Dewey And Boyer: An Analysis Of Education Philosophies

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Dewey & Boyer: An Analysis of Education Philosophies John Dewey and Ernest Boyer are both very well thought of educators as well as philosophers. In reading both of their articles I found myself thinking of my own philosophies on education and found that I could side with one or the other. I liked parts of their education ideals and other thoughts seemed either outdated or didn’t fall in line of how I feel education should be viewed. I think both have some great ideas as well as ideals but if I had to side with one or the other I would go more along with Boyer’s thoughts than Dewey. Dewey stated that “the educational process has two sides - one psychological and one sociological” (Dewey, J. 1987, pg. 256). What this means is that in Dewey’s …show more content…

267). So Boyer has some similar ideals with Dewey in that he believes that teachers are there to help students see that they are small part of something much larger, and while I do see the similarities of their philosophies here I think they also can be used to contrast each other. I understand that Dewey and Boyer both see that education needs to be drastically changed and we need to make kids connect in a way that creates a community that is positive for current learning as well as future society. This is all good thinking but I also believe that Boyer sees students as real people and his peers while Dewey seems to think of students simply as a tool that is used by teachers. He constantly refers to students and children as “it”, while Boyer seems much more connected with his approach to addressing students as actual people and he puts it all in terms that make sense and connected with me better whereas Dewey’s ideals were more off-putting that anything …show more content…

273). Between these two educators I see some similarities or differences between their philosophies and while Dewey has a few points that I agree with I see his views as more cold and calculating whereas Boyer seems to connect more with his students and how they can and should be a positive outlook on the future of society. I side more with Boyer than I do with Dewey but, both have valid points to make in their separate philosophies and as a future educator I think it is important to keep an open mind and take what I can from both men and apply it to my own philosophies as an educator.

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