c-span: when did john dewey live? >> guest: dewey died--i think it was in 1948. he was born in 1859. he had a very long life. he lived to see lots and lots of changes. but i think his educational philosophy was consistent, and he was a very--very large influence. c-span: where did he live? >> guest: he was born in vermont. he taught in michigan, university of chicago and columbia and lived most of his life in new york city. c-span: and if we found him in a debate with somebody who'd be directly opposite, opposed to what he had to say back during that time, who would it be? >> guest: i'd say it would be probably william torrey harris, and i write a fair amount about harris. harris was commissioner of education, and he believed that subject matter was very important; that i--the different major subject matter, and by that, i mean like history and literature and mathematics and science, language--that all of these represented very concrete, important forms of human experience and that it was the job of the school to expose all children to these subject matters. and

i may john dewey educated person. my mother mentor typed her way through typing all of his books. giving you where i am coming from. i am a great believer in collaborative learning. in the complex world we live in today, if you are this good in math but don't understand anything else we are losing out on that. one of the things i have observed a lot of public schools is the job is to get the answer. not to ask the right question. my question for you is how do we open up curiosity and allow these kids to challenge and not be penalized because their teachers don't understand the answers? their job is to say where do we go find the answer? but i see things -- everything is silent. getting them to talk horizontal is really hard. i am hoping you will do something about that. starting with kindergarten. >> we are working on it. we are not there yet. a couple things. ultimately questions of what do we value, what skills are we trying to teach and is it the road memorization of facts and you can google anything and less ability to have all the stuff memorize. penmanship and handwriting? h

i am a john dewey educated person.d her way through graduate school typing all of his books. i am a great believer in collaborative learning. in the complex world we live in today, just thinking if you are this good in math but do not understand anything else, i think we are all losing out on that. one of the things i have observed in public schools is that their job is to give the answer, not last the right question. my question for you is, how do we open up curiosity and allow these kids to challenge and not be penalized because their teachers do not understand the answers? their job is to say who has the answer and where do we go find it? i have been with the defense department for 35 years. getting them to talk or is donnelly is really hard and i am hoping you will do something about a -- two top horizontal the is really hard, and i am hoping you will do something about that in our education system, starting with kindergarten. experts we are not there yet. what are we trying to teach? is it a row number of facts th

i am john dewey educated. he was my godfather and my mother's mentor and it's all about learning by doing which gives meaning, and i guess i have a question that is multifaceted. for so i think you're absolutely right. there's not one thing you can do but kids need to learn systems, process, context and consequences. i can't find that in any program and i watch it as an adult level to see why people make terrible mistakes. i am looking at this 20 years ago, texas controls the content of the schoolbook so to start rethinking what would be put into the curriculum which could get them to think about problem solving. first first of all you're talking about writing books for young kids where they have to be part of the answer. you start with sammy coming down for breakfast and there is a peach and a bowl of cereal. sammy asked where does this come from? my mommy. where did she get at? you have to build up, you have to make learning an exciting discovering adventure. and i don't think that is being done in most scho

dewey defeated president harry truman. cnn political contributor ari fleischer joins us. he's an occasionally unpaid communications advisor for the romney campaign. also cornell belcher and our own johng. so ari, i do not hear republicans complaining, you know, a few months ago when mitt romney seemed up in these polls. >> well, here's what i think you have to do. i don't think it's conspiracy but i think you have to apply a common sense test. here's what we know. the last time there was a major election in 2012, we had an exit poll in the state of wisconsin that was wrong. it showed the race was going to be neck and neck, the exit poll did, and of course governor walker won by seven percentage points. exit poll put together by the same consortium of many of these different groups that are doing the polls now. if you believe what the polls are saying right now, you've got to believe there's something huge going on, common sens would tell you there's a movement in america similar to the 1964 goldwater election or the 1974 watergate election. because it's not just a prediction of the electorate is going to turn out to match the 2008 obama landslide, it will exceed it. that's what, for

dewey was a darn fool. just shut up and, oh, i don't like him. do we, however, look to this fellow, this progressive fellow, he is not like a reactionary like john brickner, who he does take in 1944. he is from california. he can bring both in. it was actually dewey in 1944, and duly turned them down. do he says -- one thinks that if he has any future in the party, that are not turned on again. maybe he was thinking of the supreme court, i'm not sure what he was thinking. but he takes it. they don't like each other. the campaigns don't match, and they don't meshed so much that either one or one swipe end up in a voting booth in november november 1948 going down the lever for harry truman. >> host: there is a tweet for david pietrusza. i find it silly to limit presidents to two terms while congress is unfettered any chance to go back. >> guest: i don't think there is a chance, because there is not a huge constituency for it. maybe none. certainly no constituency among the senators who want to succeed, so i think that -- i don't think that's going to happen. plus it is very hard to amend the constitution and it seems to be getting harder and harder

dewey participate in psittacism a politics of hope? john kerry calls on us to help.i am talking about something more substantial. >> cap your own opinion and connect with other viewers. >> no. i can only surmise we rattle and a lot of cages. >> a pretended to be important. >> i finagle my way onto one of the u.n.'s buses. they seemed pretty uptight. >> 99 bears on the wall. >> no. body? -- nobody? >> weibo we know the prices. we have these fighting each other. >> i walked out of my apartment. i was greeted by a man who is very nicely dressed. he was waiting for me outside my apartment. he said are you ami horwitz? i said i am. he said this this movie more important than your family? >> why does he make a film on crimes committed by the troops? find out. >> longtime reporter. thank you for joining us. you wrote recently that the gop those 243 on its convention bowls. tell us what you are putting out their? -- there? guest: if you look at what the republicans have accomplished, they had to inspire their political base. they like mitt romney but they did not love h,m. h

dewey was a darn fool. just shut up and, oh, i don't like him. do we, however, look to this fellow, this progressive fellow, he is not like a reactionary like john brickner, who he does take in 1944. he is from california. he can bring both in. it was actually dewey in 1944, and duly turned them down. do he says -- one thinks that if he has any future in the party, that are not turned on again. maybe he was thinking of the supreme court, i'm not sure what he was thinking. but he takes it. they don't like each other. the campaigns don't match, and they don't meshed so much that either one or one swipe end up in a voting booth in november november 1948 going down the lever for harry truman. >> host: there is a tweet for david pietrusza. i find it silly to limit presidents to two terms while congress is unfettered any chance to go back. >> guest: i don't think there is a chance, because there is not a huge constituency for it. maybe none. certainly no constituency among the senators who want to succeed, so i think that -- i don't think that's going to happen. plus it is very hard to amend the constitution and it seems to be getting harder and harder