Educational Progressivism: A Field Guide

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What You'll Find at the PL Field Guide to Progressive Education

There are few subjects that have more greatly interested Progressives than education. Not suprisingly, then, there is an immense body of information pertaining to the topic.  Much of this material is highly valuable.  However, there is not a single school anywhere on the planet that has kept abreast of the many, many advances made in disciplines with crucial relevance to the quality of education.  These include the following:

Philosophy: 

Philosophy might seem an unlikely topic to emphasize in a Progressive education, but philosophers have always been among the primary proponents of Progressive education.  Moreover, tremendous advances in such areas as theory of life purpose and morality have been made in recent years, which dispel confusion about topics ranging from abortion to the question of whether, and if so, when, war is justified.  By shedding much light on good values, recent philosophy paves the way to a much richer and more meaningful life; yet these advances are virtually unknown to the public at large. Finally, it is philosophy, and nothing else, that teaches critical thinking — the ability to reach meaningful conclusions based upon the evidence — even in the face of distorted and/or incomplete "news".  Thus, philosophy is the indispensable linchpin of a meaningful education of any sort.


Psychology:

We now know more than ever before about how to help students to learn, but this body of knowledge has not yet found its way out to application in the schools.  Advances in personality theory have much to suggest about the sort of careers individual students are likely to find fulfilling, and also tell us something about characteristic weaknesses of the major personality types that a good education could help to ameliorate.

Health: 

Conceiving of health as merely the absence of disease results in students who fall short of their full physical potential.  The American diet has had a catastrophic impact on students, yet many schools have made concessions to junk food vendors in order to raise funds.


Citizenship:

Progressives were the first to emphasize that a good education should prepare the individual for citizenship in a Democracy, but today Democracy itself is currently in an advanced state of decay.  Students must be appraised of the reasons for this, and must be taught how to engage in society a much more participatory fashion.


Family and social life:

An excess of individualism has resulted in a selfish and socially-irresponsible society.  Moreover, the corporation as we know it has revealed dangerous propensities to social pathology.  Ecological collapse is certain unless immediate steps are taken.  Better social institutions and practices hold out real potential to address all of these issues, and create a better life for everyone.  These institutions are virtually never discussed in the classroom.

Because of all of the foregoing, what the reader will find in this field guide is the following:

1) A restrospective on Progressive education, highlighting some of the key issues that have concerned Progressives in the past.

2) Links to resouces in education, philosophy, psychology, health, citizenship, and family and social life that aim to inform parents, educators, and administrators of some of what is known and some of what is possible.

3) Links to help parents to create their own schools, based primarily on the Charter school concept.

4) An exploration of new ways to organize community, such as the intentional community and the ecovillage, can also be integrated with new ways of educating.

So what are you waiting for? 

Let's jump in!