This seems to me a remarkably prescient and timely statement about the inherently social context of all experience and learning. It often makes an individual so insensitive in his relations to others as to develop an illusion of being really able to stand and act alone-an unnamed form of insanity which is responsible for a large part of the remediable suffering of the world.” In making him more self-reliant, it may make him more self-sufficient it may lead to aloofness and indifference. There is always a danger that increased personal independence will decrease the social capacity of an individual. “From a social standpoint, dependence denotes a power rather than a weakness it involves interdependence. In this sense, “immaturity” is a starting point, an open potential for taking in experience. Here Dewey articulates the core of his view of learning as an active process, one that all children are inclined toward, as he goes on to explain in terms of curiosity and exploration of the world around them. Growth is not something done to them it is something they do.” Where there is life, there are already eager and impassioned activities. We do not have to draw out or educe positive activities from a child, as some educational doctrines would have it. … Immaturity designates a positive force or ability-the power to grow. “The primary condition of growth is immaturity.

This is also a story of my intellectual journey in coming to read and integrate Dewey’s ideas into my own work. I have also included some reflections made in preparing for the seminar and during the conversation that transpired. After each excerpt, I offer commentary on the issues Dewey raises. In the following passages, Dewey introduces some of his key points. For that discussion, I chose a few brief excerpts from the book that highlight these particular themes. He makes the case for the critical role of this kind of education in fostering and sustaining a democratic society, which he conceives of as offering equal access to all its members.ĭuring fall semester, I led a seminar on “Dewey and Progressive Education” for faculty from across disciplines. Much of the book is devoted to placing Dewey’s views in what he considered to be their historical and philosophical context, and he also lays out his ideas for a system of education based in students’ own interests and desires.

John Dewey’s seminal book Democracy and Education, written in 1916, contains his most systematic introduction to the philosophy of education for which he is renowned.

Foundation, Government & Corporate Relations.

Dewey 1916 democracy and education