Without the English, reason and philosophy would still be in the most despicable infancy in France.
John DeweyTo the being of fully alive, the future is not ominous but a promise; it surrounds the present like a halo.
John DeweySome things which are remote in space and time from a living creature, especially a human creature, may form his environment even more truly than some of the things close to him.
John DeweyWe have three approaches at our disposal: the observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation serves to assemble the data, reflection to synthesise them and experimentation to test the results of the synthesis. The observation of nature must be assiduous, just as reflection must be profound, and experimentation accurate. These three approaches are rarely found together, which explains why creative geniuses are so rare.
John DeweyA narrow and moralistic view of morals is responsible for the failure to recognize that all the aims and values which are desirable in education are themselves moral. Discipline, natural development, culture, social efficiency, are moral traits - marks of a person who is a worthy member of that society which it is the business of education to further.
John DeweyAs formal teaching and training grow in extent, there is the danger of creating an undesirable split between the experience gained in more direct associations and what is acquired in school. This danger was never greater than at the present time, on account of the rapid growth in the last few centuries of knowledge and technical modes of skill.
John Dewey