Progressive Education
If you are a parent or educator wondering what Progressive education means, and what it actually looks like in practice, you are not alone. Probably you had a more traditional educational experience yourself. You may have sketchy ideas about Progressive education as being alternative, loosey-goosey, undemanding, and idealistic.
On the contrary, Progressive education boasts a long, successful tradition of thoughtful practice and inquiry about what is the best way to educate children. You can read about its early origins. We have identified the core ideas that are generally agreed to lie behind progressive education, and we describe the key tenets that Miquon has embraced during its 80 years of existence.
We believe that the values and ideals of Progressive education have remained remarkably relevant as society has moved from the industrial age to our era of astonishing technology and information glut. The accelerating pace of global change makes it difficult to guess what the world that our students will inhabit as adults will be like. As we anticipate the 21st century skills and aptitudes that our students should take with them into adulthood, publicly mandated standards and curricula seem sadly inadequate to the task of guiding the development of our young people as good citizens of the future. We invite you to find out more about Progressive education and consider whether it isn’t a more promising way forward.
Two prominent national organizations currently active in supporting educators in Progressive schools include the Progressive Education Network, and the Coalition of Essential Schools.