Publication date:
07 October 2011Length of book:
192 pagesPublisher
R&L EducationDimensions:
245x165mm6x10"
ISBN-13: 9781607097235
This is a book is of educational ideas, commentaries, and observations from the past. The passages recorded here come from educational writings that were produced between 1880 and 1935—a time period that began with spirited calls for school reform and ended with a new and different concept of what it meant to be educated. It was this new concept of education that laid the foundation for the modern American school system.
I suspect that those who enjoy reading literature from a variety of genre have a reference text in their personal or professional library that is a compilation of famous quotes from well known writers, politicians, philosophers, scientists, and humorists. I have one, I admit. Foundations of Modern School Practices is such a book in that it brings together pertinent passages that eloquently, elaborately, pointedly, or expertly illustrate trends, beliefs, practices, and observations. It is different, however, in that it focuses on the contributions of educational historians, teacher and administrator trainers, child psychologists, and theorists during the period 1880–1935. It provides insight into the developing story of a system of free, universal, public education in the United States while educating the reader in the uncanny parallel arguments and concerns that are still factors in contemporary public schools and modern educators. It provides a rich and diverse source of quotes that can salt an academic's lectures and season the casual reader with historical knowledge. It is fascinating and useful.