Phooey on John Dewey
by Bruce Deitrick Price
The year: 1897. Dewey’s age: 38. "My Pedagogic Creed" is a fascinating and original work. It's almost art, in the exotic sense that Wittgenstein's "Tractatus" is art. They're both breezily dogmatic, stating a thousand decisive Truths, perhaps a few of which are even true. Here's the key point. Wouldn't we like Dewey to say he has concluded or demonstrated or observed or discovered something? He does not. Here's what he says 74 times in My Creed: "I believe...I believe...I believe..." You want education as fevered religious vision, read Dewey. (Read more...)
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