A survey of progressive education and its application to certain schools of California

A new idea of education is upon us and if we are to achieve a civilization based upon justice and cooperation, realization of a greater personal freedom and the accomplishment of a fuller democracy, education must pave the way. Before this goal can be fully realized, fundamental changes and adjustments must be accomplished in our social and industrial life. A new education will be one of the most potent factors in the reshaping of our national character. This education must be one that will truly equip men and women with knowledge, inspiration, and power necessary to build new institutions, and mold progressive ideas. It must be free, bound by no worn out traditions, and limited by no fixed procedure; not a reparation for life, but life itself. The individual must be trained to make adjustments to his environment and exercise self-criticism along with the power to control and govern himself. In short, the new education must be a spiritual awakening, the discovery of truth and a training in the art of living and play. We are coming to have a new view of education. Much has been said of the spirit of democracy in education, which in reality is nothing more than individual efficiency and self-control. Sometimes, we are so concerned about the results of growth, that we neglect the process of growing. We are just beginning to appreciate the fact that childhood has its own ways of thinking, seeing, and feeling