Observations on an Article from the 19th Century

There are unexpected and unexplainable events in the lives of each of us as we walk through life's path.  The article by John Dewey (1897) is one of those that, when read in context, is a model of the ideals of a complex interplay of biological, psychological and social interplays that are the core of the child's learning capacity.  His thesis is observational, as was much of the science of that era, but it is astutely accurate in how it sees the elements of the forthcoming biological basis of learning and how this interacts with social and psychological makeup.

He basically outlines the educational system as an extension of the home, an interpretation of values and an awareness that there is a genetic predisposition to learning capabilities.  The child initially is an unconscious learner who is influenced by the social mass that he or she is born into, and develops from motor to intellect through actions and adaptation. He plainly promotes a model of interactions between the biological (individual make-up of the child's cognitive abilities), psychological (the child's perception from conscious and unconscious interactions with the world) and the social (family, peers, history and interactive morality) as challenges for the teacher.  A phenomena that many years later became a prominent psychological school of thought- the biopsychosocial theory of development.

As diagrammed, the developing student is not simply a specimen to regurgitate information, but a dynamic and plastic organism with a multitude of variables that may enhance or deter learning,


The school thus becomes an extension of that which is the home.  Learning should be based on the school as a social process that uses science and literature as explanations of the world.  He is a pragmatist, seeing the school as a practical means to socially nurture while teaching principles rather than facts.  Exams will root out the ones who should go forth into higher or more task laden professions.  There is no stigma to these choices.  There is an implication that the choices are actually moot and that the bright and excelling student is not of any less importance as the one who follows the path of his ancestors. Making judgemental and directional decisions for the student is not the school's job and it is not the teacher's job.

The school and the teacher have a role in pointing out strengths and embellishing these in the student's school experience. The profession of teaching is a highly important and is seen as one of dedication to the formulation of a well functioning, social adult.  A school and its teachers educate students from their own interpretation of what is important for a child's success in life. The formulas of science are not the meat, it is the explanation of real phenomena that is the teacher's job.  Education is as such a practical introduction  of the child into the world through understanding the child's individual qualities, historical and genetic family history and the move from unconscious to conscious acquisition of knowledge.

Reading, writing and arithmetic are seen as a subset of a greater learning experience, the learning of how to be social and functional in society.  The archaic concept of one's race is understood in the context of the writing and is interpreted loosely, yet in many ways it predicts diversity and cultural challenges that the teacher must both respect and accept as part of the collective that is brought to the classroom.

Four Observations:

1. The idea that there is a manifest interaction between the neurochemical makeup of the child, the psychological makeup as learned and imparted and the social interactions and social mass that they are born into is taken into play- it is apparent he is picturing the biopsychosocial concepts of development and learning, a principle that would take years to be formalized.
2. The school is an extension of the home and the child should learn to be practical and social and that the studies should help them enhance those areas.  The school is a social representation of society and that the lessons learned should be practical and realistic and cued to socially fitting in with their world.
3. The material studied should be measured by social adaptation and the student grades only a means to set expectations.  Teach in the now, not in the future.
4. Finally the teacher is a powerful figure to be of great respect who teaches to the level of the child and directs them along the paths of their strengths.  This is not academic per se, science is the science of practical experience and literature is that pertinent to the time.  The future will come, the present is our life.

BRAIN, PSYCHE, SOCIAL
BIRTH AND FAMILY UNCONSCIOUS

INTERACTIVE SOCIAL LEARNING
IN FAMILY FRAMEWORK

SCHOOL IS PLACE OF SOCIAL LEARNING
AND SOCIALIZATION

SCHOOL IS PRACTICAL AND SOCIETY
BASED


                                                                                                                                                         TEACHER

In many ways Dewey is prophetic in his ideas of the process of teaching.  He sees the individual as a maximizing entity that is prodded down a path that is fit for his or her capabilities  In many ways his awareness of the biological, social and psychological uniqueness of the individual, although somewhat archaic and limiting, is what an ideal teacher of today might attempt.  In Dewey's world there was less distraction and less mechanisms of intervention  for the challenged student.  Today's teacher, as depicted above has more distractions, more information, more support and most likely more is expected in terms of measurable outcomes.

The teacher becomes the adaptor of the potential of the child, the needs of the the child and the social, intellectual and moral development of the child.  The teacher is the societal director of the interplay of home, learning and socializing.  These are lofty and somewhat dogmatic ideals.  Yet the foundations he plants are insightful and relevant to today's educational milieu.  The world may be 120 years old, but the basic ideas are still pertinent.  The energy and dedication of the teacher is a mandatory skill whether seen from Dewey's perspective as the maker of minds and the developing director of morality or in a more modern perspective as the stimulator of the lust for knowledge.  After all the world of 1897 was much smaller and was a time of the explosion of the technology that has enveloped us all.  A step back to a more intimate teacher-student dyad might not be a step back, it is indeed food for thought.

"The self-taught man seldom knows anything accurately, and he does not know a tenth as much as he could have known if he had worked under teachers; and, besides, he brags, and is the means of fooling other thoughtless people into going and doing as he himself had done. There are those who imagine that the unlucky accidents of life - life's "experiences" - are in some way useful to us. I wish I could find out how?". Mark Twain

From John Dewey, My Pedagogic Creed, School Journal, vol 57, January 1897, pp 77-80