Experience and Education

John Dewey (1859-1952) was a famous early 20th-century American philosopher. Born in Burlington, Vermont, he attended public schools, where he studied Latin and Greek. Dewey gained entry to the University of Vermont at 15 and graduated at 19. He then taught school in Oil City, Pennsylvania, for two years. In 1882, he entered the graduate studies program in philosophy at the University of Johns Hopkins. There, he studied the history of philosophy with George Sylvester Morris (1840-1889) and experimental psychology with Granville Stanley Hall (1846-1924), who founded the American Journal of Psychology in 1887 and became the first president of the American Psychological Association in 1892. Dewey earned his PhD in 1884.

Dewey then worked at the University of Michigan, where he was on the committee that evaluated Michigan high schools. In 1894, Dewey became the head of the philosophy department at the University of Chicago. He established the university’s department of pedagogy and in 1896 founded the University Laboratory School, which experimented with teaching techniques. In 1904, Dewey joined the philosophy department at Columbia University, where he was also involved with the university’s Teachers College.

Dewey traveled extensively in China, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, the Soviet Union, and Turkey, delivering lectures and visiting schools.