Comprehensive Examination - Essay Example

Introduction: This report aims at analysing an educational philosophy to understand better the role of a teacher, to get a light feel of theenvironment of the classroom and the curriculum that will be delivered within the class. The philosopher that has been chosen for this report is John Dewey (1859 – 1952). The following sections will firstly briefly speak about John Dewey after which detailed sections about the teacher and student role will be discussed.John Dewey (1859 – 1952):John Dewey is often referred to as ‘Father of the experiential education movement’.

John Dewey is a renowned philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose thoughts, teachings, and ideas have been very influential on the American society as well as around the world (Neil, 2005). John Dewey believed that learning needs to be active and not long and restrictive. He believed that children could learn much more if things were aught on a practical basis rather than only theories. Dewey has written a number of works in various subjects however his most famous subject is education.

Dewey has won a number of awards like the Doctor “Honoris Causa” from university of Oslo, Pennsylvania, Yale and Rome and he has also won Copernican Citation in 1943.Dewey’s education theories: a) Role of Student and Teacher:Dewey’s theory was presented in ‘My Pedagogic Creed’ (1897). According to Dewey education is a necessity of life and every person starts learning right from the time of birth. A teacher plays a very important role in the educational system. It is up to the teacher to help stimulate the child’s powers by ensuring the child faces a social situation which stimulates the child’s powers.

It is essential that the teacher understands the need for a student to be a part of the social society, and that the person being educated is a social individual and is a part of the society which is an organic union of individuals (Emand, 2000). If any one of these are eliminated it would cause a very bad effect on the child’s education as well as the life of the individual.b) Classroom Structure and Curriculum Design:According the Dewey’s theory it is always better to make children study in a more practical way rather than in a standard classroom structure where the students thoughts are limited and the students are not given a chance to bloom and bring out fresher ideas.

As he has already mentioned it is also possible to teach children maths by learning proportions in cooking or even time limits in travelling between places by a mule can help children develop their mathematics skills. Also the teaching structure for this type of education would require being more open and innovative to ensure children are involved actively in the social life and society. The curriculum would include ethical values of democracy and the teaching style is strictly opposed of being authoritarian (Neil, 2005).

In short the students will have to be educated in a social manner, as every individual is a part of the society. Since if the social factor is removed from the individual the only thing remaining in the child is an abstraction, and if the individuals are removed from the society the only thing left is an inert and lifeless group of people.ReferencesEmand, N., I., 2000, ‘The Educational theory of John Dewey (1859 -1952)’, 2000, Accessed on 3 November 2008, Retrieved fromhttp://www.newfoundations.

com/GALLERY/Dewey.htmlNeil, J., 2005, ‘John Dewey: Philosophy of education’, 26 January 2005, Accessed on 3 November 2008, Retrieved fromhttp://wilderdom.com/experiential/JohnDeweyPhilosophyEducation.html