What We Teach and Why: Philosophers of Education from the Enlightenment to the Present

FAIN: FV-267042-19

Boston University (Boston, MA 02215-1390)
Peter Gibbon (Project Director: February 2019 to October 2022)

A three-week seminar for 16 K-12 teachers on the philosophical foundations of American education.

This Seminar at Boston University will explore works of major educational thinkers. We will look at John Locke’s theories on education, Thomas Jefferson’s letters, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s portrait of a young boy’s education, Horace Mann’s reports, William James’ talks, and John Dewey’s essays. We will analyze the debate between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois on African-American education. We will examine Maria Montessori’s message about early childhood education and Mary Wollstonecraft’s early feminism. We will consider critics of Progressive education, such as Arthur Bestor and William C. Bagley.  The Seminar will conclude with the works of two contemporary educational philosophers, Howard Gardner and E.D. Hirsch. The overarching goals of this exploration will be to introduce teachers to debates among significant philosophers of education, to understand connections among their ideas, and to articulate ways their theories can be made relevant to K-12 education.