Introduction

 The Progressive Era is synonymous with change and reform. From 1900 to 1929, this thirty-year period was perhaps one of the most rapidly changing times in American history. America experienced a shift in perspective, from the conservative Victorian ideals to modern, liberating ideals. The Progressive Era produced such giant business moguls as John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Andrew Carnegie. It created the Knights of Labor, the IWW, and the NAACP. Women won the right to vote. So much of this period is characterized by its focus on change and the improvement of social institutions.

 Just as labor, agriculture, and business experienced a revolution during the Progressive Era, so too did the field of education, particularly in the public school system. The public school, long regarded as a necessary but unimportant part of American society, became the center of many reformer’s visions. Reformers, such as John Dewey, increasingly emphasized and facilitated the changes that they thought necessary to the public school system. Their efforts resulted in changes in all aspects of public school- from the physical elements of desks and chairs, to curriculum, to administrators. Even though these changes occurred over 75 years ago, many of them are still in place today. In fact, although the Progressive Era is over, the ideology of public education today is still strongly Progressive.

 Progressive education focused on the student. Progressive reformers thought that students would learn the most if they were interested in what they were learning. Thus, Progressive curricula were centered on what the students wanted to learn, in addition to the traditional academic subjects. Teachers played a crucial role in helping and encouraging the child to learn. Students were allowed much more freedom, both in academics and in physical movement. They were allowed to interact with each other, instead of sitting in a chair and staring at a textbook. Education became a holistic experience, not simply an obligation.

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Michelle Yuen  05/08/2003