Some hundred years after John Dewey worked to illuminate what it means
to educate and how public education serves as the bedrock of democracy,
his seminal Democracy and Education speaks urgently not only to
critical contemporary educational issues but to contemporary political
issues as well. As mania for testing forces a steadily narrowing
curriculum, Dewey explains why democracy cannot "flourish" if "the chief
influences in selecting subject matter of instruction are utilitarian
ends narrowly conceived for the masses." As such utilitarian subject
matter is increasingly placed online, isolating individual students and
their electronic screens, he insists that education happens not through
direct instruction but "indirectly by means of the environment" where
members of a community engage in meaningful tasks. As the American
population appears increasingly subject to rhetorical manipulation and
ideological extremism, Dewey imagines the possibility of education
cultivating "habits of mind which secure social changes without
introducing disorder." Insightful and inspiring, Dewey's classic
reintroduces readers to educational and political possibilities hard to
remember as political and corporate forces to work reshape American
public schools in the service of global profit rather than democratic
life.
Myers Education Press's Timely Classics in Education offer readers the
opportunity to return to the original works of giants whose influence on
education have persisted through the years. Critical introductions to
each work offer information on the context of the original work as well
as insights into current relevance. For readers unfamiliar with each
text, the introductions provide entrée to the work; for experienced
readers, the series offers an opportunity to return to original works
untainted by the distortions of decades of interpretation. Unlike poorly
produced facsimile editions, Timely Classics are high-quality
products. They can be adopted for use in many types of education
classes.
Perfect for courses in: Social Foundations of Education, Political
and Social Foundations of Education, Foundations of American Education,
Foundations of Education, Introduction to Education Theory and Policy,
Philosophy and Education, History of American Education, and The
Philosophy of John Dewey.
