A contribuição de John Dewey ao ensino da arte no Brasil

Abstract

This work highlights the important contribution of John Dewey’s theses on aesthetics and art, consolidated in the book Art as Experience, to the current discussion on art teaching in the context of children’s education in Brazil. The focus of such discussion is the issue of formal certification of teachers, rather than reflection on matters related to the training of art teachers, such as, for instance, how to design and implement a teaching method for art and education. Even though Dewey himself does not lay down methodological guidelines, this paper traces the associations between his philosophical principles and educational theses. By conceiving art as both experience and a form of language, and by stressing the value of rhythmic experience in everyday life, Dewey advances his notion of reflexive thought. This notion is at the core of his proposed reform of pedagogical ideas and practices to promote a democratic way of life. The bringing together of his aesthetic and artistic theses and educational proposals is characterized in this work as rhetorical pedagogy. In this framework, education is aimed at building a radical democracy, by creating individuals who are able to compose and express the power of their personal inclinations, to the benefit not only of their individual lives, but also of a collective well-being.