Schools of to-morrow — A Closer Reading

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Authors: Dewey, John, 1859-1952, Dewey, Evelyn, 1889-1965 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2015 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Education -- United States Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 73,173

Reading time 319 min

Text sections 16

The source record for Schools of to-morrow — A Closer Reading measures this digital text at 73,173 words, 5 hr 19 min estimated reading time, and 16 detected text sections.

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #48906

This editorial note examines how John Dewey and Evelyn Dewey's 1915 survey of progressive U.S. schools juxtaposes educational theory with classroom practice, using specific examples from Fairhope, Alabama, and Montessori methods to reveal tensions between freedom and structure, individual development and social efficiency.

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BY JOHN DEWEY AND EVELYN DEWEY

NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 681 FIFTH AVENUE

E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY

_First Printing, May, 1915._ _Second Printing, August, 1915._ _Third Printing, March, 1916._ _Fourth Printing, March, 1916._ _Fifth Printing, July, 1916._ _Sixth Printing, July, 1916._ _Seventh Printing, Jan’y, 1917._ _Eighth Printing, Jan’y, 1917._ _Ninth Printing, April, 1919._

The Knickerbocker Press, New York

There has been no attempt in this book to develop a complete theory of education nor yet review any “systems” or discuss the views of prominent educators. This is not a text book of education, nor yet an exposition of a new method of school teaching, aimed to show the weary teacher or the discontented parent how education should be carried on. We have tried to show what actually happens when schools start out to put into practice, each in its own way, some of the theories that have been pointed to as the soundest and best ever since Plato, to be then laid politely away as precious portions of our “intellectual heritage.” Certain views are well known to every teacher who has studied pedagogy, and portions of them form an accepted part of every theory of education. Yet when they are applied in a classroom the public in general and other teachers in particular cry out against that classroom as a place of fads and caprices; a place lacking in any far reaching aim or guiding principle. We have hoped to suggest to the reader the practical meaning of some of the more widely recognized and accepted views of educational reformers by showing what happens when a teacher applies these views.

The schools we have used for purposes of illustration are all of them directed by sincere teachers trying earnestly to give their children the best they have by working out concretely what they consider the fundamental principles of education. More and more schools are growing up all over the country that are trying to work out definite educational ideas. It is the function of this book to point out how the applications arise from their theories and the direction that education in this country seems to be taking at the present time. We hope that through the description of classroom work we may help to make some theories living realities to the reader. On the other hand, we have dwelt on theoretical aspects in order to point out some of the needs of modern education and the way in which they are being met.

The schools that are used for illustration were chosen more or less at random; because we already knew of them or because they were conveniently located. They do not begin to represent all that is being done to-day to vitalize the school life of children. Schools with like traits may be found in every part of the country. Space has forced us to omit a very important movement--the reorganization of the rural school and the utilization of agriculture in education. But this movement shows the tendencies that mark the schools we have described; tendencies towards greater freedom and an identification of the child’s school life with his environment and outlook; and, even more important, the recognition of the rôle education must play in a democracy. These tendencies seem truly symptoms of the times, and with a single exception proved to be the most marked characteristics of all the schools visited.

Without the very material help and interest of the teachers and principals of the schools visited this book would not have been possible. We thank them most sincerely for the unfailing courtesy they have shown in placing their time and the material of their classrooms at our disposal. Our thanks are especially due to Mrs. Johnson of Fairhope and to Miss Georgia Alexander of Indianapolis for information and suggestions. The visiting of the schools with one exception was done by Miss Dewey, who is also responsible for the descriptive chapters of the book.

I EDUCATION AS NATURAL DEVELOPMENT 1

II AN EXPERIMENT IN EDUCATION AS NATURAL DEVELOPMENT 17

III FOUR FACTORS IN NATURAL GROWTH 41

IV THE REORGANIZATION OF THE CURRICULUM 60

VI FREEDOM AND INDIVIDUALITY 132

VII THE RELATION OF THE SCHOOL TO THE COMMUNITY 164

VIII THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL SETTLEMENT 205

IX INDUSTRY AND EDUCATIONAL READJUSTMENT 229

X EDUCATION THROUGH INDUSTRY 251

XI DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION 287

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A TEST WITH BOOKS OPEN. (FAIRHOPE, ALA.) _Frontispiece_

(1) NATURE WOULD HAVE CHILDREN BE CHILDREN BEFORE THEY ARE MEN. 8

(2) TEACH THE CHILD WHAT IS OF USE TO HIM AS A CHILD. (TEACHERS’ COLLEGE, N. Y. CITY) 8

TO LEARN TO THINK, WE MUST EXERCISE OUR LIMBS. (FRANCIS PARKER SCHOOL, CHICAGO) 15

(1) AN HOUR A DAY SPENT IN THE “GYM.” 30

(2) THE GULLY IS A FAVORITE TEXTBOOK. (FAIRHOPE, ALA.) 30

GAMES OFTEN REQUIRE MUSCULAR SKILL, READING, WRITING, AND ARITHMETIC. (UNIVERSITY SCHOOL, COLUMBIA, MO.) 45

(1) THE BASIS OF THE YEAR’S WORK. (INDIANAPOLIS) 58

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The preface of Schools of To-morrow immediately establishes a deliberate tension: the authors insist the book is neither a complete theory of education nor a review of systems, yet they aim to show what happens when schools put accepted theories into practice. This framing sets up a recurring pattern throughout the text—the gap between widely praised educational ideals and their concrete application, which often provokes public skepticism. The frontispiece photograph of a test with books open at Fairhope, Alabama, visually anchors this theme: learning that appears informal still requires discipline and assessment.

Theory vs. Application in the Preface

The preface explicitly distances itself from textbook pedagogy, stating the book is not meant to show the weary teacher how education should be carried on. Instead, it documents what actually happens when schools implement theories that have been “laid politely away as precious portions of our ‘intellectual heritage.’” This phrasing reveals a central concern: that sound educational ideas are often acknowledged but never enacted. The authors note that when these theories are applied in a classroom, other teachers and the public cry out against “fads and caprices.” The preface thus establishes a pattern of contrast between accepted theory and resisted practice, a tension that the subsequent chapters explore through specific school examples.

Montessori and the Limits of Apparatus

In the discussion of Montessori methods, the text balances appreciation with critique. It acknowledges Montessori’s contribution to “the gospel of liberty” and her emphasis on touch and muscular movement in learning to write and read. However, it also notes a significant reservation: many experimenters find that Montessori’s apparatus holds its greatest value with very young children—three and four years old. The authors argue that the scope of material should not be limited to training a single sense, but should offer problems calling for the kind of comparison used in ordinary life situations. This observation ties back to the broader theme: even a well-regarded system must be adapted to fit the social, cooperative nature of real-world learning.

Work as Social Education

Chapter VII opens with a strong claim: work is essentially social, because occupations are carried on for human needs and ends. The text argues that civilization depends on people’s ability to work together successfully, and that without these occupations—which are “essentially social life”—civilization cannot continue. This section frames education as a form of social necessity, where every individual must learn to adapt to others. The language here shifts from individual development to collective survival, suggesting that the ultimate purpose of schooling is not just personal growth but the maintenance of a well-balanced, happy, and prosperous society. This social emphasis contrasts with the more individualistic freedom advocated by Montessori, highlighting a key tension in progressive education.

Readers approaching Schools of To-morrow should attend to how the Deweys use specific classroom examples to test broad principles. The book does not advocate a single method; instead, it presents multiple experiments—from Fairhope to Montessori—each grappling with the same fundamental question: how to reconcile freedom with structure, individual initiative with social cooperation. The preface’s warning against dismissing applied theories as fads remains relevant, inviting readers to consider the practical obstacles that any educational reform must face.

Reading about Dewey’s classrooms, I remembered my own school’s quiet library and the heavy feel of old biographies. There was something earnest in how they taught character then—like the careful, solemn tone I found in The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving For Young Persons and for the Use of Schools — Reading Notes. Both books whisper of a hopeful, structured past, asking how we shape a person while leaving room for wonder.