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Restoring Progressive Values

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Title: Restoring Progressive Values
Language: English
Authors: Berman, Sheldon H.
Source: School Administrator. Nov 2005 62(10):16-16.
Availability: American Association of School Administrators. 801 North Quincy Street Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22203-1730. Tel: 703-528-0700; Fax: 703-841-1543; e-mail: info@aasa.org; Web site: http://www.aasa.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 1
Publication Date: 2005
Document Type: Journal Articles
Opinion Papers
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Educational Change, Public Education, Democracy, Progressive Education, Values, Essays
ISSN: 0036-6439
Abstract: Irwin Blumer, a colleague and mentor, once said that it is the vision one articulates and the values one holds dear that provide the real leadership to move a school district forward. In his own tenure as superintendent, the values of equity and respect for human differences were paramount, and everyone in his district knew it. Today, in an era of standards, testing and accountability, it is all too easy to forget the larger mission of public education and that values matter. "Holding Values: What We Mean by Progressive Education" is a collection of essays by members of the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation that affirm the vital importance of the quality of children's lives and the ideal of participatory democracy in education. For the author of this paper, "Holding Values" is an eloquent reminder of the power of progressive values to guide his work along more child-centered and democratic lines and to reclaim the original vision of public education--developing thoughtful citizens who can sustain their democracy.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2006
Access URL: https://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorIssue.aspx?id=3878
Accession Number: EJ726649
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0018636628;5ff01nov.05;2017Nov09.02:34;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0018636628-1">Restoring Progressive Values </title> <p>Irwin Blumer, a colleague and mentor, once told me it is the vision you articulate and the values you hold dear that provide the real leadership to move a school district forward. In his own tenure as superintendent, the values of equity and respect for human differences were paramount, and everyone in his district knew it. Today, in an era of standards, testing and accountability, it is all too easy to forget the larger mission of public education and that values matter.</p> <p>Holding Values: What We Mean by Progressive Education is a collection of essays by members of the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation that affirm the vital importance of the quality of children's lives and the ideal of participatory democracy in education.</p> <p>I became superintendent in Hudson, Mass., in 1993, the same year the Massachusetts Education Reform Act was passed. I was familiar with the work of the North Dakota Study Group, which gave me a rich understanding of progressive practice and a progressive vision of education. Those were heady times. A court case had moved the Massachusetts legislature to create a more equitable funding formula and a set of progressive reform policies. The national math teachers' organization had broken with tradition by creating a set of standards framed around core concepts and an instructional model guided by inquiry and investigation. These soon were followed by science frameworks that called on teachers to transform their instruction from didactic lectures to inquiry-based investigations. Much progress was made in the early years of reform.</p> <p>However, current national and state policies have set back authentic reform. We have become obsessed with testing in contrast to learning. As Susan Harman, one of the book's contributors, points out: "Our infatuation with tests has become a toxic obsession." When our primary goal in education is to broaden the horizons and perspectives of young people and to stimulate their creativity and curiosity, we continue to narrow our focus to what can be tested. The frustration over the current direction of reform is palpable among many educators.</p> <p>Holding Values can rekindle our motivation to try new methods, restructure schools and reach for higher standards because it reminds us how deeply we care about our children and the future of our society. For me, Holding Values is an eloquent reminder of the power of progressive values to guide my work along more child-centered and democratic lines and to reclaim the original vision of public education--developing thoughtful citizens who can sustain our democracy.</p> <p>As former Harvard Dean Vito Perrone says, "To lose a focus on democracy--not to be closely connected in our practice to the world, its problems and its promise--is to lose the moral base of our work." It is also a reminder that more than ever the voices of superintendents and the clarity of their values are needed to steer the ship of reform back on course.</p> <aug> <p>By Sheldon H. Berman</p> <p></p> <p>Sheldon Berman is superintendent of the Hudson Public Schools, 155 Apsley St., Hudson, MA 01749.</p> </aug>
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  Data: Irwin Blumer, a colleague and mentor, once said that it is the vision one articulates and the values one holds dear that provide the real leadership to move a school district forward. In his own tenure as superintendent, the values of equity and respect for human differences were paramount, and everyone in his district knew it. Today, in an era of standards, testing and accountability, it is all too easy to forget the larger mission of public education and that values matter. "Holding Values: What We Mean by Progressive Education" is a collection of essays by members of the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation that affirm the vital importance of the quality of children's lives and the ideal of participatory democracy in education. For the author of this paper, "Holding Values" is an eloquent reminder of the power of progressive values to guide his work along more child-centered and democratic lines and to reclaim the original vision of public education--developing thoughtful citizens who can sustain their democracy.
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