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【Abstract】Dewey mentioned three educational functions in the third chapter of Democracy and Education： direction， control， and guidance.Functions， to a great extent， stems from purpose and serves for purpose.This paper gives an insight on the purpose and aims of modern education from the perspectives of its three functions that Dewey brought up.In addition to the elaboration of the aims of education， this paper also discusses some major mistakes that educators tend to make in their understanding of educational aims.
【Key words】 Dewey， educational functions， aims of education
Introduction
Dewey mentioned three educational functions in the third chapter of Democracy and Education： direction， control， and guidance.In detail， Dewey considered guidance as “idea of assisting through cooperation the natural capacities of the individuals guided.” Direction， on the other hand， is a neutral term that expresses “the basic function， which tends at one extreme to become a guiding assistance and at another， a regulation or ruling.” Controlling is apparently something that Dewey is against.In his words， it “conveys rather the notion of an energy brought to bear from without and meeting some resistance from the one controlled，” and it “denotes the process by which he （an individual） is brought to subordinate his natural impulses to public or common ends.”
These three possible functions of education provided educators today with a good gateway for understanding Dewey’s opinion as to the aims of education.In the following paragraphs， I will talk about three different education aims that are stemmed from these functions and analyze them on the basis of my understanding of Dewey’s works.
Controlling as a Function and Aim
Dewey has repeatedly stated that the aim of education should not be something that is forced upon the students from outside.When an external force imposes a specific aim on its education， then education becomes a tool of the rulers to control people； students become raw materials that are to be processed according to the need of the vested interest.Sometimes the need may be as neutral as to prepare scientists for the nation； sometimes it can be as evil as to make the young people to become meek and submissive so that they can be easily controlled.The former one neglects the different characteristics of students and force all of them to become scientists.It will produce a few scientists in the end but strangle the talents of the most others—those who are born to be musicians， painters， poets， and even soccer players.The latter one suppresses human nature， a human nature that is full of curiosity and that is rebellious.By making the young submissive， they are actually make the students machines that can be used for their own interests.In this case， no matter what this external aim of education is， it neglects individual differences and serves the function of controlling the ones who are receiving the education. Direction VS Controlling
Another external force we have in setting of education aims is direction.Although direction by itself is not the same as controlling， I still consider it a disguised form of control that is relatively implicit and mild.This is so because individuals， especially the young people， tend to believe in authority and follow their direction without judging on their own.This can be good when the aims of the education direct the students to something that is beautiful， such as to become critical thinkers or democratic citizens.However， it becomes a tragedy when it directs the students to somewhere else that is evil.For example， there are dictators around the world who intentionally set their education aims in a way that can direct the people to a mental stage where the difference between loyalty to mother country and to the dictators becomes blurred.It may sound strange， but it actually works and it is one of the most powerful weapons that the dictators have to maintain their power.
In a word， controlling and direction are similar in that both of them lead to similar education outcomes that are driven by an aim comes from the outside.This is something Dewey is strongly against.When talking about criteria of good aims， he stated， “The aim set up must be an outgrowth of existing conditions.It must be based upon a consideration of what is already going on； upon the resources and difficulties of the situation.” Apparently， controlling and direction violates this principle.They assume “ends lying outside our activities； ends foreign to the concrete makeup of the situation； ends which issue from some outside source.”
Guidance and Nature
Guidance， however， is very different from the two that are mentioned above.It takes “what’s already going on” and “resources” as well as the” difficulties of the situation” into full consideration.To be more specific， it respects the unique nature and characteristic of those who are being educated.
It is helpful to have an analogy to understand something that is abstract.Imagine you have a fruit garden where you grow apple trees.You will never expect to have apples on an apple tree if you grow it without giving it any water.Neither can you expect to have watermelons on an apple tree no matter how frequently you water it.These are against the nature of an apple tree and if you insist doing them， you will only destroy it.
I firmly believe that each of us is given a special talent.Sadly we， as individuals， often cannot see it.Our educators are also failing to see it.A consequence of this is that there are so many people in this world who are doing something neither they like nor they are good at.Some of them may have become the greatest poets of the human history， but they were taught mathematics all the time in the schools； Some of them may have become the best engineers human history ever witnessed， but they were expected to become lawyers by their parents.Imagine， if our education were one that can truly see and explore the talents of each individual， there would be so many more great musicians， poets， scientists， and philosophers in our human community. Realizing it is seeds of apple tree and the fact that apple tree produces only apples is the most important thing but not the whole story.There are much more we can do based on that knowledge.We can make the surroundings of the apple tree a better place to grow in.We can get rid of the weeds and insects that are harming the tree.We can water it in a regular basis.We will do everything to make sure it is going in line with its own nature and explore the most out of that nature.
Therefore， in terms of education， we cannot simply create an aim out of our own need， be it need of the society as a large or a need of some vested interest.The aim is in the thing itself just like the aim of planting an apple tree is to help it grow and fruit.
Besides， when we talk about respecting the nature and characteristics of individuals， we are not talking exclusively about the different parts， such as talents or personality.In the process of exploring the nature of our students， we will also find many things that are common in all of us since we are all human beings.For example， we all have the seed of love and compassion in us.They are in us intrinsically.What education needs to do is to promote and nurture them with insight.With the proper guidance to this human nature， wouldn’t our community and the planet become a better one？
Conclusion
In a word， the process of recognizing and respecting natures of individuals （both common nature and different nature）， and the proper guidance to these natures， they are both the content of education as well as the aims of education.
Reference：
[1]Cooper， D.E.（Ed.） （1986） Education， Values and Mind， London： Routledge
【Key words】 Dewey， educational functions， aims of education
Introduction
Dewey mentioned three educational functions in the third chapter of Democracy and Education： direction， control， and guidance.In detail， Dewey considered guidance as “idea of assisting through cooperation the natural capacities of the individuals guided.” Direction， on the other hand， is a neutral term that expresses “the basic function， which tends at one extreme to become a guiding assistance and at another， a regulation or ruling.” Controlling is apparently something that Dewey is against.In his words， it “conveys rather the notion of an energy brought to bear from without and meeting some resistance from the one controlled，” and it “denotes the process by which he （an individual） is brought to subordinate his natural impulses to public or common ends.”
These three possible functions of education provided educators today with a good gateway for understanding Dewey’s opinion as to the aims of education.In the following paragraphs， I will talk about three different education aims that are stemmed from these functions and analyze them on the basis of my understanding of Dewey’s works.
Controlling as a Function and Aim
Dewey has repeatedly stated that the aim of education should not be something that is forced upon the students from outside.When an external force imposes a specific aim on its education， then education becomes a tool of the rulers to control people； students become raw materials that are to be processed according to the need of the vested interest.Sometimes the need may be as neutral as to prepare scientists for the nation； sometimes it can be as evil as to make the young people to become meek and submissive so that they can be easily controlled.The former one neglects the different characteristics of students and force all of them to become scientists.It will produce a few scientists in the end but strangle the talents of the most others—those who are born to be musicians， painters， poets， and even soccer players.The latter one suppresses human nature， a human nature that is full of curiosity and that is rebellious.By making the young submissive， they are actually make the students machines that can be used for their own interests.In this case， no matter what this external aim of education is， it neglects individual differences and serves the function of controlling the ones who are receiving the education. Direction VS Controlling
Another external force we have in setting of education aims is direction.Although direction by itself is not the same as controlling， I still consider it a disguised form of control that is relatively implicit and mild.This is so because individuals， especially the young people， tend to believe in authority and follow their direction without judging on their own.This can be good when the aims of the education direct the students to something that is beautiful， such as to become critical thinkers or democratic citizens.However， it becomes a tragedy when it directs the students to somewhere else that is evil.For example， there are dictators around the world who intentionally set their education aims in a way that can direct the people to a mental stage where the difference between loyalty to mother country and to the dictators becomes blurred.It may sound strange， but it actually works and it is one of the most powerful weapons that the dictators have to maintain their power.
In a word， controlling and direction are similar in that both of them lead to similar education outcomes that are driven by an aim comes from the outside.This is something Dewey is strongly against.When talking about criteria of good aims， he stated， “The aim set up must be an outgrowth of existing conditions.It must be based upon a consideration of what is already going on； upon the resources and difficulties of the situation.” Apparently， controlling and direction violates this principle.They assume “ends lying outside our activities； ends foreign to the concrete makeup of the situation； ends which issue from some outside source.”
Guidance and Nature
Guidance， however， is very different from the two that are mentioned above.It takes “what’s already going on” and “resources” as well as the” difficulties of the situation” into full consideration.To be more specific， it respects the unique nature and characteristic of those who are being educated.
It is helpful to have an analogy to understand something that is abstract.Imagine you have a fruit garden where you grow apple trees.You will never expect to have apples on an apple tree if you grow it without giving it any water.Neither can you expect to have watermelons on an apple tree no matter how frequently you water it.These are against the nature of an apple tree and if you insist doing them， you will only destroy it.
I firmly believe that each of us is given a special talent.Sadly we， as individuals， often cannot see it.Our educators are also failing to see it.A consequence of this is that there are so many people in this world who are doing something neither they like nor they are good at.Some of them may have become the greatest poets of the human history， but they were taught mathematics all the time in the schools； Some of them may have become the best engineers human history ever witnessed， but they were expected to become lawyers by their parents.Imagine， if our education were one that can truly see and explore the talents of each individual， there would be so many more great musicians， poets， scientists， and philosophers in our human community. Realizing it is seeds of apple tree and the fact that apple tree produces only apples is the most important thing but not the whole story.There are much more we can do based on that knowledge.We can make the surroundings of the apple tree a better place to grow in.We can get rid of the weeds and insects that are harming the tree.We can water it in a regular basis.We will do everything to make sure it is going in line with its own nature and explore the most out of that nature.
Therefore， in terms of education， we cannot simply create an aim out of our own need， be it need of the society as a large or a need of some vested interest.The aim is in the thing itself just like the aim of planting an apple tree is to help it grow and fruit.
Besides， when we talk about respecting the nature and characteristics of individuals， we are not talking exclusively about the different parts， such as talents or personality.In the process of exploring the nature of our students， we will also find many things that are common in all of us since we are all human beings.For example， we all have the seed of love and compassion in us.They are in us intrinsically.What education needs to do is to promote and nurture them with insight.With the proper guidance to this human nature， wouldn’t our community and the planet become a better one？
Conclusion
In a word， the process of recognizing and respecting natures of individuals （both common nature and different nature）， and the proper guidance to these natures， they are both the content of education as well as the aims of education.
Reference：
[1]Cooper， D.E.（Ed.） （1986） Education， Values and Mind， London： Routledge