How could one meet Dewey in the Directions for Curriculum Guidelines of 12- Year Basic Education? Evidently, it is not to encounter or meet in common sense. It is questioning and pondering: interpret the Directions at its core; and elaborate his inspiration for the practice of curriculum and instruction based on Dewey's philosophy and educational ideas.

Anchoring at the Directions for Curriculum Guidelines of 12-YearBasic Education and first-hand literature of Dewey’s works and relatedliterature, this article gives theoretical analysis and practical reasoning on the connections between his thoughts and the curriculum ideals of the Directions.

Based on the five essential elements of analysis and interpretation, this article invites readers to ask and reflect to what extent we have fulfilled the following requirements: to carry forward the essence ofwhole-person education with the implementation of the broad-sensecurriculum concept; to make a paradigm shift towards a learner- oriented education while taking into account both learners andcurriculum; to employ in-depth indirect implementation and attitude-oriented educational practices to enhance students’ core competency; to raise students’ interest of learning and thereby to enrich their life experience and to connect to real-life situation; to lead real learners with real learning experience and to enable learning by doing whileaiming at solid results.

Finally, the article makes four suggestions for future research after a reflection on its nature and purposes and a summary.