John Dewey: His Life and Work

“Unfortunately Dewey's term ‘progressive education' has too frequently been used as a put-down” to describe child-centered education, according to scholar Larry Hickman, when, in fact, the late19th century philosopher/educator John Dewey was opposed to programs leaning towards specialized individual treatment, believing they uncritically followed the impulses and uninformed interests of a child and resulted in “planless improvisation” on the part of the teacher. John Dewey: His Life and Work presents an interesting biography of the influential (and occasionally reviled) Dewey, examines his most famous ideas, and takes a look at the Mission School in Boston where his methods of inquiry and discovery learning are still being used. Combining interviews with former protégé Louise Rosenblatt, historical stills, a rare 1929 “talkie” newsreel of Dewey himself, and visits to today's classrooms, the program manages to cover a lot of information. However, some of the animation is fairly crude, and the price is rather high for a biography. Regardless, this is still recommended, overall, particularly for university libraries. Aud: C, P. (R. Reagan)