinions of others, that's when society becomes divided. No one wants to feel like an outsider but unfortunately with all the bullying onsocial media we are experiencing nowadays; people are afraid to simply be themselves because the current culture we live in has become overly sensitive to everyday problems. The point I'm trying to make here and bring back to John Dewey is that people in society should be able to speak freely without fear of being judged or reprimanded for not conforming to what society expects of you. Dewey states in his 1939 essay, “Creative Democracy: The Task Before Us,” that “the task of democracy is forever to create a freer and more human experience in which all share and to which all contribute.” We must begin to move to a world where individuals in a community can all come together to share thoughts and feelings about how to improve society as a whole Dewey suggests that when people feel that they are contributing and actually making a difference, that feeling will inspire them to stand up for themselves and those who don't feel they have that voice to stand up for what they believe in is everything to me and it's honestly what shapes and shapes a person to grow into a good and dignified human being. But educators must understand the great responsibility that rests on student education today. “The past few decades have also given rise to the standards and accountability movement, which in turn has led to a greater value placed on student achievement, assessment and testing. standardized. This quote from Mordechai Gordon, who wrote an academic article on the theoretical philosophies of John Dewey, really delves into the constant stress and pressure teachers face in the current economy. But Gordon also explains how Dewey “lived in a time when the winds of change were blowing through society in general and education in particular (Gordon, 2016, p. 1079). The main point expressed here is that education always evolves for the better and unfortunately also for the worse. New laws may be passed that could cut funding for extracurricular activities and other educational programs that students really need, but teachers can't let political issues stop them from doing their best work. But given all the technological advances and social media applications that can now be used in the classroom, teachers can customize and modify their lesson plans to fit the individual needs of their students. Instead of constantly conforming to what the school wants for your classroom, the teacher should know in his or her heart what works for each student and what doesn't. Teachers need to be their own advocates and ultimately do what is best for their children. The following quote from John Dewey perfectly expresses my point of view on the educational process and why educators cannot allow a single student to fall behind in his or her education. class: Nothing can be developed from nothing, but the raw can be developed from the raw - and this is what surely happens when we bring the child back to his achieved self as a finality and invite him to invent new truths of nature or the world. conducted out of that. It is certainly as futile to expect a child to develop a universe from his mind as it is for a philosopher to attempt such a task. School needs to be a place where people can actually meet and form real conversations and connections. In Dewey's work, the way I conveyed his idea of ​​education was not in the physical sense of school, where you just come in every day and learn in front of a blackboard all day. But in thesense that people will be stronger as a society by listening to others and having real conversations that will help them improve social interaction in and out of school. Being a teacher is an amazing job because when you look at each school year, you only have a limited amount of time to make a difference in the lives of your students because eventually they will graduate and move on to the next grade, so you want them to know that you did it all what was in your power to help them grow and live their lives to the fullest. This point led me to look for some information about John Dewey High School, which is located in Brooklyn, New York and was founded on Dewey's philosophy on education. “The aim of democratic education is not simply to make the individual an intelligent participant in the life of his immediate group, but to bring the various groups into such constant interaction that no individual, no economic group, can presume to live independently of others (Dewey, 1916, p. 116).” This quote from JohnDewey perfectly summarizes the statistics above because they show how diversity is a crucial component for success in life and in school. When you create a home where everyone is accepted and no one is considered different, you create a harmonious community full of love and support. When schools are diverse, you have the chance to learn from other people who have lived all over the world and experience everything they have learned from their hometowns. When you isolate people and discriminate based on race, gender, and disability, that's when biases come into play and you're setting students up for failure. John Dewey is trying to prove that looking at the world through an open-minded lens is the way to live a prosperous life. Ultimately, we're all here just trying to connect and find our place in this world, so instead of excluding people, let them in and give them a chance to share their story with the world. If you also notice in the statistics above, the attendance of students and teachers is among the highest numbers in the list, which means that this school is keeping up with the traditions and beliefs of John Dewey's work. Showing up every day to do your job and being there as a guiding light for your students is the essence of what makes being a teacher an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling occupation. From my experience working as a teaching assistant with children with special needs, the job does have its challenges on a physical and emotional level, but the lasting relationships and bonds that are created with children are what makes this occupation so memorable. Conclusion In summary, I would like to conclude this article with a quote from John Dewey's 1922 book, “Human Nature and Conduct”, “The recognition that good is always found in an actual growth of meaning in activity protects us from thinking that well-being can consist in table happiness, in the pleasures that we can confer on others from the outside”. It shows that good is the same quality wherever it is found, whether in some other self or in one's own. An activity is meaningful to the extent that it establishes and recognizes the variety and intimacy of connections. As long as a social impulse lasts, a dying activity will bring internal dissatisfaction and involve a struggle for compensatory goods, regardless of the external pleasures or successes that acclaim its course. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay John Dewey has a way of proving that both educators and students can always bring out the best in each other, both in school and out. We are all,. 10, 1077-1091.