Lefty Parent

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Living & parenting without the rule book

Posts Tagged ‘John Dewey’

Five Themes of American Conventional Wisdom Part 2: Scientism & the Culture of Professionalism

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Following up on yesterday’s post, “Five Themes of American Conventional Wisdom”, I continue the thread by looking at my friend Ron Miller’s second theme (from his book, What Are Schools For?) which he labels as “Scientific Reductionism”. What intrigues me most in his text is his description of science as a belief system or “ism” (scientism) and the “culture of professionalism” that emerged in America from that belief system.

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Posted by Cooper Zale, in Context 3 Comments »

Education Alternatives 102: Mann, Dewey & Lane

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Education Innovators Horace Mann, John Dewey & Homer Lane

Following up on my recent “School Alternatives 101” post, I want to share some quotes from three great educational innovators who were “parents” (in this case, all “fathers”) of the three types of educational alternatives I talked about in my post. I want to focus on their visions’ of who drives the educational process, which I believe is a key way to distinguish these three approaches from each other. This may seem like “education-wonk” stuff to some of you, but I think it is really important, even from a parent’s point of view, when considering educational options for your and other kids. (more…)

Posted by Cooper Zale, in Education 5 Comments »