“So what is progressive education?”

Then

Ask a dozen people to define “progressive education” and, perhaps appropriately, you may receive a dozen different answers – from the strictly pedagogical to the wholly political, from the pithy to the ponderous.

Often, we define “progressive education” by what it is not.

In the mid-19th century, secondary school curricula often centered on classical Greek and Latin texts and preparation for a select few universities. Generally, “white males […] filled seats in classrooms and were therefore the beneficiaries of classical learning.” By design, schools were hierarchical and exclusionary.

Progressive education was to be the opposite.

In 1916, progressive reformer John Dewey published Democracy in Education in which he “enunciated the principle of growth as the essence of educational activity;” in short, education (and thus growth) was not about mastering specific skills or completing specific tasks: “growth was its own end.”3

An ally of Hull House founder Jane Addams, Dewey also believed that schools were key to ongoing social reform in America. In school, young people should explore, debate, and practice democracy, in collaboration with faculty. Curriculum should align with the “real-life occupational and democratic experiences of the surrounding society.”4 And, schools should be nothing like monarchies. Collaborative, democratic laboratories were more apt – ones where research topics “evolv[ed] from children’s interests and needs.”5

Think fewer desks in rows, fewer textbooks and less rote memorization. More time outside, more open-ended conversation and hands-on exploration. In short, “American progressives rejected the formalism and routines of traditional schools.”2

Following World War I, when progressive reforms had stalled, Caroline Pratt developed a “play-oriented curriculum at a private school” in Greenwich Village. Pratt championed the development of individual creativity and potential, which in turn would benefit society as a whole; however, she also eschewed Dewey’s civic and social mindset.6

In the 1920s, “reconstructionist and child-centered progressives continued to differ on education’s social and political role,” and the extent to which schools should (or could) remain “ideologically neutral.” Even the most virulent reformers were themselves inconsistent, often remaining “basically silent on the issue of race.”8

From today’s vantage point, one hundred years later, this question of the educational and the political looms large. In short, even progressive education’s initial champions did not agree on what it means and how it should play out, or stay out of in a burgeoning democracy.

Contemporary progressive schools draw from the same deep pool of ideas, but priorities and practices can vary significantly among institutions. Some may draw from Dewey and others from Pratt; some from William Kilpatricks’ “project method” and others from Francis Parker’s focus on students’ “own interests and curiosities.”9

In 1770, British statesman Edmund Burke wrote, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one.”10 This text is often cited as the inspiration for the phrase, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

When founding Edmund Burke School in 1968, Dick Roth and Jean Mooskin connected this social imperative with Dewey’s social engagement.

From the offset, civic engagement and a democratic, participatory approach to education were high priorities. At Burke, students would be active participants in their education and in their communities – and encouraged to explore, iterate, and continually grow.

Today, those values are reflected in Burke’s “Portrait of a Graduate” which focuses on authentic self-actualization and ethical active citizenship. The Portrait also acknowledges an uncertain future, striving to equip students with curiosity, creativity, and adaptability.

Progressivism also informs day-to-day choices, ones that students associate with Burke long after they have graduated:

• students and teachers are on a first-name basis to lessen hierarchy in the classroom

• the “no cut” policy in performing arts and athletics encourages continual exploration and risk-taking

• students engage in service and civic engagement curriculum specific to their grade level

• teachers incorporate the capital city and its resources into their coursework

• faculty and staff keep their doors open literally and figuratively

• our open campus gives high school students autonomy and responsibility for their time

• clubs and affinity groups are all student-led and managed

• school traditions are appreciated but not fixed students can change and develop them over time

• from middle school passion projects to senior projects students have great flexibility in what they research and how they present it – and what comes next

Broadly, progressive education creates space where students’ voices matter, where they can ask strange and unsettling questions, where they can catalyze change and truly participate in some of the most formative years of their lives.

Ella

John

Caroline

William Kilpatrick (1871-1965)

”… Burke places the intellectual, physical and creative lives of our students at the center of all our efforts. Our teachers know, respect and appreciate their students as individual, unique learners, and nurture their social and emotional well-being.” - Our Educational Philosophy (excerpt)