Chapter 7 - What Are the Characteristics of a Good School?

Summary

Dewey encourages schools to become more than places where students learn basic and advanced skills, develop a range of creative and scientific abilities, engage in inquiry and dialogue, nourish desirable dispositions and habits, and, on occasions, listen to lectures and presentations. In addition, he nudges schools away from the belief that ethical education is a discrete part of the curriculum. Instead, he explains that ethical growth occurs daily at school. In ordinary activities, all students are encouraged to develop the “power to share effectively in social life” (MW 9, 370). Moreover, instead of urging schools to focus largely on students and educators as individuals, he encourages them to help everyone recognize that they are considerably more than an individual; they are a social being who should enjoy human interactions and responsibilities including: coteaching, cooperative learning, and, in the process, becoming a more conscious and contributing member of school and external groups.