John Dewey’s Philosophy Of Education: Restructuring The Minds Of The Youths As A Necessary Tool To Achieve Social Change -By Emmanuel Samuel-Maris

INTRODUCTION

A Chinese proverb states that “learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere” The act of knowing or thinking is an inbuilt phenomenon in the society and the world at large not a reality outside the world which the young child seeks to know. Thus, the education of youths is a necessary phenomenon in that the youths are the backbones of the society without which the society would malfunction and break down. We live in a society where the education of the youths is not a priority but a mediocrity, the leaders forgetting they were once youths and need education. This country has an assortment of talented and skilled youths whose abilities and capacities can be put together for the development of the country, but our educational system is plagued with problems. Even though, the philosophy of John is a cultural philosophy addressing the cultural educational system of the Americans, it is also germane for us to abide it for a better educational system.

However, in this twenty-first century, the philosophy of John Dewey, an American philosopher, psychologist and an educational reformer, which has to do with the reconnection of philosophy and the mission of education has made great contribution to different spheres of educational system and will go a long way in the restructuring of the minds of the youths pragmatically. John Dewey has for the love of education and its impact in the society propounded different theories on education which are so aligned and helpful to the life of every individual especially the youths, arguably, he believed that philosophy could be understood as the general theory of education.
Education is of great importance in the lives of our youths in the society, especially in the Nigerian society, it has helped to enlighten and strengthen the minds of the youths positively with the support of great thinkers and teachers of education. From birth one begins to learn and will continue to learn through experience and reason till death, for the only factor that separates one from education and the love of knowledge is death.

Thus, there are different prestigious institutions in the country which are imperative in the upbringing and development of the youths. The youths by nature undergo social change from birth to adulthood, which is an inevitable reality.

YOUTH
The term youth does not have a univocal meaning; it has been defined differently by different people, organizations and unions. Thus, the United Nation Population Fund (UNPF) defines youth as “a period of transition from dependence of childhood to adulthood’s independence”. Also, the National Policy on Youth Development in Nigeria considers people within the age bracket of 18-35 years as youths. The youths are the working class citizens, especially in Nigeria those who are still agile and vibrant to belong to the labor market.

SOCIAL CHANGE
Social change can be defined as ‘the significant alteration of social structures, that is, of patterns of social action and interaction, including consequences and manifestations of such structures embodied in norms (rules of conduct), values and cultural products and symbols’ . Social change is an inevitable reality, the society changes and individuals in it also change from childhood to adulthood.

EDUCATION
Sequel to the fact that we have different educators, there are different definitions of education. Some philosophers have etymologically defined education as coming from the Latin word ‘educere’ which means ‘to lead out’. This literally means that education brings one out of the darkness of ignorance to the brightness of knowledge. Thus, “education consists of developing the inner abilities and powers of an individual learner”

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
For non-philosophers, there might be that inner contention whether philosophy has anything to do with education owing to the fact that there have being various debates between philosophers and non-philosophers whether there is any relationship between philosophy and education. However, Philosophy as a second order discipline checkmates education and dictates lacunas, making an attempt to solve the problems. Thus, philosophy of education is “the philosophical study of education and its problems”

A BRIEF CHRONOLOGICAL PROFILE OF JOHN DEWEY
The American great philosopher, scientist, educator and a great personality known as John Dewey who taught in many universities was born on the 20th of October 1859 in Burlington Vermouth, USA. John Dewey was one of the proponents of the school of thought known as pragmatism who believed that experimentation is a way of knowing. His philosophy of pragmatism is associated with instrumentalism, experimentalism or reconstructionalism. He was appointed Professor of philosophy and Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Pedagogy at the University of Chicago, in 1894. He published many books. John Dewey about the age of ninety-three (93) years died of pneumonia on the 1st of June1952.

JOHN DEWEY’S PHILOSOPHY OF EEDUCATION
John Dewey perceives education as the “reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience and increases the ability to direct the course of subsequent experience”. John Dewey sees philosophy and education as the same, they complements each other. Philosophy pragmatically means nothing until when associated with education to fulfill its goals.

John Dewey viewed philosophy as a frequent theory of education and for this purpose placed an outstanding deal of emphasis on epistemological and axiological considerations. His philosophy emphasizes the social function of intelligence that ideas are contraptions of dwelling instead of ends in themselves.

Education is seen as basically a social system rooted in problem-solving and the exploration of the means of experience. Focus of lookup is to make and have an effect on the child’s life in regard to their individuality. Concerning curriculum, he argued that curriculum should be organized in a way that it will be relevant to the youths’ lives.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JOHN DEWEY’S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN RESTRUCTURING THE MINDS OF THE YOUTHS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
John Dewey’s philosophy of education is of great significance in restructuring the minds of the youths for societal reformation and transformation. As John Dewey asserts that education is the fundamental method of social progress or reform, it therefore means that education is not only the formal way of learning but the inculcation of morals for the reformation of the society. With the great support and contribution of John Dewey’s educational philosophy, the minds of the youths will surely be restructured to the betterment of the society. The educational theory of John Dewey can be ratified as one of the agents of social change hitherto it helps to release or liberate the youths from the restraint or bondage of superstition, poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and lack of wisdom, for education brings them out of the darkness of ignorance or illiteracy to brightness of knowledge or wisdom, opening their minds in order to change their attitudes, beliefs and values, thus, providing them with better understanding of their society and the world at large.

The ideologies of John Dewey have placed education beyond the four-walls of the class room, which has greatly influenced the learning processes of the youths, for learning does not have to end after the class. His idea on the act of learning socially has also influenced the reformation of the society, the youths learn a lot from the use of technologies, such as the cell phones, computers, internet, and other accessories vital for the restructuring of the mind for a better society just as our world today has become the electronic world. Through technology, the youth could have knowledge of the world and its plaques, and as well try to solve the problems laden there in.

CONCLUSION
It is of Paramount importance to note that education philosophically forms the youths morally, spiritually and socially, for it involves the molding and training of the young to maturity; and with the vehement supports and contributions of great philosophers like John Dewey who made great influences and contributions to the social and educational life of the youths there will surely be if hearken to, great reformation of the society. Whereas, there are philosophers and great thinkers who made postulations concerning education, John Dewey is exceptional for the very fact that the whole of his assertions are different and will forever be helpful to the society, for he sees philosophy and education from a different perspective.

ENDNOTES
1. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, (2009), 1.
2. The Second National Youth Policy Document of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Retrieved from http://nigeria.unfpa.org/pdf/snyp2009.pdf
3. Moore, 1968 as cited in Anele K. A., Social Change and Social Problems in Nigeria; (Port Harcourt: Springhold, 1999), 17.
4. Michael M. Uzomah and Philip O. Isanbor, Philosophies and Theories of Education, 2nd ed. (Kaduna: Eizy, 2019), 53.
5. Ibid, 124.
6. Ibid, 265, 267.
7. John Dewey, Democracy and Education; (New York: Macmillan, 1916; reprint, 1944), 76.
8. T. Slaughter, Creating a successful academic climate for urban students; (Techniques, 2009), 16.

FROM A CONCERNED CITIZEN OF NIGERIA
A 300LEVEL STUDENT OF PHILOSOPHY, VERITAS UNIVERSITY, ABUJA
PHONE: 09052631613
EMAIL: samuelemmanuel1645@gmail.com