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The School and Social Progress:

In order to understand/define what school is, we need to see it from the perspective of teacher, student and parents. These groups are interwoven between each other. We tend to create standards which we use certain measure to know how far it goes. We develop this because knowledge and progress is related. It shows how practical human is, when it comes to school and curriculum.

Community and parents should share same inspiration towards their kids; however we must not suppress this notion beyond the target of achieving self realization of the kids themselves. What I mean by achieving full realization of students is letting them to be alert and active so that it suits over native. It must be meaningful and related to task of life in the future. It must be spontaneous and can catch attention of the children.

Society plays integral part of schools however it is impossible to imitate school to be as natural social unit of society because it lacks common and productivity of society. What happens there (school) must be natural, inevitably and spontaneous. So there must be a portion of school curriculum that tries to implement the tendency of society to prepare them for understanding the world. However, we need to put in mind that the aim is not to be the economic value but the development of social power and insight.

Dewey really focuses on developing students’ insight. He perceives education is successful if children manage to gain insight on the education that they receive. He gave an example how children manage to make meaningful relationship with the late development of cotton industry due to the difficulties to free the boll and seeds. In my opinion, I believe educational system will be progressive if teacher/curriculum explores more on the insight and turn it into something that is practical. In this case, what I mean is perhaps, the next stage is developing/finding ways on how to free the boll and seeds and explore possibilities’ and various solutions.

I am thinking, this kind of thinking (finding creative solutions) makes Japanese or Koreans advance in the field of creativity.

The School and the Life of the Child:

Reading through this chapter reminds me of the time when I was in kindergarten level. It was the best time in my life and yet, I haven’t given so much thought of finding the reasons behind it. Then I realize, my kindergarten was the time that I explored my senses. That makes it so interesting and fun.

I agree when Dewey wrote: “There is very little place in the traditional schoolroom for the child to work.” I notice how much weight he gave to kids education because Dewey understands the nature of kids and learning themselves and at the same time against the notion of “ the passivity of attitude, its mechanical massing of children, its uniformity of curriculum and method” which is the main criteria of old education.

When Dewey mentions about Copernicus, I sense that we must be bold when it comes to changing perspectives and paradigms of our values. He does not want teacher to be in the circle of rigid and dogmatic beliefs especially when it comes to curriculum and education.

Those who disagree with Dewey will say his point of views just emphasized on kids who the nature of them are insatiable, however, it gives me a relief when he mention;
“But if we have organization of equipment and of materials, there is another path open to us. We can direct the child’s activities, giving them exercise along certain lines and can thus lead up to the goal which logically stands at the end of the paths followed.” It means, we are more there to mould. I don’t think Dewey neglects portions of society when it comes to developing curriculum because he specifically mentions “The child must be brought into contact with more grown people and with more children in order that there may be the freest and richest social life.”

Waste in Education:

I think it is considered a waste in education when school can not make connection between different types of schooling system that exist in a community. Though the level of education in terms of its content and materials as well as the level of understanding are different, still every level conveys/carry meanings on its own. For example, kindergarten that focus much on sense exploration and moral development, the meaning/impact behind it can be continued to secondary education through the appreciation of how nerves/ senses organs in our body. This level can be applied in Science lesson.

It won’t be considered a waste of education if meaningful learning can be established especially when the kids can make sense of whatever that he/she learns in and outside school. It shows how strong/powerful the involvement of curriculum in kids’ life. Thus, whatever subjects teach in school must have balance. I think education in fact, is a balance between social and individual sides.

Only through this understanding of balance, we can achieve harmony.

The gist of creating a balance curriculum lies in unifying, organizing, educating and to bring all its various factors together, through putting it as a whole into organic union with everyday life. This will be a working model of unified education rather than reflecting on education that only focus on being promotion of economy and efficiency.

I am glad Dewey mentioned that in this chapter as it reflects our freedom and democracy in education.

The Psychology of Elementary Education:

Dewey believes in order to achieve progress, educationists must release themselves from tradition because it tends to limit. Rather, they must focus on scientific realms because through that, they can see what it promises especially of the belief on conditions of normal growth.

I think this kind of thinking can lead to the elements of Positivism because it neglects the qualitative aspects, however, I don’t put the blame on Dewey as his time was history. It was not the era of post modernism. I don’t reject on scientific methodology as I believe in Science too, but thinking, it would be good if both combinations are taken into consideration.

I can sense his interest in Science methodology due to the fact that it has relations with progressive. He compared it to Traditionalists, when he mentions that “no social element was found in the subject-matter nor in the intrinsic appeal which it made to the child; it was located wholly outside in the teacher- in the encouragements, admonitions, urgings and devices of the instructor in getting the child’s mind…”

I don’t think Dewey abhors traditionalist so much but he insists on Science that has power over child on how they “can learns to estimate and treat the bare physical stimuli”.

In conclusion, he focus on kids’ exploration on his/her owns using their faculties of minds which is parallel to Science.

Froebel’s Educational Principles:

I notice the similarities between Dewey’s ideas of Curriculum and Froebel’s Educational Principle. As Dewey emphasis on supporting kids’ natural behavior, I found it as well in Froebel’s ideas that focus on direct experiences of kids that come from their main activities which is play.

Frobel considered play as a base for learning, because kids later will develop their own thinking. He defends his point of views by believing that there are many processes involve and happen in kids’ own brains when playing that will be useful to later life. The development of imagination that can be transferred into creativity and abstract thinking is one of the obvious examples that I think relevant to his idea.

The role of educationist is not to hinder them but to delve and develop further.

The Psychology of Occupations:

The aim of “Occupation” that Dewey’s mentions is to avoid it be based on routine or custom. It must be based on natural but at the same time it has relation to work that will be carried on in real life. I think he produces this notion to avoid misconception on school as factory that produces workers for economy. That is what I can think in relation to his explanations. He insists more on saying that Occupation that the ends of it is for the growth and the interplay of ideas by directing them to the actions.

Yes, I can see the differences in a real scale, because firstly, it is based upon personal experimenting and planning in contrast to getting and completing tasks that are received from CEO like what happens in factory. Secondly, it has connection with historical development with students, and I believe it will be meaningful to them. It brings values into life, education into life.

The Development of Attention:

The crucial part in developing attention falls into finding how to help to focus our students power of observation, helping them to interpret materials so that it will be meaningful and connected to them later as well as making them to think and reflects of all the subjects being taught to them.

This can be done under the name of correlation. In education, correlation is associated with continuity of subject matter and society. These two elements, like what I mention in the first paragraph, interwoven with kids/children. This helps us to understand the school better. This notion makes sense with what Dewey mentions later, when he emphasized that attention is never partial or divided and at the same time depending on something external.

The Aim of History in Elementary Education:

It makes sense to me why I perceive History subject that I learnt at school was boring after reading Dewey’s thoughts on this topic. It leads me to wonder that did my teacher fail teaching me or Am I the one that fails to integrate between the past history and today situation thus lead to me to failure to see connection between history and myself? I think I will pro for the latter because that means, history subject was not meaningful because I could not establish the connection. How true it is, when Dewey said that in relation to this by giving an explanation: “He finds no clues into its labyrinth of detail and can mount no eminence when to get a perspective of arrangement.”

In fact, it’s not the subject of History only but it should be extended to any other subjects. The main point is being able to make connection and making sense of it in our students’ daily life and onto the next level of education (Secondary ?Tertier ). I agree when he said, “When a child is capable of appreciating institutions, he is capable of seeing what special institutional idea each historic nations stands for…. But this period arrives only when the child is beginning to be capable of abstracting causes in other realms as well; in other words when he is approaching the time of secondary education.”
I believe learning of particular subjects involves exploration, discovery and self reflection, intertwined with the content/matter and self.

The Child and The Curriculum:

In educating the child, I believe it is normal to have various methodologies and approach though Dewey believes it will distract from the focal points. In my opinion, this should not be an issue as it will enrich the field. If it is a problem to see education as a whole, I blame on the individual inability to make connections between the divisions, not the educative process. It does not mean my notion’s above against the child’s life as an integral. Indeed I strongly support Dewey’s ideas on this.

When Dewey mentions about the emergence of subdivision within the aspect of curriculum, I realized it happens because of the differences between perspectives. It happens because of development in curriculum itself. He must convince what he believes on the relation between the child and the curriculum and make sense to the Traditionalists. However, I believe Dewey’s thoughts on curriculum is having more advantaged over other previous curriculum division.

The ideal of education is by reflecting on child’s growth because it has the elements of personality over subject matter which is important to the development of inner self. Secondly, learning itself must start from within the child’s self. I am not against the learning of something that is formal and mechanical as Dewey’s patches through; it needs a valid and reliable blend.

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Tags: curriculum, Dewey, Froebel, Froebel's Educational Principles, John Dewey, Malaysia Curriculum., subject matter, The Child and the Curriculum, The Psychology of Elementary Education, The School and Social Progress, The School and Society, The School and The Life of the Child, Waste in Education