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Education As A Social Function

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. According to John Dewey education plays a large role in the development of an individual and it is an element that separates humans from other animals. It is important to try to comprehend what Dewey means by this and in order to do so the following must be done. First, one must understand the role education plays in an individual and Dewey’s notions of education in the areas of growth, direction and social function. Second, after comprehending Dewey’s notions of education in the areas of growth, direction, and social function, one must be able to grasp the distinction between education as a social function and the simple notion of training and what sets these two apart. Third, after being able to comprehend the notions of education and the distinction between education as a social function and training, the idea of why education is distinctive of human life will be further developed.
Now, it is necessary to understand Dewey’s notions of education in the areas of growth, direction, and social function; a brief summary of each will be given.
The first notion of education that will be addressed, is that of education in the area of growth. Dewey makes it clear that education does not consist of routine and that routine only hinders an individual’s growth (in the area of learning) (Dewey 53). Dewey believed immaturity to be the primary condition of growth; he furthers this idea by redefining the meaning of immaturity as the potential, capacity, or power to grow and not as a

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