Initial Reflection on Dewey

One of the ideas I like most about Dewey's pragmatic philosophy is the idea of experience being the process by which learning occurs--that education is a "continuing reconstruction of experience; that the process and goal of education are one and the same thing." It brings to mind the saying, "You can't step in the same river twice." Our experiences are ever-changing our conceptions, beliefs, and knowledge, and who we are, because of what we know, changes even by the moment.

What I'm not sure that I agree with Dewey on is that social experience should precede "expression and interpretation." To me, what he is conveying is that he believes studying a subject should not come before the experience of it in real life. For me, literature is such a powerful and accessible means for experiencing situations and feelings and can bring new insight and understanding to a reader concerning novel as well as familiar ideas. Even if words are not a true substitute for actual experience, it's hard for me to accept that they are valueless without it. Would Dewey contend that reading The Color Purple should be avoided so as not to influence a student's perceptions of racism or sexism or love, or conceptions of rape or marriage, simply because he or she had not yet personally experienced these things? What about the possibility of cultivating compassion for those who have had experiences that they (hopefully) will never have personal knowledge of? (Or, maybe he would contend that reading the text would be acceptable as long as it were initiated by the interest of the student and not "taught" by the teacher.)

Moving on to the technology debate, would Dewey see encouraging a student to "Google" The Color Purple as facilitating "learning by doing" or as a "stupid" method of indoctrinating him or her rather than encouraging independent thought? I think he might view it as the latter. When considering the incorporation of technology into teaching and trying to encourage learning through experience, I think there exists a fine line between technology as a tool and technology as a hindrance to true learning.