How did that happen ?
As always , there were multiple causes . However , one particular individual , an educator , was more than anyone else responsible for the transformation of the method and the content of education in America . His name was John Dewey .” 3 Dewey was responsible for transferring the radical , secular ideas of his day into the classroom through his influential academic post . What public schools became , in large part , is a result of Dewey ’ s foresight . Because he was so influential in shaping American public education , it is important to see what he believed and thus embedded into public schools .
JOHN DEWEY ON KNOWLEDGE
For one , Dewey was suspicious about the possibility to acquire knowledge . Dewey once wrote , “ Although I have raised large questions , it is not my ambition to answer them .” 4 By his own admission , Dewey wasn ’ t interested in guiding students toward fixed truth .
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy said of Dewey , “ For too long , truth connoted an ideal — an epistemic fixity ( a correspondence , a coherence ) which could terminate all further inquiry . As this is not the actual situation human beings ( or philosophy ) inhabits , the ideal should be set aside .” 5 Dewey did not believe “ truth ” or “ knowledge ” was absolute . He repudiated the standard correspondence theory of truth in favor of a kind of pragmatism — a dramatically different approach to reality . He was more focused on developing a practical philosophy by which students could operate .
Zachary Garris explained , “ Along with William James , Dewey was one of the chief architects of the philosophical school of pragmatism ( Dewey ’ s version is called “ instrumentalism ”), which held that a theory is true insofar as it is successful . In other words , pragmatism is concerned with what works . When applied to education , this means schools should focus on problem-solving and experiential learning rather than passing down knowledge from teacher to students .” 6
Dewey was skeptical about knowledge and more interested in applying what works in the classroom and society . In an earlier work , Dewey argued against the “ quest for certainty .” 7 Yet , for a person who spent much of his career influencing public education , he didn ’ t even believe knowledge was possible . He was a skeptic . This is the proverbial case of the blind leading the blind ( Matthew 15:14 ).
JOHN DEWEY ON GOD
Dewey ’ s lack of confidence in knowledge likely stemmed from his lack of belief in God . Dewey was one of the 34 signatories of the Humanist Manifesto I that , among other atheistic tenets , states , “ FIRST : Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created .
SECOND : Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as a result of a continuous process .
THIRD : Holding an organic view of life , humanists find that the traditional dualism of mind and body must be rejected .” 8
This influential manifesto may sound archaic , but it was a significant statement of atheistic philosophy in the first half of the twentieth century . It denied a creator , affirmed naturalistic evolution , and opposed the idea of an eternal soul . In short , it was an atheist creed . And John Dewey was one of the chief endorsers .
It wasn ’ t enough for Dewey to privately hold his beliefs about a self-existent universe and an uncreated humanity arising from evolutionary processes . Instead , Dewey became an evangelist for the atheist religion through his signing the Humanist Manifesto I and writing subsequent publications such as A Common Faith . 9
“ Children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming where everyone is interdependent .”
John Dewey
JOHN DEWEY ON PUBLIC EDUCATION
But how did the atheist and skeptic John Dewey so influence American public schools ? From his influential post at Columbia University and his prolific output compiled in 37 volumes in The Collected Works of John Dewey ( 1882 – 1953 ), 10 Dewey guided public education away from the biblically based past and toward a more secular future .
Mark Koscak wrote , “ Dewey ’ s movement had a new vision for schools . He wanted to use schools as instruments for the reconstruction of society . Dewey didn ’ t want to educate children to think for themselves : ‘ Children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming where everyone is interdependent .’ His vision veered dramatically from the traditional Christ-centered approach to education .” 11
Dewey ’ s attempts to remake American society through public education is not just something Christians opine . Dale McGowan , an atheist and author of Atheism for Dummies , wrote , “ In the course of a long career , Dewey practically reinvented the American system of education from the bottom up .” 12 In his lifetime , Dewey was largely responsible for turning public schools from largely Protestant Christian academies to secular indoctrination centers . Though he died in 1952 , the effects of his advocacy for secular doctrines are with us to this day .
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