THE STORY OF EDUCATION: PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS

WRITING a book that centers on the theory of education is a project not to be undertaken lightly these days. The difficulty arises not so much from a lack of interest as from the fact that so many people in so many walks of life already have assumed a position so positive in the matter that they are no longer able to entertain a different point of view in a friendly manner. We need only listen to the statements of men and women active in public life and to read the plans proposed by this group or that to become fully aware of the fact that education has become for many individuals an emotionally charged word. All too frequently participants in the current discussions set themselves up as authorities and proclaim their opinions with the assurance of a prophet of old .Fortunately for the cause of education so many of these statements and plans are in direct conflict that, for the most part ,teachers and pupils are able to get along with the work at hand as best they know how. It seemed appropriate under these circumstances to write a book that tells the story of the several conflicting views on education in the light of their philosophical origins and historical development . It was felt that such a book should enable teachers and laymen to judge with knowledge and understanding the several theories and systems of practices urged upon them today. Hence, this book is addressed to that large group of individuals who are involved in the educative process in one way or another but who may have had no special preparation in philosophy and history for their work. In writing this book , I have felt justified in taking certain liberties with my subject matter which generally are permitted those who speak of complex matters to the uninitiated, The desire to communicate in understandable terms about matters basically philosophical in nature has dominated this work from beginning to end. It accounts for various departures from the treatment of these matters which philosophers, by long tradition, have given them when they communicated with their fellow philosophers . Hence if by chance any of them should encounter this work and find it disappointing from the standpoint of their more highly specialized interests, I beg them to remember that this is a book written by a teacher for teachers and interested laymen.

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