Dion Ginanto
Everybody
will not argue that the most effective way to make improvements in a society is
through education. Researchers and scholars in their areas have tried and
always will try the best they can to improve the quality of education. Two
compelling scholars who made efforts to reform education were John Dewey and
Milton Friedman. This paper compares and contrasts the ideas of these two
scholars, taking into account their different backgrounds, different views, and
different eras. Therefore, the paper will address: 1) how Dewey and Friedman
saw the role and functions of education, 2) their strategies for improving the
education of American youth; and 3) their views on test-based accountability, which
dominates the current era.
Dewey’s
and Friedman’s Views on Public Education
Both Dewey and Friedman agreed that
everybody should have an adequate education. Dewey asserted that the government
should increase educational opportunities for all, and the best way to do it is
through public schooling. In line with Dewey, Friedman proposed the idea that
most children should have a minimum degree of literacy and knowledge.
The idea of improving access to education
for citizens is important because education contributes to the development of
democratic citizens. Friedman (1962) stressed that education brings a stable
and democratic society. Dewey also agreed that a better education creates
democratic citizenship. Education is to prepare students to be good citizens
(Dewey, 1902-1903).
Another similar idea of Dewey’s and
Friedman’s in regard to the education concept is that education provides common
sympathies, common values, and common understandings, which eventually create a
stable democratic society. A stable and democratic society is impossible
without a minimum degree of literacy and knowledge on the part of most
citizens, and without widespread acceptance of common values (Friedman, 1962).
Now, if they both emphasized
commonality in their idea of citizenship, common values, and equal to education
then how did these two distinguished scholars see the role of government in
education? Dewey saw that education is so important to the development of the
society, and therefore the government should stand in the front line to fund,
support, and administer education (especially public schools) so that
eventually education will be seen as a public good. Unlike Dewey, who saw education as a public
good, Friedman had a more controversial view of public education. Friedman
argued that education should receive less intervention from the government.
According to Freidman, putting education as a private good benefits society in
achieving more quality and choices. At this point, Friedman used the term
“neighborhood effects”, to give a solution on educational funding in which he introduced
voucher systems. Furthermore, the community will have more freedom to choose:
public or private, religious or secular, near or far, - what works best for
them.
Strategy
for Improving the Education of American Youth
Dewey’s idea of schooling as a social
center (to make school as a center of full adequate social service) is for me
the most compelling idea for improving the education of American youth. This is
important because in Dewey’s era, the role of family education was somehow
declining, as an impact of the progressive era, urbanization, and technology-
is still relevant to the current social media era. Dewey’s dream was to prepare
active citizenship for the future, by 1) connecting children to the world of
authentic ways, 2) child-centered curricula, and 3) solving problems. The
outcome of school as a social center is that the American youth become more
creative, problem solver, and active citizens.
Relevancy
to the Todays Test-Based Accountability
Unlike Friedman, Dewey will have
trouble with the idea of testing. Standardized tests, like the ones in No Child
Left Behind has created a shift of teaching, from teaching that sparks
creativity, activeness, problem-solving and democratic citizenship, to
test-based teaching. How can a teacher teach his/her students to solve the problem,
if the students merely rely on solving questions on the test? How can a school
enact a “Child-Centered Curriculum” if the teachers become more
teacher-centered in order to prepare students for the test? And how can students
be active democratic citizens, if they have never been taught to apply
democratic practices?
In conclusion, both Dewey and
Friedman had similar ideas of preparing students for a democratic society, as
well as for giving students minimum standards of education. However, both Dewey
and Friedman had different views on education as a public or a private good.
Last but not least, the implementation of test-based accountability obviously
undermines the idea of Dewey on education reforms.
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