Democracy and Education Quotes by John Dewey: Context & Meanings

“Freedom means essentially the part played by thinking—which is personal—in learning.”

Dewey locates a central part of educational freedom in intellectual initiative: observation, invention, foresight and adaptation undertaken by the learner rather than imposed as mere external compliance.

Source note: Democracy and Education, discussion of freedom in learning. The longer sentence immediately explains freedom through intellectual initiative, independent observation and foresight; this is educational philosophy, not a clinical definition of autonomy.

“A progressive society counts individual variations as precious since it finds in them the means of its own growth.”

Dewey argues that a democratic society benefits from individual variation rather than treating conformity as the educational ideal, because difference supplies possibilities for collective growth.

Source note: Democracy and Education, Chapter XXII. The sentence appears in Dewey’s discussion of individuality, democratic society and educational freedom; Project Gutenberg #852 provides the represented public-domain text.