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Article: What can we learn from progressive education?
- Article from:
- Radical Teacher
- Article date:
- March 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Center for Critical Education, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Why should radical teachers today reflect on the progressive education movement of the early twentieth century? Conservatives like Diane Ravitch claim that in the first half of the twentieth century the progressive education movement came to dominate U.S. public schools, leading to a decline of standards, a lack of respect for authority, and a general weakening that they say laid the foundation for the current "crisis" in education. (1) Despite the dubious nature of these claims, they continue to be asserted by both politicians and policy makers. Meanwhile, those on the left often hold up the progressive education movement as providing a model for what democratic schools ...