In this blog, I aim to share more about Henry Schuller (H.S.) Townsend. He was one of Hawai‘i’s leading American progressive educators who was “expected to be appointed the first superintendent of public instruction as soon as the territorial government was established” (Hunt, 1969, p. 297), but who was ousted from the position in 1900 because of the “aggressive Americanization campaign…[implemented in the] territory’s public schools” (Americanization through the school system, 2023). I was first introduced to Townsend while researching the chronology of public education leadership in Hawai‘i during the Kingdom, Republic, and Territorial time periods (see the chart below).
Voices from the 1919 Hanahau'oli School Brochure: Insights from a Historical Inquiry into the School’s Original Brain Trust
There are many important voices who have shaped and continue to shape the ongoing progressive education movement. For example, the quotes from John Dewey and George Herbert Mead–written into a Hanahau'oli School brochure published in 1919–are as relevant today as they were when the pamphlet was first printed. Listed under a section of the brochure titled, “Aim and General Methods,” the words of Dewey and Mead frame the overall philosophy and pedagogy of the school at its founding. They serve as a foundation, or starting point from which the architects of the school’s original design could lean on and build off of as they “tried new methods and broke with the stilted formal type of instruction which was common at that time” (Cooke, 1964, p. 79).
Continuing to Grow the Modern Progressive Education Movement in Hawai‘i
In this final musing on the many thought-provoking questions posed at the Modern Progressive Education Panel Discussion for Human Restoration Project’s first ever Conference to Restore Humanity! (view a complete recording of our discussion online here), let us examine the ways the progressive education movement has grown between the early 1900s and today. Human Restoration Project’s Chris McNutt posed the following questions to Josh Reppun, ambassador for WhatSchoolCouldBe.org, Brendan McCarthy, a scholar-in-residence in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Progressive Philosophy and Pedagogy graduate program, and myself. What are the driving factors behind the growth of the modern progressive education movement? What is different in a modern progressive education versus that of the past? How is it expanding today?
A Moral Imperative: Why School--University Professional Development School Partnerships Are Critical to the Progressive Education Movement
John Goodlad is a giant in the history of the progressive education movement. He lived with strong moral convictions and had the incredible ability to turn his ideas into action. A devotee of John Dewey, Goodlad envisioned schools “where accomplished teachers could lead their peers, where students are not grouped by age, and where the ability to discuss and assess ideas matter more than test scores” (Woo, 2014). Author of the highly influential book, A Place Called School (1984), Goodlad documented the now classic eight-year study of 38 schools in 13 communities,
Launching A Brand New MEd-CS Progressive Philosophy and Pedagogy Program
Education in the post COVID-19 pandemic period has the potential to dramatically shift societies globally and create lasting positive change: increased climate consciousness, a more ethical integration of technology within the human experience, increased care for the social emotional well-being of individuals and communities, and more socially just forms of democratic governance. In the words of progressive era philosopher John Dewey (1916), “as societ[ies] become more enlightened, [they] realize that [they are] responsible not to transmit and conserve the whole of [their] existing achievements, but only such as make for a better future society. The school is its chief agency for the accomplishment of this end” (p. 20). Now is the time for educators and society at-large to reflect on what we want to take with us from pre COVID-19 life, what pandemic era innovations we want to carry forward, and what aspects of collective living no longer serve us.