Preparation for the Future

“The principle of continuity in its educational application means, nevertheless, that the future has to be taken into account at every stage of the educational process…But it is a mistake to suppose that the mere acquisition of a certain amount of arithmetic, geography, history, etc., which is taught and studied because it may be useful at some time in the future, has this effect [meaning proper preparation], and it is a mistake to suppose that acquisition of skills in reading and figuring will automatically constitute preparation for their right and effective use under conditions very unlike those in which they were acquired” (47).

Here, we uncover a few aspects of Dewey's theory of experience:

1) One must look toward the future constantly when dealing with the process of education.
2) One must correctly utilize their education and experience to truly be prepared for the future.
3) The acquisition of a skill or an expertise in a specific subject matter in a given circumstance does not dictate one’s proficiency in these areas given a different environment/experience.

I underlined and circled this in my text. What a thought-provoking statement! Breaking this down a little bit, Dewey emphasizes the need for educators to look toward the future, but, most importantly, he underscores the important relationship between learning and real life experiences. He suggests that it is not the absorption of a certain subject matter or the acquisition of a certain skill set that qualifies as successful preparation for the future, but it is understanding that this knowledge must match the experience being had. Knowledge must be transferable and adaptable to different situations in life or else it is not fully educational; it’s preparatory function is minimal. Learning information for the sake of retention is one thing, but it is an entirely more important thing to learn skills, information, etc. that are malleable to the variations of life. Not only does that increase the longevity of knowledge within an individual but it also serves to extend the influence of that knowledge to experiences had in one’s daily life.

The meat of this issue is the fact that learning does not happen in isolation; it happens when an individual undergoes experiences. If learning happened in isolation, knowledge would not be knowledge but rather situation-specific information. It would essentially be recall, not inherently connected to any one thing. Experience dictates learning and one’s preparation for the future to a significant degree, and we know that this is a step by step/moment by moment process.

As Dewey states, “We always live at the time we live and not at some other time, and only by extracting at each present time the full meaning of each present experience are we prepared for doing the same in the future. This is the only preparation which in the long run amounts to anything” (49). In essence, Dewey declares the superiority of experience to text-book knowledge in preparing an individual for dealing with situations in the future. Only by living through and learning from our present experiences do we prepare ourselves for learning from our future string of experiences.