The Progressive Era

(ca. 1880-1920)

Progressive Education

• During most of the twentieth century, the term "progressive education" has been used to describe ideas and practices that aim to make schools more effective agencies of a democratic society.

Progressive Education

• The education of engaged citizens, according to this perspective, involves two essential elements: – Respect for diversity, meaning that each individual

should be recognized for his or her own abilities, interests, ideas, needs, and cultural identity,

– the development of critical, socially engaged intelligence, which enables individuals to understand and participate effectively in the affairs of their community in a collaborative effort to achieve a common good.

Progressive Education

• These elements of progressive education have been termed "child-centered" and "social reconstructionist" approaches, – in extreme forms they have sometimes been

separated, – in the thought of John Dewey and other major

theorists they are seen as being necessarily related to each other.

Progressive Education

• These progressive principles have never been the predominant philosophy in American education. – From their inception in the 1830s, state systems of common or

public schooling have primarily attempted to achieve cultural uniformity, not diversity, and to educate dutiful, not critical citizens.

– Furthermore, schooling has been under constant pressure to support the ever-expanding industrial economy by establishing a competitive meritocracy and preparing workers for their vocational roles.

• The term "progressive" arose from a period (roughly 1890-1920) during which many Americans took a more careful look at the political and social effects of vast concentrations of corporate power and private wealth.

Progressive Education

• Led by John Dewey, – progressive educators opposed a growing national movement

that sought to separate academic education for the few and narrow

• During the 1920s, when education turned increasingly to "scientific" techniques such as intelligence testing and cost-benefit management, progressive educators insisted on the importance of the emotional, artistic, and creative aspects of human development vocational training for the masses.

• Margaret Naumburg described it as "the most living and essential parts of our natures”

Progressive Education

• Nevertheless, in the 1950s, during a time of cold war anxiety and cultural conservatism, progressive education was widely repudiated, and it disintegrated as an identifiable movement.

• In the years since, various groups of educators have rediscovered the ideas of Dewey and his associates, and revised them to address the changing needs of schools, children, and society in the late twentieth century. – Open classrooms, schools without walls, cooperative learning,

multiage approaches, whole language, the social curriculum, experiential education, and numerous forms of alternative schools all have important philosophical roots in progressive education.

Progressive Education

• Today, scholars, educators and activists are rediscovering Dewey's work – and exploring its relevance to a "postmodern"

age, an age of global capitalism and breathtaking cultural change, and an age in which the ecological health of the planet itself is seriously threatened.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL

• Historically the largest number of administrative offices held

• Middle Person– Liason between central administration and

teacher– An effect of the diversification of teacher

roles, growing population, and individualization of student needs

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL

• Began as Principal Teacher– Multiple roles in community

• Teachers, town clerks, grave diggers, church choristers, court messengers, etc…

– Notion began at the High School level– Eventually, out of necessity, only managed

schools

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL

• Today– main focus is on leadership and the

managing of the school – serve as a liaison between the teachers

and central administration.

Goldman, THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, The Center for Applied Research, 1966 Prepared by Lisa S. Schroeder

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROLE OF SUPERINTENDENT

• Educational Administration– Emerged formally in the mid 1800s– Leadership needed to be centralized– Trends in education closely tied with

trends and actions in society– Educational Institutions grew larger and

more diversified (specialized).– Title of “Superintendent” mirrored societal

titles, such as Superintendent of Railroads

DIVISION OF THE SCHOOL INTO GRADES

• Early on– Education was only for the “elite”

• Tutoring was common

• After Revolutionary War– Bills were issued to encourage education for all

children

• The Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (especially act 3) – set aside land for the building and operation of

schools, and provided that education be necessary to good citizenship.

DIVISION OF THE SCHOOL INTO GRADES

• One room schools– Housed 30 – 40 students of all ages and

levels– Some of larger schools – teachers would

teach higher level students• They, in turn, would teach lower-level students

• As schools grew – diversification grew

DIVISION OF THE SCHOOL INTO GRADES

• Teachers began to train to teach certain levels and subjects

• Larger – multi-room schools were built.

• Consolidation began to occur – students came in from surrounding districts

DIVISION OF THE SCHOOL INTO GRADES

• What was the best way to split the students into various levels?

DIVISION OF THE SCHOOL INTO GRADES

• What was the best way to split the students into various levels?– Age was the best determination– Students at different ages had different

needs, therefore grouping by age was logical

DIVISION OF THE SCHOOL INTO GRADES

• Larger school districts were needed• Larger districts became centrally

administered corporations• Mandates created to determine what was

taught in each grade• Initially elementary and secondary schools

– Middle school came about later

• Today – 12 grades and kindergarten– Some schools provide pre-kindergarten

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• Early years – education was a luxury– Only basics emphasized

• Reading, writing, arithmetic, religion• Only 1:10 children went to school

• Common children – worked with family or had apprentiships

• Wealthy children – schools, tutoring, Boarding schools abroad

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• Boston Latin Grammar Schools circa 1635– College prep – law and ministry– School meeting times widely varied

• 4 hours a day in winter• 8 hours a day in summer• School year could be two months or 6 days a

week, year round – based on community

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• School teacher – was not a respected position

• Salaries were poor at all levels

• Barter was common

• Schoolmasters often took on other community tasks to make ends meet

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• Because of hardship – the temperament of the schoolmaster/teacher suffered

• Students often received more discipline than instruction

• Older students would often run the schoolmaster out of town

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• 1647– First laws to require communities to form

public school systems– Elementary schools for every town with 50+

families– Latin grammar schools for towns of 100

families or more

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• 1751– Benjamin Franklin forms the “academy” – a

catalyst for the establishment of high schools.• Focused on worldy subject matters rather than

Latin grammar• Girls were allowed to attend the schools

– Although education of girls was primitive– Girls were expected to work at home until they were

married

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• 1824– First publicly supported high school

established– Number of school grew as well as quality– Curriculum

• Algebra, American History, bookkeeping, geometry, surveying

• Larger towns were required to add Latin, Greek, general history, rhetoric and logic

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• 1874– Mandate – tax supported schools– Popularity of secondary education rose

• 1880– 800 high schools

• 1890– 2,500 high schools

THE RISE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

• Purpose changed– From college prep to vocational– Electives were formed for college prep– HS diplomas were key to entrance into good

colleges– Change and adaptation became respected in

the educational community

Bethany D. Collins

THE N.E.A. COMMITTEE OF TEN

• 1892– Charged to establish a standard curriculum

• Recommended eight years of elementary and four years of secondary education

• Determined four different curricula– Two followed classic trends

» classical and Latin-scientific– Two were contemporary

» modern language and English– foreign languages, mathematics, science, English

and history were included in each curriculum

THE N.E.A. COMMITTEE OF TEN

• 1892– The goal of high school was to prepare all

students to do well in life, – contributing to their own well-being and

society's good, – and to prepare some students for college

Ornstein, Allan C. and Daniel U. Levine. FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION. 5ed. Boston: Houghton, 1993. pp174-5. Meyer, Adolphe E. AN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 2ed. New York: McGraw, 1967. p. 408.

Prepared by Linda Weidner

PLESSY V. FERGUSON

• 1896– Avoid mixing of the races (Segregation)– 1887 – Railroads - housing of African

Americans in separate railroad cars– Group of African American Businessmen and

opposing Railroads tried to fight this but failed• 1896 – Separate but equal remained the law of the

land until 1954 “Brown vs Board of Education”

AFT (1916)

• The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is a union associated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO).

AFT (1916)

• Members– teachers, counselors, school custodians

and school bus drivers. – Teachers felt the need to be organized in

order for their voices to be heard by those who set policy and curriculum

– Were not considered to be professionals in an industrial society

AFT (1916)

• Members– Progressive education challenged

traditional education– Informal, group-based, multiple resources,

gathering of materials rather than centralized textbook

• Today the AFT continues to uphold the rights of teachers to help form school policies and programs.

Chautauqua

• Chautauqua (pronounced sha-TAW-kwa) is an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

• Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s.

• The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, preachers, and specialists of the day.

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Jane Addams

• As social worker, reformer, and pacifist, Jane Addams (1860-1935) was the "beloved lady" of American reform. She founded the most famous settlement house in American history, Hull House in Chicago.

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Hull House

• Hull House was co-founded in 1889, in Chicago, Illinois, by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr.

• It was one of the first settlement houses in the U.S. and eventually grew into one of the largest, with facilities in 13 buildings.

• Because of the Hull House’s social, educational and artistic programs, it earned a reputation as the best-known settlement house in the U.S. and became the standard bearer for the movement that included almost 500 settlements nationally by 1920.

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Settlement Movement

• The settlement movement started in London. Victorian England (Late 19th Century), – increasingly concerned with urban poverty, gave rise to a

movement whereby those connected to universities settled students in slum areas to live and work alongside local people.

– Through their efforts settlement houses were established for education, savings, sports, and arts.

• Today, – settlements are still community-focused organizations, providing

a range of services in generally underserved urban areas, – though they are staffed by professional employees rather than

students, and no longer require that employees live alongside those they serve.

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Manual Training Movement

• 1870s• Manual training, developing from the Russian system of

education, was centered around the completion of specific exercises.

• Skill development was emphasized.  – manual training was the teaching of both wood and metal

working, – with the accompanying argument that this teaching improved

perception, observation, practical judgment, visual accuracy, manual dexterity and

– taught students the power of doing things instead of merely thinking about them, talking about them, and writing about them.

– not intended to teach a specific trade

Manual Training Movement