October 20 – Big Birthdays in American Education

nPostednon October 20, 2014

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nBirth of the firstnpublic school n

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This is the Mather School at the “turn
of the century” – that is, the early 1900s.

nOnnthis date in 1635, the Mather School was opened in Massachusetts. Itnis the oldest public elementary school in the United States –nactually, the oldest such in all of North America!

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nBacknin the early 1600s, the people of Massachusetts hired a schoolmasternto each English, Latin, “other tongues,” and writing. Now MathernSchool includes instruction in reading, writing, math, music, art,nphysical education, science, library, nutrition, and computers. n

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Birth of anneducation reformer

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nAlsonon this date—but in 1859—the psychologist and philosopher JohnnDewey was born in Vermont.

nHe ended up being one of the mostnimportant voices for progressive education, and his writings havenbeen assigned to generations of teachers-in-training.

nPublicneducation, progressive education

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nTherenare two ideas behind public education:

n Alln of society benefits if its people are educated.

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n Educationn shouldn’t be just for the children of the rich and powerful – itn should be for everybody.

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nInagree wholeheartedly with both of those ideas, but I still do notnlike what public education has grown to be: compulsory (which meansnthat kids HAVE to go, by law, unless they go to a private school ornlegally homeschool), standards-based (rather than children-based),noriented on rewards and punishments (although both have been shown tondiscourage deep, long-lasting learning), and test-crazy (and when Insay “crazy,” I mean really crazy!). n

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nIt’snstrange to say that all the countless educators who said they lovednDewey’s ideas about education, and assigned education students tonread his books, seemed to me to ignore his biggest and best ideasnabout education:

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Educationn is interactive; students must not just passively “take in”n curriculum, but must experience, interact with, and exploren curriculum.

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Educationn isn’t just about learning facts; it’s about learning how to live.n Therefore, schools should be places of choice, of democracy, ofn blossoming self-reliance.

Educationn isn’t primarily about acquiring a pre-determined set of skills andn knowledge, but rather it’s about learning about oneself, about one’sn talents and passions, and developing to one’s full potential.

Rathern than having teachers stand in the front of the classroom doling outn bits of information, teachers should become facilitators and guidesn as students do active inquiry.