Dewey and Vygotsky...Teachings that Were Forgotten
HISTORY LESSON: EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHERS
Dewey and Vygotsky's teachings have moulded public school systems. Let's look a little deeper...
JOHN DEWEY
I learned about Dewey's educational philosophy from textbooks in college. He introduced bells, hallways, and classes segregated by age. When you go back and read Dewey's original writings, you find some other interesting teachings that aren't necessarily being taught in the public schools:
Parents are the primary instructors
Teachers should reinforce and build on the child’s home values
Teachers should individualize learning to each child (it's just really hard to do this and keep order in a large classroom)
The best way for a child to learn is to play
Teachers should guide rather than demand
Dewey intended for teachers to closely observe each child and help him make sense of his world while remaining rooted in the values of his home life.
VYGOTSKY
Another foundational educational theorist was Lev Vygotsky, who taught that learning occurs when people play--period. Learning through play is not limited to children, Vygotsky would say that even adolescents and adults learn through play.
"Through play the child develops abstract meaning separate from the objects in the world, which is a critical feature in the development of higher mental functions. Vygotsky gives the famous example of a child who wants to ride a horse but cannot. If the child were under three, he would perhaps cry and be angry, but around the age of three the child's relationship with the world changes...
The child wishes to ride a horse but cannot, so he picks up a stick and stands astride of it, thus pretending he is riding a horse. The stick is a pivot. 'Action according to rules begins to be determined by ideas, not by objects....' (Wikipedia).
Are Organized Sports Play?
Some of the activities that pass for play (soccer leagues, special lessons, etc.) are essentially high-presure obligations. They do not allow freedom to explore, create, and enjoy.
Even math manipulatives and other learning games are just thinly-veiled academics. Parents foster too little play for their children and school seemingly squashes play and creativity, teaching children what to think instead of how to think.
{Many of the ideas and wording here come from the book
"The Phases of Learning" by Oliver and Rachel DeMille}
