I have always been fascinated by the early practices of education, and this episode on American education from 1900- 1950 was no exception. I found it appalling that students coming to America had to actually go to school part-time because of the massive influx of children from overseas whose parents longed for their children to have better opportunities than they themselves had.
I found the concepts of Dewey to be really refreshing even though he was so before his time that his vision could not be truly appreciated. The concept of exercising the body and the mind, of moving from class to class, having art classes and nature classes, and also teaching life skills are things that I feel are essential to a well balanced education. I am saddened that at the time these concepts were misunderstood, because I feel they could have done a lot of good for the youth of our country at this crucial time in history.
I also found the discussion of IQ testing to be shocking and fascinating. I would give just about anything to get an original copy of one of those IQ tests for the wall in my office!! The concept of asking students questions that even I don't know the answer to, and then having the results follow that student for the rest of their education incredible. The cultural and socio-economical biases of these tests were mind-boggling, and it is just terrible to me that even years and years later I had to take IQ tests before entering kindergarten. A dark chapter of our country's educational history, but fascinating none the less.
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