Progressive education is the philosophy that rules in our schools and has for the past hundred years. This philosophy, or viewpoint, is based on the notion that there is a way to provide a context in which children can be educated, naturally, automatically, without being compelled, forced, to deal with the stress of studying things they won’t need to know anyway. Progressive education philosophy claims to provide a friendly and open atmosphere that makes learning joyful and painless. The purpose of progressive education is to free students for complete personal fulfillment.
Personal fulfillment is, or should be, a result of all education. School, useful as it should be, does not make up all of children’s education. School is an institution, dealing with large numbers of children; it was established to pass on information needed in life.
The purpose of transmitting information, an academic curriculum, is intellectual challenge. The purpose of progressive education, a freedom curriculum, is emotional nurture. Both are necessary for children. Nevertheless, this question must be asked: What is the function of the institution that is school?
Opposition to progressive education is generally interpreted as hostility to the well being of children. But providing a foundation of knowledge about the world is not hostile to the needs of the young. Nor is it a denial of the fact that children do need emotional nurture. Emotional maturing is, so to speak, a “side effect” of schooling, when it is a solid and well thought out academic curriculum providing intellectual challenge.
I'm not a Core Knowledge person (I agree with the ideas but am not an expert) but I think that your ideas here might align with the principles of CK.
ReplyDelete"Emotional maturing is, so to speak, a “side effect” of schooling, when it is a solid and well thought out academic curriculum providing intellectual challenge."
If I understand correctly, have a good foundation of the world around you can lead to emotional maturing.
Let me comment in a generality. I do not believe that school education can solve all problems in life (for example, lead inevitably to emotional maturing). But I do believe that the right kind of schooling can prepare young people to take control of their lives, having principles and knowledge that can help make the best decisions and serve as a source of strength to help deal when there are problems and when there are not!
ReplyDeleteThe wrong kind of schooling puts obstacles to acquiring such knowledge and strengths.