Doing Dewey

In this article, I describe and analyze my experience as a teacher of, and a teacher who does, Dewey. In the process I hope to draw a picture of what it means to strive for integrity between theory and practice. I talk about why it matters to work from a theory of education, especially in an age where “clinical practice” is vaunted and theory is viewed as expendable, even as a slightly shameful waste of time. I focus on particular Deweyan principles, primarily the principle of reflection, and illustrate how that theory manifests itself in my practice. I argue that “doing Dewey” is an enactment of philosophy. Finally, I hold that a theory of teaching cannot be separated from the self who practices it