John Dewey

Throughout the history of Education there have been many educational philosophies that have shaped our education system today. John Dewey was a philosopher who created multiple theories and philosophies for our education systems and classrooms. John Dewey was a psychologist, philosopher,  and educator who impacts and still has a permanent impact on our educational system. Many of his practices are still being used and taught. (Nickerson, 2024). John Dewey started his philosophy based on coming to the Americas during the 19th century. During this time he created a section that persuaded the citizens of Chicago that children should not be kept inside sitting for hours listening, but instead interactive with the lesson (Gibbon, 2019).  Dewey saw the struggles that were occurring within the educational system in Chicago. 

John Dewey created the Educational Progressivism that accumulated as he expanded his knowledge and visited different areas of education to understand and study to further prove his theory that students would learn more when they are interactive with the lesson being taught. Dewey believed that a traditional education was still important however he also believed that the student should have interactions that were in their interest (Howley-Rouse, 2021). Dewey wanted to create a way for students to grow at their own pace but yet still have a teacher to help guide them. Progressivism is also based on the students abilities and needs, but also allows room for a teacher to provide the education and knowledge to the students (PHILO-notes, 2021). Dewey believed that with the same fundamentals of the traditional education and adding the students abilities and needs into that education would not only be beneficial for the student but also opened up new ways for teachers to help students learn based on their abilities and needs. 

Progressivism allows students to have room to learn within their own abilities. A way that progressivism can be used in a classroom, could be seen when students are allowed to use their own curiosity and experiences to learn within the classrooms or hands-on interactive social activities related to the class lesson (PHILO-notes, 2021). As the majority of teachers use handson and interactive activities to allow students to grow within their own abilities. Another way that you could use Progressivism within a classroom, could be a teacher that gives students the positive and safe environment to learn and grow with their own experiences and knowledge but also help them expand on that and give them the opportunity to interact and learn new ways (Spanella,  2022). This is another way how progressivism can be used in a classroom, but also can be used to combine into other educational philosophies.