This is John Dewey (1859-1952), an American Educator and Philosopher who is widely considered to be the father of Modern Progressive Education. It wasn't until the last few decades that we started seeing of resurgance of Progressive Education as hundreds of educators in the U.S. and thousands worldwide started to learn about and adopt his methodologies.
Dewey was ahead of his time to say the least. He emphasized the importance of the student being the centerpiece of education. Theologians and Conservatives took issue with his atheistic views though if you read between the lines, he was actually opposed to religious indoctrination so prevalent in American Public Education during his time. It wasn't until a certain lawsuit heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1970s that religion was taken out of public education.
It goes without saying Evangelists and Christians understandably don't like to mention why religion was removed from public schools--they like to focus on "how things were" and "the good old days"--when they attack religion being taken out of public education. Nevermind the fact many schools and school districts in what's known as The Bible Belt--the Deep South and parts of the Midwest--do offer Bible Study as an after school elective as well as hold a prayer before and after school council meetings.
The problem is this is being done at Public Schools that get federal funding which violates the separation of Church and State. Many small and rural school districts in the South and Midwest have been getting away with this for decades but the ACLU has been filing lawsuits in recent years to force them to comply with the law. These lawsuits aren't attacks against anyone's religious beliefs. It's litigation to enforce the laws already on the books first and foremost. Second, there are a growing number of people across the U.S. who follow non-JudeoChristian religious beliefs. Third, the U.S. is home to almost two dozen Christian denominations. So...yeah.
All that said.
Religion being removed from Education was one of the radical changes to Education since the 1970s. The much bigger change is the fact Education budget has been getting slashed almost every year since then. This is what led to the beginning of the urban education crisis in the 1990s and it's also why Public Education in America is starting to implode now.
...Exactly as both Conservatives and Liberals wanted.
It wasn't until fairly recently--I'd say over the last 20 years--that we have started seeing a nationwide resurgance of Progressive Education mostly in the Kindgergarten to Grade 8 range. Before the early 2000s, you only really saw this in Early Education and Special Education in other grades. I lived it and later worked it my entire Education career. I know what I'm talking about in regards to this topic.
At the time I first started working in Education full-time in 2005, I had been introduced to a concept still in its infancy in the U.S. but well known in Europe, Australia and New Zealand: The Inclusion School. The centerpiece of the inclusion model used by two of the three schools I worked in--the Holmes Elementary School and the recently closed Mission Hill K-8 Pilot School--was each class would be a mix of Special Education and Regular Education students. Some prefer to say "Regular Ed and Those with an IEP" but that's not accurate to say since ALL students Special Ed and Regular Ed have an Individual Education Plan (IEP).
All that said. The intent behind integrating Special Ed students with their Regular Ed peers in the same classroom is so that all the students can learn from each other. The Special Ed students learn how to socialize and interact with their Regular Ed counterparts who learn empathy. No issue there, no problem with the intent. Note how I ended that last sentance. What often happens more than most progressive educators would be willing to admit is with the good comes the bad. Especially with students who may have behavioral challenges.
The teachers obviously know the causes and backgrounds of a student's behavioral challenges but the other students don't and that's where the issue is especially with younger students who see their classmate having a meltdown and get "rewarded" with being removed from class for a while. You learn some creative ways to handle those kinds of situations but in extreme cases in which a student might need to physically restrained for their own safety, learning stops.
Another aspect of Inclusion Schools that is envisioned but ultimately is impossible to do in U.S. Public Schools is having two teachers per classroom supported by two to three classroom support staff. The reason it's impossible to do in the U.S. is because that would require MASSIVE funding for the staff and specialized training for the support staff. That brings me to my experience working in Education. In reality, you just had one teacher and one full-time classroom support staff member with a classroom of 12 to 18 students. The classroom teacher is basically under enormous pressure to make things work and to an extent, the support staff member has the unspoken expectation of being the second teacher. Meanwhile, you're often not given sufficient support to meet said expectations and presssure.
A third aspect I was reminded of from a recent episode of a podcast I was listening to is the desegregation of Public Schools starting in 1954 after the historic Plessey v. Ferguson Supreme Court case. The case was decided that year but Desegregation was slow to happen nationwide until the 1970s due to fierce resistence due to racism. When you really look at it, the modern-day culture war that is pushing America to Civil War goes back to that era.
As an aside--and more people are becoming aware of this now--the statues and monuments dedicated to the old Confederacy weren't erected until the 1950s. Even now, the places where systemic racial disparities are the strongest are in the states that make up the former Confederate States as well as parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes regions (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois).
As much as Ultra Conservatives and most Republicans like to claim their values and ways of life are "under attack" by Liberals and Democrats, they are the ones who are fighting the hardest to take away the civil rights of everyone right now. In recent years they have been releasing an annual list of children's books that mention, reference or promote LGBTQ+ values, discuss Black History or otherwise portray White History with a critical lens to be banned from not just schools but public libraries. Yes, really. Even biographies that contain narratives they find "offensive" are not safe. This is Censorship.
It's also one of the biggest reasons why teachers and librarians are leaving the professions in large numbers. Local media outlets do the public a great disservice by not calling out the fact the so-called "anti-Woke Movement" is VERY organized and WELL funded. Their primary concerns are causing chaos and intimidation. In other words, Terrorism.
I have spoken to teachers in some states who noticed the cultural shift over the last 20 years. I'm talking about teachers who most would easily classify as lifelong Conservatives with strong Christian values. They went from being respected members of their communities in the early 2000s to "Liberal activists with an agenda" by the end of 2022. Why? Because they refuse to bring their religious and political beliefs to work with them. They both quit after the last school year in protest of Far Right activists being elected to the school board. One now works at a private school and the other retired but works as an online tutor.
What most people might not have known at the time about the now former Secretary of Education in the Trump Administration Betsy Devos is she is a millionaire. Devos, who is a proponent of Charter Schools was basically appointed to that position to dismantle Public Education. This is the main reason why you heard almost nothing from her publicly other than supporting districts that embraced Charter Schools.
This is not a secret but it's more of the fact most people who are outside of the Education Industry don't know Charter Schools are Public Schools in name only. In reality, they're for-profit schools that divert taxpayer money from the school districts they're in.
I've talked quite a bit about the Right's naked hatred toward Public Education for quite a while. Now I want to get to Left's obsession with "compromise as much as possible whenever possible" being why I no longer support Progressive Education. One thing history has repeatedly made clear is there is such as thing as too much compromise.
One of the core philosophies of Progressive Education is compromise as much as possible whenever possible. Basic facts are debatable and traditional education standards are "outdated". See the pictures above. On the Left is the seating arrangement most of the world's classrooms use today. Students are seated in rows, typically with one teacher at the front giving instruction to everyone at once. Afterward, the teacher goes around to check in with students who may need further instruction. On the Right is actually how most Special Education, Inclusion and Kindergarten classes are arranged. Students are seated in small groups, typically with a teacher and one classroom support staff. After whole class instruction is given, the teacher and support staff work with small groups for specialized instruction.
The data does not lie, small group instruction and one on one instruction are far more time-efficient and beneficial to students than traditional whole-class instruction. Other countries do it better than the U.S. because they invest in Education. Like I pointed out earlier, Education is neither a right or a priority for policymakers in the country. I don't think it's ever been a priority personally on that note. For those who might not know, the U.S. is the ONLY modernized country in which children are legally considered the property of their parents. Since kids legally have no rights, naturally they also are not entitled to an Education in America either. Progressive Education makes sense when it can be done properly and when it is invested in.
I'll be blunt: Progressive Education has no place in America for a long as Public Education is treated as the bad joke it's become for the most part.
School districts, cities and towns have been conspiring with the Federal and State governments in recent decades to greatly weaken Teachers' Unions across the country. It goes without saying they've had a lot of success in these regards. In the aftermath of the pandemic, School Districts are keenly aware most of the public has little appetite for teacher strikes right now and they are pressing the advantage where they can.
I look at the recent teacher strike in Woburn, Massachusetts. The school district waited until they emptied the Woburn Teachers' Union of its coffers via fines before reaching a settlement to end the Strike. They just showed other school districts small and large how to deal with Teachers' Unions that go on strike: Bleed them dry financially and then settle. That way, they have no room to negotiate until they can rebuild their finances.
...You know, there's been a sharp increase in parents electing to home school their children since the Pandemic. Not just conservatives and those who live in rural areas but people who live in cities too.
Many parents have become increasingly concerned with what their child is exposed to at public schools to say the least. With everything from school meetings being flashpoints for politics to school shootings, a growing number of parents have had enough which is understandable.Most have decided to have their kids home schooled. Sometimes themselves and sometimes via a tutor. It's much easier to afford a tutor these days compared to 10 years ago on that note.
I do think this shift in how most people do Public Education is changing and largely for the better. We'll likely see Hybrid Learning become the standard for most of the company: Some days you're in school and some days you're at home. There is also growing interest in finally putting an end to being in one grade a whole school year.
When I entered Kindergarten, my reading and comprehension skills were at a 6th grade level. By the time I got to 6th grade, they were college level. I literally slept through half my classes in high school because the work was too easy for me. I still did the work of course. As an aside, I almost didn't graduate on time because I almost failed Biology. I actually had to continue going to school for that one class after I officially graduated until the last day of school. That was the deal the school principal made with me if I didn't want to go to summer school. Whoops!
I'm not saying that to brag. My point is students shouldn't be held back from moving up because of their age or to not make their peers feel bad. Everyone progresses differently and at different rates. If a student shows they're ready for work at a higher grade, they should be allowed to move on within the same school year.
The real reason most families don't know their child(ren) can actually finish grade school early--as in under 18--is because most don't think to ask their child(ren)'s teacher(s) about it. Like I said earlier, students shouldn't have their progress slowed because of their age or for social reasons. If their test scores show they can handle coursework usually given to higher grades, they should be allowed to do it. That is what true Progressive Education should look like to me anyway.
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