1. John Dewey and Charles Eliot
The Progressive Era
1870’s – 1920’s
Political Economy
Ideology
Schooling,
John Dewey and Charles Eliot

2. Political Economy Urbanization Changes Immigration Industrialization
increasing
Racism and bigotry
Industrialization
Increase in manufacturing
Inventions
Scientific Management/Taylorization
Women in more than domestic jobs
Partnerships and Corperations formed

3. Ideology Modern Liberalism vs. Classic Liberalism
Darwinism biology and relative truth
Reason defined by scientific method experts and organizations
Individuals viewed only as a cell in the social organism
Progress was possible
Government should regulate to create conditions of freedom
People could only improve so much, they were limited by their genetic endowment
Positive Freedom-positive government interference
Education was for the gifted and talented only, training was appropriate for the average and below

4. Schooling Progressive Education
Response to urbanization, industrialization, immigration and articulated in terms of the emergent ideology of modern liberalism.
New psychological approaches.
Traditional classical curriculum vs. child-centered curriculum.
Emphasis on student interests and activities related to the larger society.
Problems of the school in the 1880’s
Failure to interest and motivate students with classical curriculum
High dropout rates
Juvenile delinquency and illiteracy among the urban youth growing
Waste and inefficiency in school management practices in the neighborhood controlled schools
Irrelevance of the traditional curriculum to the real needs of the industrial society

5. What Did Progressive Educators Believe?
Varied curriculum based on the needs and interest of the students
Specific concerns and motivations of each child vs. in the best interests of the child (academic or vocational track)
Learning should be based on activities
School aims, content and processes should reflect social conditions
Schools could best prepare students for participation in a democratic society
Primary aim of school-help solve social problems
Teacher should be resource person and guide
Educate whole child, not just the mind

6. What do you think John Dewey meant by this quotation?
“Children are prepared in school as if they were going to lead the life of slavery rather than a life as a free individual.”
John Dewey-
What do you think John Dewey meant by this quotation?

7. John Dewey 1859-1952 John Dewey believed:
School should be a laboratory for democracy
Children are by nature actively social creatures, by nature constructive, creatively expressive and finally, curious and inquiring
Classrooms should be a place where children work together in social activity, frame and execute their own purposes.
Schools penalize children for behaving in accord with the above facets of nature
Working together, students could cooperatively solve problems thinking critically about the causes and consequences of things they were interested in, thus growing intellectually.
Believed classroom was not preparation for life, but life itself

8. Charles Eliot-Social Efficiency
-Graduated from Harvard in 1853
-Employed at Harvard as Tutor ( ) and assistant professor of chemistry ( ). He studied chemistry and foreigneducational methods in Europe in
-1869 was elected president of Harvard University
-Spokesman for the replacement of traditional educational goals by 4 new ones
1. Social stability 2. Employable skills
3. Equal education opportunity
4. Meritocracy
-Became and advocate of vocational education as the numbers of ethnic diversity and high school students increased-
-Prejudices against students not from “Pure American stock” and especially against African Americans and Indians

9. Social Stability Employable Skills
Eliot was supportive of business more than labor.
Believed one function of the school would be to teach prospective workers a more accommodating and cooperative attitude toward management.
Vocational education offered a good way to address problems of labor unrest
Vocational education, night school, adult education, supervised playgrounds, supervised vocational guidance schools were needed.
Schooling no longer for privileged few. Now compulsory and for mandatory many.
Employable Skills
Schools should prepare students with specific skills and attitudes for the workplace.
Believed society was divided into 4 groups
Managing class Commercial class
Skilled artisans Rough workers
Saw schools as factories to shape raw materials.
Increase in vocational subject enrollment.
Co-education was challenged
Vocational subjects grew to be more than just shop and home-ec. Now, vocational English, Vocational Math, etc…

10. Equal Education Opportunity
Students would receive different kinds of education, but all students would have “equal opportunity” to receive the education appropriate to them.
Teachers of the elementary schools were to sort pupils by their evident or probable destinies. Believed the teachers should find out what the child does best and give them the happiness of achievement in that line.
Meritocracy “A class of persons making their way on their own ability and talents rather than because of class privileges” The Random House Dictionary
Believed needed to teach students to:
1. Respect and confide in the expert in every field of human activity
2. Help locate and educate the most talented members of society for democratic leadership
IQ testing began in the second decade. Differentiated curriculum and placement in vocational tracks could now be based on scientific measurement of student abilities.