The following books may be helpful in offering background information on progressive education and useful perspectives on education and/or parenting.
The School and Society by John Dewey
Transcribed from talks given by the founder of progressive education, John Dewey. These essays from the mid-1800’s discuss his “experiment in education” at the University of Chicago Laboratory School at that time.
I Learn From Children by Caroline Pratt
Written by the founder of The City Country School in New York City, begun in 1914 in order to “fit the school to the child rather than the other way around,” this book details the journey of one progressive school and its intrepid founder in order to combat the lack of success of traditional classroom methods.
Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community by Alfie Kohn
Written by a leader in the field of educational reform and a former teacher, this book contrasts the idea of discipline, in which things are done to students to control how they act, with an approach in which educators work with students to create caring communities where decisions are made together as is done in a progressive school.
What To Look For in a Classroom by Alfie Kohn
Essays written by a scholar, researcher, and leader in educational reform, this book critically examines current educational practices, guiding us toward schooling that encourages children to participate in their learning, transforms classrooms into caring communities, and nourishes children’s curiosity. What he describes is progressive education.
The Schools Our Children Deserve by Alfie Kohn
If there is ONE book parents must read to prepare themselves to evaluate schools, this is it. Drawing on a remarkable body of research and using stories from real classrooms, the author, who is a scholarly critic of traditional education, helps parents and others interested in education understand the need to move beyond a traditional model of teaching, including why a straight-A report card may not be good news.
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Dweck’s research indicates that students who are open to growth as opposed to those who have a fixed mindset are more likely to continue learning even when they encounter obstacles and challenges. Parents and teachers can support this “growth mindset” by encouraging student’s efforts rather than “smarts.” Dweck points out critical research and also suggests how we can all become persistent learners and help our children/students to do so as well!
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
Explains, through groundbreaking brain and behavioral research, how one’s success in life depends more on emotional intelligence than traditional IQ measures.
The Moral Intelligence of Children by Robert Coles
Covers how character develops in children, how their moral imagination grows at different moments in their lives and how moral intelligence can be shaped. Explains how, in the elementary school years, a child’s character is built and consolidated and how schooling is vital in this process.
No Contest by Alfie Kohn
Written by an astute observer and researcher on the issues of competition and its negative social consequences, this book outlines what the research findings show: that competition leads to conflict between individuals, decreased ability to learn, and the inhibition of creativity.
A Life in School: What the Teacher Learned by Jane Tompkins
A memoir written by a professor of English at Duke University, this book delineates how the pressure to perform – to show how smart one is – silences our creative and emotional lives. The thesis presented, that of internal motivation, is imparted by progressive schooling.
