re:
Dewey's Active Self Theory
(the following is a brief quote from my draft dissertation)
"Dewey's "active self" is a very simple but powerful concept which explains a good deal about how social systems develop. The "active self" describes how individuals sometimes step forward and take actions "above and beyond the call of duty", to help solve problems within their social systems, and to try to make the world a better place. It is a theory about social leadership where individuals try to do more than just "go with the flow", but rather step out and try to achieve positive change, not out of regard for themselves but out of regard for the world they wish to live in. We are all familiar with the basic idea of the active self, even if we haven't read Dewey's description of it. When Joseph Campbell wrote about "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", he was describing the active self. When Rosa Parks refused to be humiliated by giving up her seat on that Birmingham bus, she was exemplifying the active self. When we as educators work with young people and hope to pass along to them the best our society has to offer, because we know that they are the future, we are hoping to help our students become active selves in the world. So even if one has never read what Dewey wrote about the active self, we all already basically have a working understanding of the concept of the "active self", even if we have never read how John Dewey put the idea into words." (read more)
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