What is Progressive Education?

I guess this is a pretty good question to start with... progressive education was founded on the research and educational philosophy of John Dewey, and has been part of the American Education system for about 100 years. What's complicated about it is this idea that today everything has a label. When I tell people about my school, they ask, "Is it Montessori? Waldorf? What is it?" It's as if everything needs to have a brand name. Progressive education cannot be so simply labeled. Montessori, especially is often misunderstood, and cannot even be defined by it's own label from school to school.

The other aspect about progressive education that complicates it's explanation, is that our educational system has already begun to use so much of it's philosophy as standard practice, that people have a hard time seeing how it is different from other types of schooling. Constructivist math, the use of manipulatives, inquiry science, writer’s and reader’s workshop... all has their roots in progressive teaching practices. But it's hard to delineate when the other side of education today is focused on NCLB, testing, scores, student achievement... very goal oriented. I would say progressive education has always been process over product, while schooling today, is focused primarily on the product, which in most cases is passing a test. This is very different.

So basically, it's hard to explain progressive education in our current educational context... people either expect it to be a brand, or to have some sort of outcome different from simply letting children experience and live their lives.

The video, "Big Kids at The Little School" is a terrific example of how kids see their school as different from others. They will be fast to point out that they don't have desks (tables instead) that they don't get grades, report cards, they call teachers by the first name... these are the obvious and easily seen aspects of our school. The subtle differences are what make us different. There is a lot to be said about what children experience in a progressive school, but also a lot to be said about a teacher's experience in a progressive school.

As a teacher, according to Dewey, I am to be trusted to know what is best for my own students. This means that no one else dictates what I do in my classroom. I am responsible for knowing each child on a very intimate level, and knowing how to teach each of my students. The administration and parents need to trust this. This means that I am constantly reviewing my practice, looking at curriculum, changing my ideas, taking classes and learning to teach differently for each group of students I work with.