After reading the My Pedagogic Creed, by John Dewey, there are some thoughts I would like to share. Mr. Dewey illustrated the main and key points of education more than 100 years ago that still can apply to the current world. It is true that the "Educational process has two sides - one psychological and one sociological". Education definitely has many aspects regarding the individual and our society. He made a good clear point that education itself contains two core contexts.
Similarly, I also agree with what Mr. Dewey said about education is "the teacher is engaged, not simply in the training individuals, but in the formation of the proper social life." That is definitely a point that a teacher should not be a person only train and help students learning living skills, but also need to be able to assist and guide students a brighter and wider perspective view of a personal and social life.
On the other hand, there are some points Mr. Dewey mentioned that I do not agree fully with. He mentioned that "the education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living". I don't think we should break the process of living and the preparation of future living separately. If we only focus on the process of living, it seems too idealistic, people live in the real world, we should do something to prepare for the future. Education is one of the powerful fundamental resources to help us get prepared for it.
There are so many "I believe" in Mr. Dewey's article. What I believe is, education is the fundamental of individuals, society, and the world.
Reference:
Dewey, John (1897, January). My pedagogic creed. School Journal, 54, pp. 77-80. Retrieved from http://dewey.pragmatism.org/creed.htm
Hi Sungling,
Your reflections touched me a lot, especially the consideration and understanding of the essence of education. Education is a great project for human society. The public education prepared the students as a connector into the social division of labor, so it is indeed the fundamental of individual, society and even the world. I believe what Dewey's believed though they were put forward more than 100 years ago. That is one of my motivations to enter into this great career! 😃
-Xiaoying
Hi Sungling, I'm glad you brought up the teacher's complex role as mentor. In my teacher training program something I often heard was, "Be the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage." In other words, don't simply be a fountain of knowledge, but guide students through forming and articulating their own ideas with knowledge and skills gleaned from your teaching or from elsewhere (often both). However, I don't think teachers really are ever "on the side" helping students from the shadows. Students observe and internalize everything teachers do. As a result, teachers must lead by example. While this means different things for different student age groups, in all cases teachers should be aware that their own world vie…