Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ
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HISTORY

The Claim

John Dewey wrote the Spanish sentence "La escuela debe convertirse en una comunidad embrionaria, un tipo de vida social en pequeña escala que refleja la vida de la sociedad de una manera más amplia" in a work cited as (Dewey, 1899/1986, p. 27).

The Short Version

The evidence does not support attributing that exact Spanish sentence to Dewey as something he wrote. Dewey published The School and Society in English, and the sources reviewed do not confirm that the quoted Spanish wording appears verbatim at “1899/1986, p. 27.” The sentence reflects a genuine Deweyan idea, but it appears to be a later translation or paraphrase rather than Dewey’s own Spanish text.

Caveats

  • Dewey authored the original work in English; a Spanish sentence should be treated as a translation unless a specific Spanish edition is verified.
  • The exact wording and page reference “1899/1986, p. 27” were not substantiated in the checked editions.
  • Similarity in meaning to Dewey’s English text does not establish verbatim authorship of the quoted Spanish sentence.

The Receipts

  1. The School and Society: Being Three Lectures

    Project Gutenberg

  2. The School and Society by John Dewey

    Project Gutenberg

  3. John Dewey: "La escuela y el progreso social"

    Universidad de Navarra – Grupo de Estudios Peirceanos

  4. The School and Society / The Child and the Curriculum (Phoenix Books edition)

    Google Books

  5. Education and the American Dream

    ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)

  6. Our History

    The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

  7. A Deweyan Perspective on Knowledge Producing Schools

    Virginia Tech (VTechWorks)

  8. John Dewey: la educación como proceso de reconstrucción de la experiencia

    Revista CS Educación (Universidad Nacional de Rosario)

  9. Education and the Democratic Ideal

    actionresearch.net

  10. Progressive Education in the 21st Century: The Enduring Influence of John Dewey

    Cambridge University Press

+ 10 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

John Dewey