Traditional Education Vs Progressive Education

The twentieth century only saw an increase in the industrialization and urbanization that began in the nineteenth century. The new social, political and economic problems that began to emerge due to all of the changes developing in America during these times led to a need for reform. Reform was needed throughout society whether it was in regards to immigrants, civil rights, regulating trusts, or woman’s rights to name a few. These problems extended equally into the problems that educational progressives sought out to reform. John Dewey is commonly used as the embodiment of progressive era reformation ideas but there were others as well, such as Grace C. Strachan, George Counts, and Booker T. Washington.

Individuals are effected by the lives they live. According to David Hansen in the book titled, Ethical Visions of Education: Philosophies in Practice (2007), John Dewey lived from 1859-1952. During his 93 years Dewey encountered growing up during an age of great change. According to the web-site

Education at its best is a process of teaching people to explore ideas about themselves and the world in which they live, to ask questions about the experience called “living” and to embrace ambiguity, to notice the unusual without fear and to look upon the ordinary with new eyes.

Throughout the master 's program, I have learned from a variety of classes about educational reforms, shifts in pedagogical practices, technology integration and the role of American education among other things. Authentic intellectual work has an important role to play in all of those areas. In BEF 503, we studied reform movements during the Progressive Era which called for school centralization, curriculum differentiation, and social reform through education. Those reform movements laid the foundation for future educational changes, and many of the things that drive politics in education today saw their beginnings during the Progressive Era. Even today, educational reformers are pushing for a change in educational standards and practices through common core. The biggest affect the common core has had on social studies is through the literacy standards, and the implementation of authentic intellectual work could increase the rigor, as well as student engagement in the social studies classroom. We also studied the National Assessment of Educational Progress which is a national report of student progress over time. Researchers argue that students who engage in authentic intellectual work show an increase in their standardized test scores. Therefore, students can only benefit from authentic intellectual work if implemented and assessed correctly. Since authentic intellectual work provides students with the opportunity to present information in a variety of

Yet even with these realizations that delve into the deeper meaning of education, modern education is still calling for simple measurable outcomes and continues to be geared towards specific employment ideas. This model of education is blatantly inadequate though. Many students today will end up holding jobs not yet invented in fields not yet discovered, so the teaching of answers to today’s questions is utterly useless. Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” and this statement reigns true throughout time. To continue academic success, the education system needs to impart a mastery of one’s own mind that allows students to not only answer current questions but also to pose questions that will shape the future world.

Some people might like education, others might dread it and really don’t see a reason to continue learning about it. Today, for teachers and professors it’s easy to them to tell how the education they teach is effective for an individual student. As we know, education is being taught at school, home, and a little of both. For America today, most children attend preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school, and college. Depending on the pupil's career choice, it can take up to 20 or more years completing their schooling system, Usually, during the middle and or high school years in America, professors teach you valid things pupils will be using in life.

This article assists me to comprehend pedagogical progressives. Alongside the three principle focuses he made, he mentioned different examples of this throughout the context. For example, Counts said, "Any individual or group that would aspire to lead society must be ready to pay the costs of leadership: to accept responsibility, to suffer calumny, to surrender security, to risk both misfortune and fortune."(2) Through this, he is expressing that being a leader in society is necessary to being a leader in the

Education can be defined as a learning process in which a student and a teacher are involved. The work of the teacher is to pass on the message to the student while the student understands and applies what has been taught. It is also considered as a process of developing skills, knowledge and character of an individual. Education, whether formal or informal, has a function both to the individual and the society, these functions are either manifest or latent. There is a distinction between the manifest and latent functions in that the manifest functions are those that are intended whereas the latter are the unintended functions (Douglas, 2003).

When it comes to how students should learn, different people will have a different approach. Some might want to approach learning in a more hands-on way, while others may want to students to learn more independently. In addition, each student is an individual, and they each have their own ways of learning as well. One student may be more visual, while another student may approach learning in a more physical way. Each student and their unique abilities must be taken into account. While educators will have their own views on how the curriculum should be, there is bound to be some overlap as well. This is where the theories from educational theorists and authors John Dewey and Ralph Tyler become part of the conversation. John Dewey was known as one of the fathers of functional psychology, and was also an advocate for progressive education. Ralph Tyler, on the other hand was an educator who worked in assessment. Each of these men, contributed a large of themselves to the educational system, in their own ways that are noteworthy. While they may share some similarities in their approach to education, there are some notable differences as well. This paper will be used to briefly explore the similarities and also the differences that are found in the ideas from these two educational figures.

I believe the essence of education includes growth. The purpose of education is not to just fill our head with lots of information, but to discover your uniqueness and to teach us how to develop it, and to show us how to, in return, give it away. Once you learn something in life, you should be able to absorb it in a way to use it in your life and then in turn pass it on to someone else in order to contribute to their growth as well. I also believe that the essence of education includes knowledge and skills. Once you are educated on a matter you obtain knowledge and/or skill. Education is understood as the artificial extension of human ability to learn, as the product of learner’s own efforts (Sidorkin, 2011).

A progressive classroom looks different, and a progressive teacher inspires unique thinking in individual students differently, as well. Instead of being strict with a set curriculum and specific subject to cover, teachers find their students’ present interests, abilities, and needs. Developing individualized education plans based on student interests and

“The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things,” stated by Jean Piaget. Education serves many purposes; it helps a child open their eyes to the world, it provides curiosity and determination for a young adult, and it can provide middle age adults and elders with a spark of belonging and hope. To be able to achieve these purposes, the process of education must start at a young age. Singing the ABC’s to an infant, reading to a toddler, encouraging writing and math skills are a few steps towards all the possibilities a person could have in life.

As a future educator there are many ideas or philosophies on how teachers should teach students. Students learn best when they are able to relate to the material that is being taught. Cohen (1999) writes, “This educational philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world” The curriculum is based on the needs, ability, and experiences that the student has. From the curriculum, teachers create lessons that influence their students to actively participate and encourage development. The teacher is merely an organizer who offers encouragement as well as prompting the students to use critical thinking skills by challenging them with questions. Students then use this skill to cooperate in groups as well as discuss view point that they may not agree with. This form of duel communication is a skill that allows the student to become more comfortable with their social skills as well as team working.

Since the beginning of education there have been many forms, which have been passed on from one generation to the next. Over the years education has evolved and is now seen as the education system all over the world. Today the education system is seen to be much more complex, but it still involves notions that have been around since the beginning of success, achievement and participation. Not only do these three aspects continue to contribute to the success of

Through the long history,educators,thinkers,politicians and scholars have answered the question of what education is in different ways: some see it from the perspective of educational value,some see it from the perspective of educational purposes,some see it from the perspective of educational content and methods,and some see it from the