Published: February 1, 1995

What Would Dewey Do?

Draw from the experiences of your students, Dewey had counseled. But with one statement, this New York City high school student had shown me why Dewey's writings had left my fellow graduate students incredulous.

I was contemplating a career change and had no teaching experience, but many of my university classmates were already facing students in the schools. John Dewey, they were sure, could not have imagined today's urban children: the ones from broken homes, the ones who had seen shootings in their neighborhoods, the ones who watched their older brothers and sisters going through life without hope.

The boy whose brother had been killed was trying to be heard over his classmates; he wasn't the only one in the room with something important to say. Students offered theories on how to tell if someone is carrying a gun (based mostly on his attitude and the way he carries himself) and on how to proceed if he is. A few of the girls, but none of the boys, seemed to think they could handle themselves in...