Question- "Education is not merely a preparation for future life, but a process of living. Explain this statement of John Dewey with examples.

Answer -

The earlier educationists of Dewey used to say that education helps in the larger purpose of life. Spencer considered education as a means of preparation for a full life. Dewey opposed this theory and said that education is a process of real and present life and not preparation for future life. It is related to the problems of life. Every moment in the life of a person, the process of development and the reconstruction of experiences keeps happening, which is possible only through education. Therefore, Dewey presented his following ideas regarding education - "Education is life itself." It is not just the preparation for the future life, by emphasizing on the process of development in the life of the individual, Dewey has proved the uniformity of education and life. He considers life to be continuously developing. Growth is the sign of life. Mankind is always moving towards development; this development is called education in other words. Just as life cannot be separated from development, similarly education also has no existence apart from life. Dewey has clearly said that education is development and as long as the universe is development oriented, the process of education will continue. The process of development in life goes on in different directions. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is oriented towards evil. If the process of development is downward oriented, then the aim of education remains incomplete. Therefore, for healthy development, Dewey emphasizes the need for continuous reconstruction of experiences in life. Man keeps on increasing his experiences under different conditions of the environment. He keeps on refining and reorganizing the experience by observing, testing and applying it. Old experiences are rejected and reconstructed on the basis of new experiences in life. This work is accomplished through education. A person learns throughout his life and continues to develop and reconstruct his experiences to adapt to the changing environment. This action is very important from the point of view of development in life.

So, it is clear that Dewey accepts close relationship between education and life. From birth, the child enters the field of education and throughout his life it remains covered in the veil of education. There is no existence of education other than the development of the individual and the reconstruction of his experiences.

...Prev | Next...