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What did John Dewey mean when he said that education is life rather than preparation for life?

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John Dewey, an older man with glasses and a mustache, sits and reads a document, wearing a suit and tie. — John Dewey John Dewey.

When John Dewey stated that education is life rather than preparation for life, he was emphasizing his core philosophy of education, which rejected the traditional view of schooling as merely a passive training ground for a future career or adult role.1

Instead, Dewey argued that the school environment should be a miniature community where students engage in meaningful, real-world experiences. By treating education as a continuous process of living, he believed students could develop the critical thinking and social skills necessary to participate as informed, active citizens in a democracy. For Dewey, the classroom was not a place to store information for later use, but a laboratory for inquiry where the act of learning itself is an essential part of the student's current life and growth.12