A noted educator and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author team up to introduce readers to progressive education, which has been forging creative thinkers in the United States for more than 100 years, and explain how this practice—which emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration—can turn students into lifelong learners.
Provides an introduction to progressive education and explains how this practice--which emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration--can turn students into lifelong learners.
The late Little, who was a school leader, and Ellison, a former foreign correspondent and author, describe Little's teaching experience, tour of 43 progressive schools in the US, and the history of progressive education to illustrate how it can re-instill the love of learning in students and help them reach their highest potential. They detail progressive education's practices of teaching the whole child, using the senses, building character and community, using technology, and promoting social justice, as well as its better forms of assessments and its pitfalls. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
Noted educator Tom Little and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Katherine Ellison reveal the home-grown solution to turning American students into life-long learners.
The longtime head of Park Day School, Tom Little embarked on a tour of 43 progressive schools across the country. In this book, his life’s work, he interweaves his teaching experience, the knowledge he gleaned from his trip, and the history of Progressive Education. As Little and Katherine Ellison reveal, these educators and schools invigorate learning and promote inquisitiveness by allowing the curriculum to grow organically out of children's questions—whether they lead to studying the senses, working on a farm, or re-creating a desert ecosystem in the classroom.We see curious students draw on information across disciplines to think in imaginative yet practical ways, like in a "Mini-Maker Faire" or designing and building a chair from scratch. Becoming good citizens was another of Little's goals. He believed in the need for students to learn how to become advocates for themselves, from setting rules on the playground to engaging in issues of social justice in the wider community.Using the philosophy of Progressive Education, schools can prepare students to shape a vibrant future in the arts and sciences for themselves and the nation.
