Progressive Education in the 1940s

This video shows progressive education and how children learn and participate in the classroom. It was created because children were not learning basic fundamentals.

"For generations, public schooling in the United States followed a rigid, unchanging pattern."

After the introduction, you see the children calmly entering the school building, greeting their teacher, and saying a prayer. Then they get to work learning multiplication as well as other subjects. The primary way of learning was through drills and repetition. The video also showed the teacher used strict discipline to keep his classroom under control. Corporal punishment was allowed, and you see the teacher spanking a kid with what appears to be a large ruler. It's interesting to see how school once was back in the 1940s since, in today's age, most corporal punishment has been limited.

"For millions of today's youngsters, going to school is actually fun."

The video then shifts to college life and how students learn by doing. Teachers also focused on practical teaching methods. Students are seen sawing, tying rope, and painting words on model displays. The video also emphasized how kids learned while having fun. There were also reminders of lessons on self-restraint.

Overall, it was nice to see how times were back in the day. In some ways, there are times I wish our education system would go back to its roots. It seems children learn better without all the distractions we have in today's society. There were no cell phones or computers.

References

[Danieljbmitchell]. (2007, August 12). Progressive Education in the 1940s [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/opXKmwg8VQM?si=0aQmBWXU-9YyK9tc