John Dewey - Constructive Learning

     "My Pedagogical Creed" written by John Dewey is full of inspiring information for teachers.  He breaks down education to be dependent on reaching within the student to connect their psychological and sociological qualities to the subject being taught.  As teachers, we need to approach the opportunity as solving a puzzle or mastering a maze... blindfolded in some instances.  Integrity will be necessary on our part, as well as the willingness to accept failures as if they are simply wrong turns that can be fixed through proper navigation... recalculating... The lucky chance that we have as teachers to help students discover the endless tools of knowledge within each of them and point them in the direction to apply this metacognitive wealth is truly rewarding.

     Dewey defined school as a social institution.  I agree with the importance of recognizing that many social behaviors are developed at school and learning to be aware that together everyone is an equivalent piece of the school community.  However, I feel Dewey's opinion that the teacher is not needed to install moral values and social guidance and has lost some value in today's society.  Parental and family involvement has dissolved in many homes, leaving the opportunity for teachers to eliminate some of these vacancies.  This is supported by Dewey's belief in education as a most effective instrument of social progress.

     John Dewey is often identified in the technology arena of education.  Interesting that he published many of his ideas before the turn of the 20th century and passed long before iPads were considered in the classroom.  Despite this time warp, he has suggested many ideas for education that are still innovative.  Putting the student in the center of the learning process as focus and not the sponge was a starting point.  The importance of application and hands-on experience over memorizing facts has been discussed by many educators, but missed on the many avenues that are continuously pushing standardized tests to determine knowledge levels.  This approach does not include Dewey's "learning by doing" philosophy.  I plan to support his idea that the students are the center of the classroom and as teachers, we are present to facilitate the educational process that they can develop through their creativity, schema, and with guidance to obtain constructive learning.

     BYOD, Bring Your Own Device to school sounds ridiculous to me.  The ability to teach amongst the many life distractions in the classroom only grows when incorporating approval of, "Look at my new toy."  As strong enforces of social justice, let's help the students dig deep into their internal google and create, explore, and test the solutions their internal hard drive has to offer!