School representing real life: A reflection on John Dewey's "My Pedagogic Creed"

School, according to American philosopher, educational reformer, and psychologist John Dewey, is primarily a social institution. Rather than having a focus on the individual and the process of preparation for some future lifestyle and occupation, Dewey states in My Pedagogic Creed that education is rather a process of living, one that is dependent upon and identified as part of a greater community. Being such, school extends beyond the four walls of the conventional "classroom" to include, in a foundational manner, the home. The concept of school as a community of living is, in my opinion, an admirable perspective, and although I agree with Dewey whole heartedly on this point, I fear that it is a perspective that contrasts the current stasis of the American education system in general.

Reflecting on my own past academic experiences, I feel that my school system (K-12) recognized the inherent relationship between home and school and worked to solidify and nurture that connection. This was achieved through parental involvement, school sporting events, community outreach programs, relationship building activities, and a general self-awareness and life perspective that was focused outwardly. This, however, may not be the norm. Regardless, I was blessed to have gone through an education system that intentionally supported relationships between the home and the school and developed a sense of school community.

Although not explicitly stated in this document, Dewey seems to recognize the important relationship between the school and the real lives of the students. He believes that there should be some continuity, some over lap between the real world and what is being taught and lived inside the classroom. Dewey stated, "I believe that the school must represent present life - life as real and vital to the child as that which carries on in the home, in the neighborhood, or on the play-ground." I wonder how well the current American education system represents this perspective.

Lastly, Dewey states that in order for education to be effective and applicable, it must represent real life. He wrote, “I believe that education which does not occur through forms of life…is always a poor substitute for the genuine reality and tends to cramp and to deaden.” To cramp and to deaden—terms that are usually not associated with effective schooling. Without a direct connection or applicability to the real lives of students, the learning that does occur in school may produce the exact opposite of its intentions: the deadening of a child and his/her learning. Dewey emphatically encourages the idea that students, from adults to children, learn both in and out of the classroom. Real life represents the common denominator between these two seemingly compartmentalized components. It just needs to be recognized and utilized, and Dewey believes that the education will become far more effective at developing competent and empathetic citizens.