Alfred North Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) never wrote a comprehensive work in philosophy of education, but he occasionally delivered lectures concerned with educational policy. These incisive talks are collected in his book The Aims of Education and Other Essays. Whitehead and Dewey were contemporaries, and their ideas are in some notable respects similar. Like Dewey, Whitehead stresses the importance of utilizing knowledge, the need to interest students in their work, and the dangers of undiscriminating discipline. But to what extent are Whitehead's emphases on the concept of "style" and the theory of "The Rhythm of Education" consistent with Dewey's position? The two thinkers display different approaches, which are partially accounted for by their different social and academic backgrounds. Whitehead, an Englishman, was educated and taught at Cambridge University. Dewey was born in Vermont and educated at the University of Vermont. He taught high school in Pennsylvania before embarking on his career in graduate education. Among Whitehead's compelling thoughts is that "one secret of a successful teacher is that he has formulated quite clearly in his mind what the pupil has got to know in precise fashion." An inexperienced teacher often hesitates to present material in an easily understandable fashion for fear that doing so may rob students of their initiative or creativity. Such a teacher soon learns that the presentation of material in a disorganized, confusing manner results in disorganized, confused students. As Whitehead notes, "a certain ruthless definiteness is essential in education." One further point should be emphasized. Whitehead expresses the view that "A merely wellinformed man is the most useless bore on God's earth." He does not say, nor does he believe, that information is useless. Whitehead was himself one of the best-informed persons of his time.