Dewey, Aesthetic Experience, and Education for Humanity

Abstract

Following from John Dewey’s notion that aesthetic experience is experience in its fullest sense, this chapter focuses on examining Dewey’s concept of aesthetic experience as it is inextricably tied to his concepts of human nature and education. It begins by exploring the concept of aesthetic experience in the context of Dewey’s broader theory of education and growth. The chapter then discusses how aesthetic experiences are cultivated in the context of formal learning settings, including classrooms and outdoor environments, paying special attention to the critical and indispensable role of the teacher in creating situations for students’ aesthetic experiences. In this context, the chapter discusses how Dewey’s critique of traditional and progressive education is still relevant in today’s global education climate. It concludes by discussing the crisis in education as the authors see it today and suggests that Dewey’s views provide three key insights for addressing this crisis: the value of teachers, the role of art as an ethical-political force, and the special place of philosophy of education in the cultivation of shared humanity.

Flourishing with Shared Vitality: Education based on Aesthetic Experience, with Performance for Meaning

“…John Dewey’s illustration of a child learning to avoid a flame through experiencing a burn, epitomizes how meanings can emerge through such situated experience. By seeing the flame and then reaching to touch it, the child learns what heat and pain mean and the object (the candle flame) has meaning for the child: light connects to heat, and in this instance, touch means pain (English and Doddington 2019 : 415). In later life, imagine a hill walker as they encounter a storm.…”

“…But it is clear that if education were to embrace the significance of aesthetic experience, the responsibility for teachers to engage and manage the environment, the relationships and the content of the curriculum is great and may go beyond the idea of curating. Another suggestion is that one might view the role of the teacher more as if they were an artist (Garrison 2010 ), (English and Doddington 2019 : 427). As against programmed teaching to pre-ordained achievement targets that are so widespread throughout education in the form of specific learning objectives, this kind of teacher needs perception and insightful knowledge of the present context.…”

“…They also have to imagine likely consequences and look ahead. Not only do they need to understand what a group of students already knows and can do, they need to understand the historical, social and cultural identity that each child brings to the learning situation as well as “knowledge of what is needed for (each) child to become part of, and contribute to, the growing community of the classroom” (English and Doddington 2019 : 427). The teacher may initially work on the material of her teaching, as a curator might consider the material they have to play with, planning how it can become a vehicle of understanding for her students/viewers.…”

“…The teacher may initially work on the material of her teaching, as a curator might consider the material they have to play with, planning how it can become a vehicle of understanding for her students/viewers. But if teaching is to focus on aesthetic experience for meaning, teaching needs not only to be thoughtfully planned but also practiced as improvisation , working with everything that “emerges serendipitously in the process of creation – the insights, the shifts of attention, the fortuitous associations, the unforeseen opportunities and promises instantly perceived” (Jackson 2000 : 187–188 in English and Doddington 2019 : 428). In more detail, Jim Garrison suggests something of the aesthetic nature, mutuality and unpredictability of educational practice with what he calls ‘the teachable moment’ He writes:…”

Teaching as Improvisation

“…En la literatura sobre improvisación, como en la de la práctica docente, se encuentran varias descripciones de su naturaleza de kairós, es decir, la experiencia de fluir, y la capacidad de mantener y aprovechar un momento creativo específico. Sin embargo, la improvisación en sí misma rara vez se teoriza como un arte educativo, sino que se discute de forma más o menos explícita como parte del aspecto ético-práctico de la práctica docente (Saugstad, 2002;van Manen, 2015) o como parte integral de la naturaleza estética de los fenómenos y los procesos educativos (Caranfa, 2007;English & Doddington, 2019;Lewis, 2012). En los últimos años se han realizado tentativas de incorporar la improvisación como parte necesaria de las competencias docentes (véase p. ej.…”