Plurality of voices in education: John Dewey is jazz!

Abstract:

This study seeks to help broaden our understanding of John Dewey’s educational philosophy, using jazz as a metaphor. This musical genre is characterized by allowing each performer the freedom to make their own interpretation of the melody, without losing touch with the harmony followed by the other members of the band. The objective of this metaphor is to demonstrate that Deweyan proposals make school education a field permeated by a plurality of voices, which means freeing up the manifestation of the individuality of each participant in the educational process in search of consensus. Such plurality, which defines the notion of democracy formulated by Dewey, constitutes the core of Dewey’s educational proposal, a statement that is supported by the examination of the author’s reflections on language. In an effort to inspire the transposition of these ideas into the classroom, the study presents a practical activity in the form of a thought experiment that simulates a lesson in a course that strives to train teachers aligned with the Deweyan theoretical perspective.

Keywords:
John Dewey; teacher training; thought experiment.