Foundation of The Curriculum
Foundation of The Curriculum
Foundation of The Curriculum
Contributions to Psychology
Vygotsky's life was cut tragically short on June 11, 1934, when he died of tuberculosis at
the age of 37.
He is considered a formative thinker in psychology, and much of his work is still being
discovered and explored today. While he was a contemporary of Skinner, Pavlov, Freud,
and Piaget, his work never attained their level of eminence during his lifetime. Part of
this was because the Communist Party often criticized his work in Russia, and so his
writings were largely inaccessible to the Western world. His premature death at age 37
also contributed to his obscurity.
Despite this, his work has continued to grow in influence since his death, particularly in
the fields of developmental and educational psychology.
It wasn't until the 1970s that Vygotsky's theories became known in the West as new
concepts and ideas were introduced in the fields of educational and developmental
psychology. Since then, Vygotsky's works have been translated and have become very
influential, particularly in the area of education.
Educator John Dewey originated the experimentalism philosophy. A
proponent of social change and education reform, he founded The
New School for Social Research.
Synopsis
John Dewey was born October 20, 1859, in Burlington, Vermont. He
taught at universities from 1884 to 1930. An academic philosopher
and proponent of educational reform, in 1894 Dewey started an
experimental elementary school. In 1919 he cofounded The New
School for Social Research. Dewey published over 1,000 pieces of
writings during his lifetime. He died June 1, 1952, in New York, New
York.
Early Life
John Dewey was born on October 20, 1859, to Archibald Dewey and
Lucina Artemisia Rich in Burlington, Vermont. He was the third of
the couple’s four sons, one of whom died as an infant. Dewey’s
mother, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, was a devout Calvinist.
His father, a merchant, left his grocery business to become a Union
Army soldier in the Civil War. John Dewey’s father was known to
share his passion for British literature with his offspring. After the
war, Archibald became the proprietor of a successful tobacco shop,
affording the family a comfortable life and financial stability.
Growing up, John Dewey attended Burlington public schools,
excelling as a student. When he was just 15 years old, he enrolled at
the University of Vermont, where he particularly enjoyed studying
philosophy under the tutelage of H.A.P. Torrey. Four years later,
Dewey graduated from the University of Vermont second in his
class.
Teaching Career
The autumn after Dewey graduated, his cousin landed him a teaching job at a seminary
in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Two years later, Dewey lost the position when his cousin
resigned as principal of the seminary.
After being laid off, Dewey went back to Vermont and started teaching at a private
school in Vermont. During his free time, he read philosophical treatises and discussed
them with his former teacher, Torrey. As his fascination with the topic grew, Dewey
decided to take a break from teaching in order to study philosophy and psychology at
Johns Hopkins. George Sylvester Morris and G. Stanley Hall were among the teachers
there who influenced Dewey most.
Upon receiving his doctorate from Johns Hopkins in 1884, Dewey was hired as an
assistant professor at the University of Michigan. At Michigan he met Harriet Alice
Chipman, and the two married in 1886. Over the course of their marriage, they would
give birth to six children and adopt one child.
In 1888 Dewey and his family left Michigan for the University of Minnesota, where he
was a professor of philosophy. However, within a year, they chose to return to the
University of Michigan, where Dewey taught for the next five years. By 1894 Dewey was
made head of the philosophy department at the University of Chicago. He remained at
the University of Chicago until 1904, also serving as director of its School of Education for
two years.
Dewey left Chicago in 1904 to join the Ivy League, becoming a professor of philosophy
at Columbia University while working at Teachers College on the side.
In 1930, Dewey left Columbia and retired from his teaching career with the title of
professor emeritus. His wife, Harriet, had died three years earlier.
Philosophy
Dewey’s philosophical treatises were at first inspired by his reading of philosopher and psychologist
William James’ writing. Dewey’s philosophy, known as experimentalism, or instrumentalism, largely
centered on human experience. Rejecting the more rigid ideas of Transcendentalism to which Dewey had
been exposed in academia, it viewed ideas as tools for experimenting, with the goal of improving the
human experience.
Dewey’s philosophy also claimed than man behaved out of habit and that change often led to
unexpected outcomes. As man struggled to understand the results of change, he was forced to think
creatively in order to resume control of his shifting environment. For Dewey, thought was the means
through which man came to understand and connect with the world around him. A universal education
was the key to teaching people how to abandon their habits and think creatively.
Education Reform
John Dewey was a strong proponent for progressive educational reform. He believed that education
should be based on the principle of learning through doing.
In 1894 Dewey and his wife Harriet started their own experimental primary school, the University
Elementary School, at the University of Chicago. His goal was to test his educational theories, but Dewey
resigned when the university president fired Harriet.
In 1919, John Dewey, along with his colleagues Charles Beard, Thorstein Veblen, James Harvey Robinson
and Wesley Clair Mitchell, founded The New School for Social Research. The New School is a progressive,
experimental school that emphasizes the free exchange of intellectual ideas in the arts and social sciences.
During the 1920s, Dewey lectured on educational reform at schools all over the world. He was particularly
impressed by experiments in the Russian educational system and shared what he learned with his
colleagues when he returned to the States: that education should focus mainly on students’ interactions
with the present. Dewey did not, however, dismiss the value of also learning about the past.
In the 1930s, after he retired from teaching, Dewey became an active member of numerous educational
organizations, including the New York Teachers Guild and the International League for Academic
Freedom.
Birthday: October 4, 1928
Nationality: American
Famous: Quotes By Alvin Toffler American Men
Died At Age: 87
Sun Sign: Libra
Born In: New York
Famous As: Writer & Futurist
Family:Spouse/Ex-: Heidi Toffler
Father: Sam Toffler
Mother: Rose Toffler
Died On: June 27, 2016
Place Of Death: Los Angeles
U.S. State: New Yorkers
Career
After working as a manual laborer for some time, Toffler got a job in the Washington office of a Union sponsored
paper. He used to write on the political affairs of American Congress and the White House for a Pennsylvanian daily.
He worked three years for the Pennsylvanian daily and then moved to New York City to work as a labor columnist for
the ‘Fortune’ magazine. He was later asked to write on the topics of business and management.
Thereafter, Toffler left ‘Fortune’ and joined IBM and was asked to write an essay on how computers have changed
society and organizations. While working on this essay, he came in contact with many original theorists on artificial
intelligence.
Xerox also asked Toffler to write analysis on its research laboratory and AT & T. His study revealed that that company
should have broken up more than a decade before the government forced it to break down.
In 1970, Toffler wrote his first book called ‘Future Shock’. In this book he explained the psychological changes that
come from ‘too much change in too short period of time’. The book was an international bestseller.
After ‘Future Shock’ his second big book ‘The Third Wave’ came out. It was a sequel to the ‘Future Shock’ and talked
about the transition in the developed countries from Industrial Age to Information Age.
In 1983, Toffler got one of his essays ‘Previews and Premises: A Penetrating Conversation About Jobs, Identity, Sex
Roles, the New Politics of the Information Age and the Hidden Forces Driving the Economy’ published .
Tofflers’ ‘Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century’ was published in 1990. It was
the third book in his ‘futurist’ trilogy. Around the same time, he wrote ‘War and Anti-War: Making Sense of Today’s
Global Chaos’.
Toffler co-founded ‘Toffler Associates’ along with Tom Johnson in 1996. It is an advisory firm that executes the ideas
that Toffler has written on. The firm worked with organizations in the US, South Korea, Mexico, Australia, etc.
In 2006, he published ‘Revolutionary Wealth: How it will be created and how it will change our lives’, a book that
expands on the ideas of the ‘Third Wave’. It talks about how in the future the wealth will be created and who will get
it.
Personal Life & Legacy
He met his wife Heidi Toffler, also a futurist writer, at the New York University
in 1928 and got married to her right after that. They both have a child, Karen
Toffler, who died some time back after suffering from Guillain Barre Syndrome.
Alvin Toffler died on June 27, 2016, at his home in Los Angeles.
Trivia
• He is known to be the third most significant business leader after Bill Gates
and Peter Drucker by ‘Accenture’, the management consultancy firm.
• He has been called the ‘world’s most famous futurologist’ by Financial Times
and is known to have been amongst the most important influences in
shaping modern China.
• He is the recipient of the McKinsey Foundation Book Award for
Contributions to Management Literature.
• He has the visiting scholar position from the Russell Sage Foundation.
• He also received the prestigious Officer de L’Ordre des Arts et Letters.
• Heidi Toffler, Toffler’s wife, is on the advisory council of the Center for Global
Communications in Tokyo and the scientific committee of the Piu Manzu
Foundation in Italy.
• Both husband and wife are honorary Co-Chairs of the U.S. Committee for the
United Nations Development Fund for Women
Educator John Dewey originated the experimentalism philosophy. A
proponent of social change and education reform, he founded The
New School for Social Research.
Synopsis
John Dewey was born October 20, 1859, in Burlington, Vermont. He
taught at universities from 1884 to 1930. An academic philosopher
and proponent of educational reform, in 1894 Dewey started an
experimental elementary school. In 1919 he cofounded The New
School for Social Research. Dewey published over 1,000 pieces of
writings during his lifetime. He died June 1, 1952, in New York, New
York.
Early Life
John Dewey was born on October 20, 1859, to Archibald Dewey and
Lucina Artemisia Rich in Burlington, Vermont. He was the third of
the couple’s four sons, one of whom died as an infant. Dewey’s
mother, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, was a devout Calvinist.
His father, a merchant, left his grocery business to become a Union
Army soldier in the Civil War. John Dewey’s father was known to
share his passion for British literature with his offspring. After the
war, Archibald became the proprietor of a successful tobacco shop,
affording the family a comfortable life and financial stability.
Growing up, John Dewey attended Burlington public schools,
excelling as a student. When he was just 15 years old, he enrolled at
the University of Vermont, where he particularly enjoyed studying
philosophy under the tutelage of H.A.P. Torrey. Four years later,
Dewey graduated from the University of Vermont second in his
class.
Teaching Career
The autumn after Dewey graduated, his cousin landed him a teaching job at a seminary
in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Two years later, Dewey lost the position when his cousin
resigned as principal of the seminary.
After being laid off, Dewey went back to Vermont and started teaching at a private
school in Vermont. During his free time, he read philosophical treatises and discussed
them with his former teacher, Torrey. As his fascination with the topic grew, Dewey
decided to take a break from teaching in order to study philosophy and psychology at
Johns Hopkins. George Sylvester Morris and G. Stanley Hall were among the teachers
there who influenced Dewey most.
Upon receiving his doctorate from Johns Hopkins in 1884, Dewey was hired as an
assistant professor at the University of Michigan. At Michigan he met Harriet Alice
Chipman, and the two married in 1886. Over the course of their marriage, they would
give birth to six children and adopt one child.
In 1888 Dewey and his family left Michigan for the University of Minnesota, where he
was a professor of philosophy. However, within a year, they chose to return to the
University of Michigan, where Dewey taught for the next five years. By 1894 Dewey was
made head of the philosophy department at the University of Chicago. He remained at
the University of Chicago until 1904, also serving as director of its School of Education for
two years.
Dewey left Chicago in 1904 to join the Ivy League, becoming a professor of philosophy
at Columbia University while working at Teachers College on the side.
In 1930, Dewey left Columbia and retired from his teaching career with the title of
professor emeritus. His wife, Harriet, had died three years earlier.
Philosophy
Dewey’s philosophical treatises were at first inspired by his reading of philosopher and psychologist
William James’ writing. Dewey’s philosophy, known as experimentalism, or instrumentalism, largely
centered on human experience. Rejecting the more rigid ideas of Transcendentalism to which Dewey had
been exposed in academia, it viewed ideas as tools for experimenting, with the goal of improving the
human experience.
Dewey’s philosophy also claimed than man behaved out of habit and that change often led to
unexpected outcomes. As man struggled to understand the results of change, he was forced to think
creatively in order to resume control of his shifting environment. For Dewey, thought was the means
through which man came to understand and connect with the world around him. A universal education
was the key to teaching people how to abandon their habits and think creatively.
Education Reform
John Dewey was a strong proponent for progressive educational reform. He believed that education
should be based on the principle of learning through doing.
In 1894 Dewey and his wife Harriet started their own experimental primary school, the University
Elementary School, at the University of Chicago. His goal was to test his educational theories, but Dewey
resigned when the university president fired Harriet.
In 1919, John Dewey, along with his colleagues Charles Beard, Thorstein Veblen, James Harvey Robinson
and Wesley Clair Mitchell, founded The New School for Social Research. The New School is a progressive,
experimental school that emphasizes the free exchange of intellectual ideas in the arts and social sciences.
During the 1920s, Dewey lectured on educational reform at schools all over the world. He was particularly
impressed by experiments in the Russian educational system and shared what he learned with his
colleagues when he returned to the States: that education should focus mainly on students’ interactions
with the present. Dewey did not, however, dismiss the value of also learning about the past.
In the 1930s, after he retired from teaching, Dewey became an active member of numerous educational
organizations, including the New York Teachers Guild and the International League for Academic
Freedom.