The U.S. education system at the turn of the 20th century shifted away from John Dewey's progressive ideas that emphasized critical thinking, problem solving, and focusing on each child as an individual. Instead, political pressure from industry prioritized making schools more efficient like factories, with children placed in rows expected to answer the same questions uniformly. This standardized model of education has since been criticized for not adequately preparing students for the modern workplace, though changing the entrenched system presents difficulties.

1. U.S. Education System at the Turn of
the 20th Century
Although John Dewey, at the beginning of the
20th Century, believed in:
• knowing through critical inquiry,
• the problem-solving approach and
experimental focus of scientific method to
govern one’s own life and to lay the
foundation of reasonable and ethical
organizations,

2. The political pressure from industry to make
education of children as efficient as business
and industry, who were now using the new
mechanization of assembly-line production,
proved too much of a force against an
education system that focused on the child as
an individual critical thinker and problem
solver.

3. Work Place
This Way

4. But, they’ve all been placed in rows, expected to answer the
same questions with the same answer……

5. …and learned how to “bubble”
successfully……
RULE: First eliminate the two of the four multiple choice answers that you are
sure do not make sense to answer the question. Then spend your time deciding
which of the remaining two answers best addresses the question.

6. Today, We’re Being Told that our
Graduates are not Prepared for the
Workplace

7. So, apparently what we’ve been doing
is not as successful as some have
thought

8. But now that we’ve done it this way
for so many years, how do we change?

9. The Progressive Education Association, inspired by Dewey’s ideas, later codified his doctrines as
follows:
1. The conduct of the pupils shall be governed by themselves, according to the social needs of
the community.
2. Interest shall be the motive for all work.
3. Teachers will inspire a desire for knowledge, and will serve as guides in the investigations
undertaken, rather than as task-masters.
4. Scientific study of each pupil’s development, physical, mental, social and spiritual, is
absolutely essential to the intelligent direction of his development.
5. Greater attention is paid to the child’s physical needs, with greater use of the out-of-doors.
6. Cooperation between school and home will fill all needs of the child’s development such as
music, dancing, play and other extra-curricular activities.
7. All progressive schools will look upon their work as of the laboratory type, giving freely to the
sum of educational knowledge the results of their experiments in child culture. These rules for
education sum up the theoretical conclusions of the reform movement begun by Colonel
Francis Parker and carried forward by Dewey at the laboratory school he set up
John Dewey’s Theories of Education
By W. F. Warde (George Novack)
Written: 1960
Source: International Socialist Review, Vol. 21, No. 1, Winter 1960.
Transcription/Editing: 2005 by Daniel Gaido
HTML Markup: 2005 by David Walters
Public Domain:George Novak Internet Archive 2005; This work is completely free. In any reproduction, we ask that you cite this Internet address and the publishing
information above.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/novack/works/1960/x03.htm

10. The path of least resistance
and least trouble is a mental
rut already made. It requires
troublesome work to
undertake the alteration of
old beliefs.
John Dewey