Traditional or Passive Education by John Dewey Essay Example for Free

Traditional or Passive Education by John Dewey Essay A Canadian politician, Harold Taylor, once said Most of the important experiences that truly educate cannot be arranged a head of time with any precision. This quote imitates the lessons explained by John Dewey in his 1938 book Experience and Education; moreover, he refers to how ineffective traditional education can be opposed to progressive education which is based off personal experience and understanding of useful interactions. Traditional education is based off the idea that a teacher lectures students about subjects that do not have any bearing towards them or understanding of the subject. Information is almost being fed to the developing minds and this information is being taught by an individual who is teaching off their own experiences as well as the written criteria. Books, especially textbooks, are the chief representatives of the lore and wisdom of the past, while teachers are the organs through which pupils are brought into effective connection with the material. Teachers are the agents through which knowledge and skills are communicated and rules of conduct enforced. (18) This quote reflects that the information in a text book can only do so much and teachers are the ones who are supposed to fill in the gaps and explain why things happen the way they did. Traditional education is seen as one sided and John Dewey did not agree with this being the best method of learning for developing minds. An example would be a teacher explaining how important it is to recycle and use less paper products to save trees, but students have no idea how many trees are being torn down or what they are doing by recycling. Recycling means nothing to the students because they have no experience with recycling. This method of teaching can be inaccurate due to the quality of the teacher or the one sidedness of the teachers experience. John Dewey believed progressive education is a better method of learning. Progressive learning is learning from ones own experiences. Students would retain information from their own experiences and then thirst for knowledge about those experiences they have encountered. As an individual passes from one situation to another, his world, his environment, expands or contracts. He does not find himself living in another world but in a different part or aspect of one and the same world. What he has learned in the way of  knowledge and skill in one situation becomes an instrument of understanding and dealing effectively with the situations which follow. (44) This type of learning helps students relate past experiences to their education. Once again going back to recycling, if you show a student and explain how many North American forests are being cut down for lumber and paper products and show the complete process they will be aware of how important our earth is to our survival; therefore, the students will now want to recycle actively. Progressive learning is based off students first hand experiences and if they can experience or witness the act or process they have a much better chance of retaining the information. In summary traditional learning is seen as the biggest form of education and can be inaccurate do to the level of instructor; however, John Deweys progressive model of learning is valuable to all types of education because an instructor does not even have to be present for a student to learn because they have past encounters to refer to and make decisions based off those. Experience and Education made good observations; consequently, experiences in life are the best forms of education. Work Cited Dewey, John (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company

Adam in Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- John Milton

Adam in "Paradise Lost": Fate's Ruler - and Subject A central problem in John Milton's "Paradise Lost" in the theological issue of free will versus fate, a traditionally much-debated question. Free will is the condition of having control or direction over fate or destiny; the individual shapes his life and future through his actions. The opposing view, complete lack of free will (made famous by John Calvin), is predestination, which expresses the idea that our futures have been foreseen long before our existences, so our actions are preordained, and our paths chosen for us. Milton's presentation of the character Adam wrestles with these ideas around free will throughout Paradise Lost; while he does in fact eat the apple of his own accord, the episode is foreseen by God, in advance. In this epic poem, Milton asserts that man, through Adam's example, exercises free will; but in doing so, he exposes contradiction, makes some absorbing inquiries and asks some engrossing questions. A cursory history of both views would be beneficial here. John Calvin, the famed apologist of predestination, defines it in this way: In conformity, therefore, to the clear doctrine of the Scripture, we assert, that by an eternal and immutable counsel, God has once for all determined, both whom he would admit to salvation, and whom he would condemn to destruction. We affirm that this counsel, as far as concerns the elect, is founded on his gratuitous mercy, totally irrespective of human merit; but that to those whom he devotes to condemnation, the gate of life is closed by a just and irreprehensible, but incomprehensible, judgment. In the elect, we consider calling as an evidence of election, and justification as another token of it... ...eversed in a moment of free will; else there is a paradox here that is unreconcilable: how can people both have free will and not have it, simultaneously? In "Paradise Lost", John Milton attacks the theme of free will versus predestination through the actions of Adam, the first man. Adam's actions are unclear -- thus he has free will to act on his own -- but at the same time he is governed by an overriding God who can see past, present, and future. Adam is both the subject and ruler of his fate, in a unique contradiction cleverly set up and expressed by Milton. The writing surrounding Adam evidence Milton's essential believe in free will, but also display his thoughtful treatment of the situation. In the epic poem "Paradise Lost", John Milton carefully weighs the two ideas of predestination and free will against each other, with profound and fascinating results.

Psychological tests Essay

Aptitude test is defined as the test of suitability to determine whether an individual is likely to develop the skills required for a particular kind of work (Encarta dictionary, 2008). Aptitude tests are used to calculate abilities over a long period of time, as well as to envisage future learning performance. Example of aptitude tests are the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT)). These tests are both college admission tests explored in the prediction of college success. Special aptitude tests The purpose of special aptitude test raises the concept of fidelity and bandwith. Bandwith determines the breath of the traits that is being evaluated while fidelity refers to the extent to which a particular measure focuses on a particular attribute or quality. These tests are explored to prognosticate on the future performance in a subject that the person in question is not currently trained. Goverment parastatals,institutions and business organization often will apply specific aptitude tests when handing over specific privileges to certain individuals. .Furthermore, vocational guidance counseling may involve aptitude testing to help clarify individual career goals (Microsoft Encarta, 2008). If a person has a similar score in comparison to that of individuals already functioning in a particular profession, the probability of success in that occupation can be predicted by the use of aptitude tests. Certain aptitude tests have a wide coverage that includes skills germane to many different professions. The General aptitude test, for instance aside measuring the general reasoning ability also covers the areas of form perception, motor coordination, clerical perception as well as manual and finger dexterity. Other tests may concentrate on a single area such as the Art, Engineering and modern languages (Microsoft Encarta. 2008). One of the examples of special aptitude tests is the sensory or perceptual test and this concentrates on the discrimination of color and visual acuity. It also involves the auditory senses. Another example of special aptitude test is the mechanical test which includes the test of spatial relations and this demands manual dexterity as well as space visualization. There is also the paper and pencil test which includes the Bennet Mechanical comprehension Test and the Minnesota Paper Formboard. Other special aptitude tests are listed below. The clerical test This includes the Minnesota clerical test that consists of 200 pairs of numbers and 200 pairs of names. It also includes the clerical abilities which is an embodiment of 7 other tests like test of proofreading and copying etc. The art and musical test. The Art ability test includes the Art judgment test in which the participant judges between two pictures and chooses the one that is better. In aesthetic perception test, the participant gives an orderly ranking of 4 versions of the same project. The grave design judgment test also allows the participant to adjudicate the best among a group of abstract pictures. Musical ability test The musical ability test gives an analytical assessment of musical ability and it makes use of tones as well as notes to evaluate 6 components of auditory discrimination. The wing standardized test of musical intelligence explores recorded pianoic songs to assess about 8 areas which include the memory, chord analysis and rhythm.

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Cannabis Experiment By Daniel...

Rhetorical Analysis of the Cannabis Experience In August of 2015, Daniel Cressey wrote the article â€Å"The Cannabis Experiment† directly for nature enthusiast in the in the London Nature Journal. Cressey brought attention to current issues surrounding cannabis and its use and uses in America. He further explores things like the negative effects of cannabis and how strong the chemicals cannabis contain are. He then discusses some of the most controversial issues related to cannabis. Those issues are the legalization of cannabis and the medical benefits of cannabis. Cressey effectively convinces his audience that cannabis is becoming more acceptable through the use of research and statistics paired with visual aids. The subject of the†¦show more content†¦The tone that Cressey convey to the audience was didactic. He intended to teach the audience about changes with cannabis. For example, he wanted his readers to know that research with cannabis has not been an easy task for researchers. A perfect example is when Cressey insisted that â€Å"The number of people who use it with any regularity for a long time is pretty small. The longer-term consequences are really understudied.† The tone of Cressey impacted the article in a huge way because he was able to make other aware of things they did not know about cannabis. The appeals that is used by Cressey is ethos. He made sure to demonstrate his experience with the overall subject as well as other things that are related to the subject. For example, since there are over 85 cannabinoid chemicals in cannabis he mentioned one of the biggest concerns that some may have about cannabis. That concern is related to how strong the chemicals are that cannabis contains. Cressey’s attitude about the subject also impacted the way the audience interpreted his ideas. The information provided also impacted weather or not Cressey’s ideas were able to trust. For instance, when discussing Colorado’s introduction to cannabis nearly a decade before recreational use, he made sure to mention the amendment to the state’s constitution that listed the eight conditions for which cannabis was