Analysis of John Dewey's Ideas of Education Essay

Analysis of John Dewey's Ideas of Education - Essay Example Mostly, educational instructions have an established pedagogical method, and each student will react to it and grasp from it, depending upon one’s quality of experiences. So, the teaching curriculum needs to be designed taking into account and caring for the individual differences. Dewey writes, â€Å"The history of educational theory is marked by the opposition between the idea that education is a development from within and that it is formation from without; that it is based upon natural endowment and that education is a process of overcoming natural inclination and substituting in its place habits acquired under external pressure.†(1998, p.1) According to Dewey, education apart from being a private ambition and accomplishment has a broader social purpose, to shape oneself as an effective member of the democratic society.† Dewey argues that the one-way delivery style of authoritarian schooling does not provide a good model for life in a democratic society. Inste ad, students need educational experiences which enable them to become valued, equal, and responsible members of society.† (John Dewey†¦.) What is the theory? The theory is based on another man’s experience. The misunderstanding about Dewey is about his support for progressive education. According to Dewey, just by attacking the traditional education methods, one doesn’t become progressive. Freedom eulogized by votaries of progressive education is no solution. Structure and order are hallmarks of the learning method, and it must adhere to a clear theory of experience; the whims of teachers or students are of no consequence and they will not deliver goods expected of a good system of education. Dewey articulates a system of education on the basis of a theory of experience.