Influential people in education

1. INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
IN EDUCATION

2. 17TH CENTURY 1601 - 1700
• John Amos Comenius
• Comenius (1592-1670) was a Czech educator and writer.
• He is considered to be one of the most important pioneers of modern day
education and a forerunner to many philosophers and educational theorists.
• He designed currently followed schooling structure, formulated a generalized
theory of education, and outlined several important tenets of child education.

3. 17TH CENTURY 1601 - 1700
• John Locke
• Locke (1632-1704) was a British philosopher credited with having a significant influence on the foundational philosophy of the
US.
• His impact on education was the articulation of the relationship between a well-educated populace and self-governance, and
the concept of mind being a tabula rasa, a blank slate, at birth that is impacted by its surrounding
• Play-things, I think, children should have, and of divers sorts; but still to be in the custody of their tutors or some body else,
whereof the child should have in his power but one at once, and should not be suffered to have another but when he restored
that. This teaches them betimes to be careful of not losing or spoiling the things they have; whereas plenty and variety in their
own keeping, makes them wanton and careless, and teaches them from the beginning to be squanderers and wasters. These, I
confess, are little things, and such as will seem beneath the care of a governor; but nothing that may form children’s minds is to
be overlooked and neglected, and whatsoever introduces habits, and settles customs in them, deserves the care and attention
of their governors, and is not a small thing in its consequences."

4. 17TH CENTURY 1601 - 1700
• Isaac Newton
• Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643 to March 31, 1727) was a physicist and
mathematician who developed the principles of modern physics
• Including the laws of motion, and is credited as one of the great minds of the
17th century Scientific Revolution.
• his discoveries had a large impact on Western thought, leading to comparisons to
the likes of Plato, Aristotle and Galileo.

5. 18TH CENTURY 1701 - 1800
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Rousseau (1712-1778) was a French philosopher.
• He articulated a vision of education different than thinkers before him.
• He believed that students should be student in accordance with their capacities
and development, and argued against a teacher centered education where
knowledge is disseminated based on a predetermined curriculum. His best known
work on education is Emile.

6. 18TH CENTURY 1701 - 1800
• Johann Pestalozzi
• Pestalozzi (1746-1827) was a Romantic Swiss educationalist and education
reformer.
• He posited an extremely personal view on education believing that education was
the foundation for an individual’s life.
• He also played a significant role in the development of physical education and its
implementation in school curriculum.

7. 18TH CENTURY 1701 - 1800
• Johann Friedrich Herbart
• Herbart (1776-1841) was a German philosopher, psychologist, and professor.
• He believed in the systematic organization of education and instruction in well-
defined steps, and has strongly influenced teacher education in many countries.
• He also helped bring subjects such as history to the forefront as a result of their
ability to teach moral values and virtues.

8. 19TH CENTURY 1801 – 1900
•Herbert Spencer
• Spencer (1820-1903) was an English Social Darwinist who believed that
individuals of greater intellect and skill will slowly but surely replace their inferior
counterparts.
• He advocated the use of the scientific method to reach the truth.
• He was against public schools, and instead believed that private schools ought to
compete for the brightest students.

9. 19TH CENTURY 1801 – 1900
• Margaret Bancroft
• Bancroft (1854-1912) was a pioneer of special education in American society.
• She believed that there were fundamental differences between children who
suffer from developmental abnormalities and those who do not.
• As a consequence, children with developmental delay problems need a different
approach to education.

10. 19TH CENTURY 1801 – 1900
• John Dewey
• Dewey (1859-1952) is arguably the most influential educational thinker of the
twentieth century.
• In particular, he greatly shaped American education.
• He was focused on pragmatism, and as a result, made schools susceptible to
change and progress. He also influenced the “hands-on” approach for facilitating
better and more involved education for students.

11. 20TH CENTURY 1901 - 2000
• Maria Montessori
• Montessori (1870-1952) was an Italian educator and the first Italian female
qualified as a physician.
• Like her predecessors she realized the importance of early experiences on a
child’s later development.
• She focused her work on addressing early education as a formative block for later
life.
• Her legacy resides in the thousands of Montessori Schools that operate
worldwide today.

12. 20TH CENTURY 1901 - 2000
• Jean Piaget
• Piaget (1896-1980) was a Swiss developmental psychologist whose contribution to
education came through his groundbreaking work on the growth of knowledge –
from children to adults.
• In particular, he researched the cognitive development of children. This research
linked children and their education, and greatly influenced elementary education
practices
• His particular insight was the role of maturation (simply growing up) in children’s
increasing capacity to understand their world: they cannot undertake certain tasks
until they are psychologically mature enough to do so

13. 20TH CENTURY 1901 - 2000
• Paulo Freire
• Freire (1921-1997) was a Brazilian educationalist who is well known for his text
Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
• He believed that education was more than simple literacy; rather it should be a
vehicle for people to assess their conditions and those responsible for it.
• Education, for Freire, was supposed to include questions about the search for
identity, equality, and justice.

14. 21ST CENTURY 2001 - PRESENT
• Diane Ravitch
• Diane Ravitch has held key positions in education under two U.S. presidents, helping build a decade’s
worth of educational policy and assessments. Yet, Ravitch is unique among education reformers in that her
• experience in government actually shifted her opinions on what reforms American schools need to
succeed. While working under George H.W. Bush, she was an advocate of school choice and accountability.
Later, under George W. Bush, she helped develop and implement No Child Left Behind. While Ravitch once
supported these policies, she eventually became disillusioned by them, realizing that neither would help
make the drastic changes necessary to reform American education. Since then, Ravitch has become an
outspoken opponent of NCLB, charter schools, and test-based accountability. She is a one of the loudest
and most important voices in education reform today and her books, articles, and commentary on
education matters are some of the most sought-after and respected, making her a sure player in any
educational change in the future.

15. 21ST CENTURY 2001 - PRESENT
• Linda Darling-Hammond
• Linda Darling-Hammond has been a major force in education for almost two decades.
• As a professor at Stanford, she helped to redesign the school’s teacher education program, offering teachers in
training a chance to learn how to work with students from diverse backgrounds and better navigate subject matter
standards. More importantly, however, she served as the executive direct of the National Commission of Teaching
and America’s Future which, in 1996, produced a highly influential blueprint for education reform called What
Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future. Darling-Hammond continues to be at the leading edge of education,
but not necessarily in reinventing the classroom experience, at least for K-12 students.
• Her influence has been in changing teacher education itself, both at Stanford and around the state of California. She
has worked to develop a network of education and professional development schools that cater to the needs of
teachers and that help them learn about ways they can lead reform and change in their own communities and
classrooms. Darling-Hammond’s belief that teachers, not bureaucrats, need to be the ones reforming education will
have far-reaching implications for educational change in the U.S

16. 21ST CENTURY 2001 - PRESENT
• Anant Agarwal
• While traditional education isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, if ever, online education is
becoming an ever larger force in how students learn, from grade school all the way up to grad
school.
• At the forefront of that change are people like professor of electrical engineering Anant Agarwal.
Agarwal is the first president of the MIT-based project edX, an online education endeavor that’s
bringing together free course materials from MIT and Harvard and providing access to students
anywhere in the world.
• Agarwal believes that over the next few years, other large universities are going to want to offer
their courses through the edX platform as well and that this change offers students from all over
the world access to high quality education, regardless of their backgrounds or economic
circumstances. With the success of previous online educational ventures like MITx and MIT
OpenCourseWare in mind, edX seems poised to have a serious impact on both online education
and education as a whole

17. MY THOUGHTS
• As a current teacher and future principal, I believe it is imperative to learn about those who came
before you in your respective field for a multitude of reasons. The first I believe is knowing what came
before you will allow one to learn from the positives as well as the negatives of your predecessors. I also
believe it is important to know about these strong educational pioneers because they are a big component
of how and why we are so fortunate to do what we are currently doing wish at minimum deserves our time
and respect. One of the most amusing things I appreciated about this assignment was reading about the
lives of the individuals outside of education. It showed how relative they were, and provided myself with a
sense of comfort and confidence because of it. Each individual may not have known how important their
lives or work would be to modern day education, but they all dedicated their efforts to things that were
bigger than themselves. That selfless nature and amazing determination is uplifting and inspiring. I do not
know what kind of legacy I will leave when all is said and done, but if I can touch and motivate people like
this assignment did for me even if it is for one person I would view it as an accomplishment.

18. REFERENCES
• DegreeCentral.com. (2017). 20 Influential Figures in Education - DegreeCentral.com.
[online] Available at: http://degreecentral.com/blog/2010/10/29/20-influential-
figures-in-education/
• TeachThought. (2017). 12 People Changing Education As We Know It. [online]
Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/12-people-
changing-education-as-we-know-it/
• Biography.com. (2017). Famous People in Education. [online] Available at:
https://www.biography.com/people/groups/education-and-academia [Accessed 30
Oct. 2017].
• John Locke. Some Thoughts Concerning Education. Vol. XXXVII, Part 1. The Harvard
Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909-1914.

19. REFERENCES
• Biography.com. (2017). Isaac Newton. [online] Available at:
https://www.biography.com/people/isaac-newton-9422656
• McLendon, K. (2017). Jean Piaget: Cognitive Development in the Classroom |
Funderstanding: Education, Curriculum and Learning Resources. [online]
Funderstanding.com. Available at: http://www.funderstanding.com/educators/jean-
piaget-cognitive-development-in-the-classroom/
• Comenius, J. (2017). John Amos Comenius - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia.
[online] Alchetron.com. Available at: https://alchetron.com/John-Amos-Comenius-
1067448-W
• Linc2016.mit.edu. (2017). LINC 2016 – Anant Agarwal. [online] Available at:
http://linc2016.mit.edu/program/speakers/anant-arguwal

20. REFERENCES
• Uoguelph.ca. (2017). Philosophy | College of Arts. [online] Available at:
https://www.uoguelph.ca/arts/philosophy/
• Kim, A. (2017). Johann Friedrich Herbart. [online] Plato.stanford.edu. Available at:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/johann-herbart
• Early-evolution.oeb.harvard.edu. (2017). Herbert Spencer. [online] Available at:
https://early-evolution.oeb.harvard.edu/herbert-spencer
• TeachThought. (2017). 12 People Changing Education As We Know It. [online]
Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/12-people-
changing-education-as-we-know-it/

21. REFERENCES
• UnfilteredUnfiltered, N. and UnfilteredUnfiltered, N. (2017). John Dewey Stock Photos and
Pictures | Getty Images. [online] Gettyimages.com. Available at:
http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/john-
dewey?excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=john%20de
wey
• Montessori Northwest - Montessori Teacher Training & Professional Development in Portland,
Oregon. (2017). Maria Montessori and AMI. [online] Available at: https://montessori-
nw.org/maria-montessori-and-ami/
• Piaget.org. (2017). Jean Piaget Society - About Piaget. [online] Available at:
http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html
• Ed.stanford.edu. (2017). Stanford faculty named among most influential in shaping education
policy and practice | Stanford Graduate School of Education. [online] Available at:
https://ed.stanford.edu/news/stanford-faculty-named-among-most-influential-shaping-
education-policy-and-practice

22. REFERENCES
• Lovett, K. and Edelman, A. (2017). Working Families Party eyeing Diane Ravitch as
possible challenger against Gov. Cuomo. [online] NY Daily News. Available at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/working-families-party-eyeing-
diane-ravitch-challenger-gov-cuomo-blog-entry-1.1808233
• User, S. (2017). Paulo Freire. [online] Charter for Compassion. Available at:
https://charterforcompassion.org/paulo-freire [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].