The Pedagogy of Progress
The incredible scientific and material progress of the last several centuries held a great significance for Montessori. She thought that it should not be taken for granted, that it should be taught, and that it instanced the greatness of humanity.
She also viewed the child's growth as analogous to science, engineering, or artistry. Just as adults work to create civilization, and each new artifact is an achievement of some person, so each child works to create herself, and each step of development is an achievement of that child.
Featured Pedagogy of Progress Content
Paying Contingency Its Due
Humanity's progress has always depended on the conscious choices of motivated individuals; that the companies, technologies, and processes we rely on every day were never guaranteed to be founded, discovered, or developed. Yet, this truth is sometimes obscured in the motions of everyday life and communications: few think to look back on history and consciously appreciate the true significance of human achievement.
We Need a New Philosophy of Progress
We live in an age that has lost its optimism. Polls show that people think the world is getting worse, not better. Children fear dying from environmental catastrophe before they reach old age. Technologists are as likely to be told that they are ruining society as that they are bettering it.
But it was not always so.
A Golden Age for Investigating Progress
The need to educate around human achievement is timeless. But we are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of an emerging pursuit, Progress Studies, whereby the history and nature of material progress are looked at afresh.
Progress Studies and Montessori: Jason Crawford and Matt Bateman
Dr. Matt Bateman joins Jason Crawford, creator of Progress Studies for Young Scholars, on The Torch of Progress to discuss Montessori education and its relation to the emerging field of Progress Studies.