What are Schools For?: Holistic Education in American CultureIdentifies key cultural themes that have influenced the purpose, structure, and methods of modern educational institutions. Miller explains, for example, how the modern worldview associated with capitalism and scientific reductionism underlies conventional assumptions about schools, teaching, and learning. Miller then demonstrates that holistic education, grounded in a fundamentally different worldview, reflects very different assumptions about education and schooling. Miller says that holistic education has philosophical roots in the romantic and Transcendentalist movements of the nineteenth century, but it has developed into a sophisticated postmodern critique of contemporary schooling. He defines the contributions that various dissident educators have made to the holistic critique, from Pestalozzi and Froebel, to Montessori and Steiner, to progressive and humanistic educators. – from publishers description. |
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adult Alcott American culture American education American society anarchism argued asserted belief capitalism Channing child child-centered conservative creative critics critique curriculum democracy democratic Dewey Dewey's discipline economic educa Emerson emphasis environment goals growth historians holistic approach holistic educators holistic paradigm holistic tradition human development human nature humanistic ideals ideas immigrant individual industrial institutions intellectual intelligence John Dewey Kaestle Karier learning liberal major Mann materialistic method middle class Montessori Montessori method moral Naumburg needs Neef open classroom Parker Pearce pedagogical Pestalozzi philosophy political potential professional progressive education Progressivism Protestant Protestantism public education public school radical reform religious rience romantic Rudolf Steiner school movement scientific scientific reductionism scientism social efficiency social order social problems spiritual spontaneous Steiner Sudbury Valley School teacher teaching themes Thoreau tion traditional education Transcendentalists twentieth century unfolding values Waldorf Waldorf education Whigs William Ellery Channing worldview York