Dewey on the buses

In the past I have always mentioned and continue to value bus journeys.  They always seem to flag up interesting conversations, observations, and quite unexpected encounters.  Plus also it is a great time for me particularly if I have a long journey a time to read and reflect relatively uninterrupted.  It is with this reflection or reading in mind that a book I am reading on Dewey was a segue into a conversation I had with a fellow passenger.

On my way to work I pulled out a copy of Dewey and the Lessons of Art with the intention of reading a couple of pages when a woman opposite who noticed the front cover me asked if that was a Dewey book I was reading. I replied yes and she commented that she had just studied Dewey as part of a PhD she was currently doing which involved young children, education and the arts.  She had a real interest in early years and her research was focused on children in the early years and I suppose when they finally make the transition into the education system. Her interest was in music. The conversation that unfolded between us revealed  her passion for education and her belief that  not enough reference and recognition was made as to the power of the arts to transform  children's lives in school and especially  at an early age.  She said how important it was to start young with children and engage them in the arts in someway  and contribute to their overall education and how much they appeared more engaged.  I thought as she spoke about  how Dewey talks about the value and experience of the arts to transform lives.  I did ponder the question though particularly about engaging children very young and experiences - what of a person who does not engage with the arts until at a much older age when they go through life experiences, puberty twists and turns without  engagement in the arts until much later does it mean that they miss out? I appreciate the value in engaging children at a young age because they are fresh, curious 100% creative and resourceful but as they grow up that creativity could be under threat of being diminished as they got older and fully involved in their environment, reasoning, multiple-layered and complex experiences.  There are a raft of experiences that a young person goes through that require some form of expression and articulation and if it is not in the arts at an early stage then it might appear through another avenue of engagement or experience.

The lady encountered on the bus is a parent and also a governor at a local primary school and was able to give an example where she complained that the school was so  tightly focused on education devoid of the impact of the arts that  any attempt to introduce/promote  the arts was not met with enthusiasm until.... some funding was made available for a  programme of arts activities and THEN a transformation happen Children were more engaged, more alert and curious, enjoyed learning!

In that encounter I reflected on my journey and couldn't help recalling my early experiences of the arts in school namely dance.  I enjoyed all of the other forms of art i.e. drama, visual art, singing and for me they were not separate but formed a whole picture of my engagement with the world and my immediate environment around me.  Its interesting how our experiences lead to decisions and choices and the legacy of which for me my journey unfolded into encounters with dance and music education and here I am now.  I was very lucky at both primary and secondary school to have those experiences because without them who knows where I would be now!  

John Dewey also made another appearance  at a meeting the previous week when I attended a meeting of Community Adult Learning providers.  It turns out that one of the providers studied English at university and came across Dewey whom she loved.  It was evident that Dewey had an impact on her lived experiences and choices and she said that his writings had an influential and positive effect on her life in education and learning - she wished she had more time from within her job to re-read his books.

 Back to the bus as we continued to share our experiences of what the arts meant for us and our lived experiences  it caused me to pause... and feel... what was this experience all about? The physicality of that experience happened but it was the space in between that experience which caused the pause for thought... what was the essence? I began to reflect on our shared enthusiasm, common purposes and directly  how my journey led me to this bus journey experience.  What came to mind much later was when finally managing to  pick up the book and read Philip W. Jackson says:

           " The distinction between experiences connected with the arts and those connected with life in                  general is by no means absolute. This too is a crucial part of Dewey's message.  The arts, he                  insists are not the sole source of aesthetic pleasure. They are not the only repository of the                      holistic and the unified.  Nor are they the only place to go when we are looking for  a sense of                satisfaction and fulfilment.  Any job well done yields rewards akin to those associated with the              production or appreciation of art.  Instead of being unique in experiential terms, what the arts                  offer are but refinements of qualities to be found in ordinary experience...." (LW10,  52-52) ,                  p.6

I love bus journeys!!

Ref:
Jackson, Philip W, (1998) John Dewey and the Lessons of Art