John Dewey knows where it's at!

Over the past few days, at least for me, the prevailing concern has been the idea that both students and teachers are subject to evaluation based on standardized tests. A House Bill passed in 2011, and extended upon in the legislation this year, has indicated that student test scores will account for 40% of a teacher's evaluation as effective or ineffective, and additionally that there were loud voices saying that it should account for 100%. Curriculums are designed to meet state standards, to ensure that students are achieving on standardized tests, and additionally to prepare students for college and future jobs. How often do you hear someone say that the purpose of secondary school is to prepare students for college? The sort of one-size-fits-all curriculum that is developed to meet state standards is not effective for all students, and often especially for students who come from generally low-performing districts and districts that lack resources.

John Dewey offers a very different view of what the purpose of school and education is for students. In "My Pedagogic Creed" under the heading "What School Is," Dewey states that he believes school to be primarily a social institution. Everything that I have been learning and reading about teaching students like social justice, social emotional competency, self-care, teaching the whole child, etc. points to the social aspect of education being more important or at least as important as teaching content. Having the ability to interact and collaborate with others is an essential skill both for college and the workforce, and not something that can be quantitatively tested.

Additionally Dewey says, " I believe that education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living. I believe that the school must represent present life - life as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighborhood, or on the play-ground." Education does not serve the sole purpose of preparing students for a future that oftentimes is not currently relevant to them. I remember I used to say to my mom, "It seems like middle school is useless. It's like I am biding my time until high school when grades actually matter." In my mind school itself was an assessment, and if these grades were grades that no college or employer would ever look at, what was my incentive to do well? To learn? Nah. Then in high school I would say, "It seems like high school is useless. It's like I'm biding my time to get to college when my life actually starts." All in all, I think that my experience, especially my middle school experience, would have been different with the presence of a truly effective teacher who made me and the other students feel like we were valuable and validated our opinions. Or even, a teacher who simply differentiated instruction. Relate the content you are teaching students to daily life, make it explicit, and make it real. Literacy is a part of everyday life, so make it relevant! 

In the final segment of his pedagogy Dewey touches on how school can be a part of social progress. His final statements are teacher-oriented,  in which he says that teachers are not solely responsible for training individuals but for the formation of a proper social life, and also he states "I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and the securing of the right social growth." I like the idea of teaching as a calling, and also the acknowledgment that becoming a teacher is a step toward social progress and reform, and finally that the teaching profession is a dignified profession. Not everyone can teach. It takes methods, skills, pedagogy and years of application and experience. It is dignified.