A Pragmatic Education.

prag·mat·ic

praɡˈmadik/

adjective

1. dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

Even looking at the definition of "pragmatic," I crack up because I am not really a pragmatic person.  I enjoy creativity, and pushing past a text.  However, I would like to include points of the philosophy entitled pragmatism into my philosophy of teaching, specifically in teaching writing.  I believe that the philosophical thought, pragmatism, can create mutual respect between the teacher and students. Many of the ideas within pragmatism can be found in discussing John Dewey and his personal methods of instruction.

Oh, John Dewey.  Many have looked to him as a pillar of helpful methods and philosophies to apply to the classroom (myself included).  Which was all fine and good until recently when I was challenged by a professor to dig deeper into his ideas.  He said, "Many of my colleagues respect Dewey and his philosophy. Then I quote him and ask if they agree with the quote, they reply, 'I don't agree with that!' And I reply, 'Well, that is what Dewey says.' They can understand his ideas but they have never read a single one of his books." Wow, what a powerful thought! I mean I believed that Dewey and his pragmatic beliefs were the ones that would guide me through the rest of my time at BGSU and into my first career as a teacher of writing.  I am encouraged that I can employ many of the ideas of pragmatism into my classroom while adding other ideas into my classroom.  For example, in my unit lesson plan, I included Dewey and some of his ideas into my philosophy at the beginning of the project.  I used some of the pragmatic ideas to help develop my lesson plan and create procedures for the substitute to follow.  I included options for the students on most of the days to implement democracy within my classroom but I also added lectures or other types of instruction besides the pragmatic approach.

I still believe in being direct with students and making sure they understand exactly what is asked of them in every assignment.  However, not every assignment will have a guideline or a rubric and some things will allow for students to express their creative sides. Also, Dewey believes in implementing a democratic classroom but I have to be slightly realistic in saying that my students can have opinions, and I will respect those opinions, but I still have the final say within the classroom.  I think apart of that can be controlled in the choices we provide for our students. In everything we do in the classroom, I want my students to be able to voice their opinions in the ways we collaborate, group write, and revise.  But I might provide two options that are different, but that I would be okay with either way.  That being said, I want to listen to their opinions and take them into consideration while also being transparent in all of the plans I have made for the class.

That Dewey. So poised, so pragmatic.

"Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself."

-John Dewey