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ERIC Number: EJ1057798
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1946
EISSN: N/A
A Century of John and Evelyn Dewey's "Schools of To-Morrow": Rousseau, Recorded Knowledge, and Race in the Philosopher's Most Problematic Text
Fallace, Thomas; Fantozzi, Victoria
Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v51 n2 p129-152 2015
A century ago, John Dewey and his daughter Evelyn published "Schools of To-morrow" to nearly universal acclaim. However, over the course of the 20th century, critics of Dewey have drawn upon "Schools of To-morrow" to accuse him of being an uncritical disciple of French philosopher, Jean Rousseau, of being opposed to the transmission of content to students, and most recently of endorsing a curriculum that patronized Black students. As a result, the text has become John Dewey's most controversial and problematic. In this historical study, we seek to place "Schools of To-morrow" in its historical, intellectual, and social context. The first part of the study traces the writing and publication of the text, as well as its changing reception over the past century. The second part of the study directly responds to the three criticisms previously cited: that Dewey was a disciple of Rousseau, that Dewey was opposed to the transmission of content knowledge, and that Dewey endorsed the racially segregated school system of Indianapolis depicted in the text. Drawing upon Dewey's other writings, his course syllabi, his personal correspondence, and lecture notes, we argue that the first two accusations are unfounded, but the third is partially accurate, although incomplete. We conclude that "Schools of To-morrow" is an undervalued text in the Dewey cannon that warrants closer study.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A