Douglas J. Simpson

John Dewey’s Concept of the Student

In this article, I have examined Dewey’s concept of the student through the lens of his poetry and prose to show that his poetry clarifies his prose. I have devoted special attention to a study of Dewey’s poetry to reveal his belief that students are more fragile than his prose suggests and that they need guidance in their desire for freedom to learn. His poetry also suggests that students need help to navigate society’s contradictory educational currents. Without such help, they will likely suffer damaging, permanent outcomes. L’article analyse, a travers les poemes et la prose de Dewey, son concept de l’eleve. Les poemes de Dewey presentent l’eleve comme etant plus fragile que ce que pouvait laisser supposer sa prose et comment il doit etre guide dans son desir de liberte dans l’apprentissage. La poesie de Dewey laisse entendre aussi que les eleves ont besoin d’aide pour trouver leur voie dans les courants educatifs contradictoires de la societe. Sans cette aide, ils risquent d’etre affectes de maniere permanente.