conventional practices, including homework, grades, and tests, prove difficult
to justify for anyone who is serious about promoting long-term dispositions
rather than just improving short-term skills.
Some of the features that I’ve listed here will seem objectionable, or at least
unsettling, to educators at more traditional schools
A truly impressive collection of research has demonstrated that when students
are able to spend more time thinking about ideas than memorizing facts and
practicing skills — and when they are invited to help direct their own learning
— they are not only more likely to enjoy what they’re doing but to do it better.
Progressive education isn’t just more appealing; it’s also more productive.
Is the education that the oldest students receive just as progressive as that
offered to the youngest, or would a visitor conclude that those in the upper
grades seem to attend a different school altogether?