“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – What?

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey

This quote hit me kind of hard. I really enjoy learning and becoming aware of new ways of thinking; to me, education and learning are extremely important. To learn is to broaden horizons and to see more of the world in different ways than before, but that being said, there is a lot to be learned outside the classroom or in learning institutions.

The first half of this quote speaks against the classic ways of learning like the Tyler Rationale, which I spoke about in a previous post. The Tyler Rationale on learning is that educators are to prepare students for adult life by moulding them into the “perfect adult.” This idea that education is not simply a process of preparing students for adult life makes other things possible in education. There is potential for learning applicable skills for the students own specific job they want to go into as well as the ability for teachers to specialize teaching methods for students. Adult life can be stressful and simply grooming children to be ready for adult life isn’t expanding their view of the world or challenging their thinking. Using education for more than prepping kids gives more potential for students to enjoy learning so they can become lifelong learners when they are older. Many students, myself included, do not come out of high school feeling they are ready to be an adult or take on the responsibilities of being an adult. In many ways, the education system doesn’t prepare youth for what one more deal with as an adult. What the Tyler Rationale set out the achieve is not actually working.

The second half of this quote says “education is life itself.” These words are saying that to learn is to live. In life, we learn more than what is presented to us in the classroom or what our teachers tell us is true. Personally, I have learned more in my 2 and a half years out of high school than I ever did in high school, and by learning I mean learning to function as an adult (AKA what Tyler had set out to teach in schools). The life experiences I have had have caused me to grow and to change. I am constantly learning new things and understanding more about the world. This is what these words are truly saying, life is the true teacher. People continue to grow and learn throughout life. A 15-year-old isn’t going to be able to learn how to be a grandparent through sitting in a classroom or being taught about it out of a book. No matter how much people disliked learning in school they are still learning every day from the activities they do and the new things they see. These words from John Dewey make a good case for the validity of alternative methods to learning. Teaching in more practical ways instead of the classic lecturing teacher and students in rows. The hidden message of these words is to learn from everything, mistakes, new experiences, and others.

In reflecting on the ways a quote like this could be limiting I realized there are some hard boundaries that these words put on people and what they are able to do. The words “education is life itself” can be meant to say that we learn every day. There are new people we see and new experiences we have every day, no day is the same. On the other hand, the words “education is life itself” can bring some heavier negative connotations to the table. I am someone who enjoys the process of learning and the feeling that comes from seeing something new or viewing a new perspective. There are people that do no enjoy learning when thinking of it in the conventional sense. They may feel as though they aren’t good at the conventional way of teaching and learning that we experience in schools in Canada and the US. In thinking about these people, they are excluded with saying “education is life itself”. One could see these words and begin to believe that because they are not good at this classic way learning and education, they are not good at life. This thought process could cause the reader to further solidify their perception of themselves as being bad at learning and thus do not try to learn new things. Taking these words and the conventional learning and teaching together it seems to convey that being in school and being a student is the only goal or way of life one can have.

I relate to the positive connotations of this quote because I love education and learning. In my understanding of education and learning this quote relates to the hidden curriculum in the classroom. There is more to learn than just in the classroom and from the teacher.

What are some quotes you have seen that have been eyeopening and changed your ideas on education?