Progressive education was a revolt against the traditional schools of the United States of the 1800’s. It grew from the belief that schools had failed to keep pace with rapid changes in American life.
The traditional school
stressed specific subjects—reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, history, and grammar. The teacher lectured or dictated a lesson, and the students copied it in their notebooks. The students then learned by heart what was in their notebooks and recited what they learned from their textbooks. The teacher enforced order and quiet except for recitation periods. Students sat at rows of desks fastened to the floor, and they could not move or talk without permission.
Progressive educators
thought that traditional education should be reformed. Famous progressive educators of the 1800’s included Francis Parker and G. Stanley Hall. In the early 1900’s, John Dewey became a well-known spokesman for progressive education. See Parker, Francis W. ; Hall, G. Stanley ; Dewey, John .
Progressive educators tried to reform elementary school methods in several ways. They thought teachers should pay more attention to the individual child and not treat all children alike. Progressive educators believed that children learn best when they are genuinely interested in the material, and not when they are forced to memorize facts that seem useless to them. Children should learn by direct contact with things, places, and people, as well as by reading and hearing about them. Thus, elementary schools should include science laboratories, workshops, art studios, kitchens, gymnasiums, and gardens. Progressive educators believed this procedure would develop the child’s physical, social, and emotional nature as well as its mind.
In addition, progressive educators stressed greater freedom, activity, and informality in the classroom. They believed that children learn better when they can move about and work at their own pace. They thought children should gather materials from many sources rather than from just one textbook, and should work in groups with other students. Discussion, dramatics, music, and art activities became a larger part of classroom procedures.
Progressive education spread more widely through elementary schools than it did in high schools or colleges. Teachers planned individual instruction and centered it around projects, units, or activities rather than the usual courses or subjects. They taught students of different abilities in separate groups.
Criticism of progressive education.
Many writers and some educators began increasingly to criticize progressive education during the 1940’s and 1950’s. They charged students did not learn fundamental subjects well enough. Other educators said that students learned as well under progressive education as under traditional methods. But by the early 1960’s, many schools had begun to experiment with different teaching methods. Many experiments used “progressive” principles but did not use the term.
