Description
Book SynopsisThis year marks the centenary publication of John Dewey's magnum opus, Democracy and Education. Despite its profound importance as a foundational text in education, it is notoriously difficult and dare we say it a little dry. In this charming and often funny companion, noted philosopher of education D. C. Phillips goes chapter by chapter to bring Dewey to a twenty-first-century audience. Drawing on over fifty years of thinking about this book and on his own experiences as an educator he lends it renewed clarity and a personal touch that proves its lasting importance. Phillips bridges several critical pitfalls of Democracy and Education that often prevent contemporary readers from fully understanding it. Where Dewey sorely needs a detailed example to illustrate a point and the times are many Phillips steps in, presenting cases from his own classroom experiences. Where Dewey casually refers to the works of people like Hegel, Herbart, and Locke common knowledge, apparently, in 1916 Philli