Running Head:
History of Adult and Community
Education, 1910-1920
History of Adult and Community
Education, 1910-1920
Joe
Morris
Ball
State University
EDAC
631
September
14, 2014
I commented on the research of Joseph Haynes and Darcey Mitschelen
HISTORY OF ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
History
of Adult and Community Education, 1910-1920
“Live as if you
were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.”
(Gandhi, Unknown)
It was a fascinating,
yet tumultuous time to be alive in the United States from 1910 to 1920, the
decade on which I will focus my Adult Education history research. During this time, people experienced a
societal transformation. There are numerous
societal landmark events to report as thus:
·
American Industry grew at an
unprecedented rate. Henry Ford had just introduced his Model T automobile and
soon thereafter, added assembly belts to his revolutionary production
line. (Bak, 2003)
·
The largest influx of immigrants arrived
in America, most of them coming through Ellis Island in New York City. (Burns, 1999)
·
The United States entered World War I in
1916
·
Moving pictures were created and Harry
Houdini was performing world-enthralling escapes. The country moved to strange
new music called Jazz and Ragtime.
·
Huge strides were made in the Women’s
Movement and the Labor Movement. (Burns, 1999)
Bak, R. (2003). Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the
Ford Empire. In R. Back, Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire
(pp. 54-63). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Burns, R. (Director). (1999). New York, The People and The
Power [Motion Picture].
HISTORY OF ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
Highlights
I shall write about my
historical findings using the following interpretations: Celebrationist History (paying tribute to an
individual/institution…illustrating major milestones and accomplishments), Narrative
History (adding the how and what behind the facts, but not the why) and
Critical History (to retell a story from a particular perspective). (Brockett,
The Profession and Practice of Adult Education, 1997)
The decade 1910-1920 is
encapsulated within a formative movement in adult education which began in the
1870’s and stretched into the 1930’s. “The
period was categorized by industrialization and urbanization which contributed
to the emergence of the organized working class, a militant women’s movement,
and the struggle for the right to vote.
This resulted in the development of independent adult educational
activities by socialist, communist, and anarchist political parties, together
with the trade unions and the women’s movement. In opposition, Conservative and liberal
parties responded to these challenges.
They enlisted the organizational power of the Catholic and Protestant
churches to promote the development of new institutional forms for the
provision of adult education which resulted in the creation of university
extensions, the arts and crafts movement, and public libraries. Civic education became a key theme in adult
education so that people could access the right to vote.” (Hake, 2010) The Progressive education movement began to
dominate the national scene as a response to our increasingly industrialized society.
“This pragmatic approach to adult education was largely identified with John
Dewey, from which the following major philosophical principles can be
distinguished: (a.) a broadened view of
education that goes well beyond liberal education (b.) a focus on learners and
their needs
HISTORY OF ADULT AND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
and experiences rather
than on predetermined content (c.) the use of scientific methodology
incorporating problem-solving, activity, and experience-based approaches to instruction
(d.) a shift from teacher as authority figure to teacher as a facilitator of
learning, and (e.) education as an instrument of social action and social
change.” (Brockett, 1997)
Brockett, R. G. (1997). The Profession and Practice of
Adult Education. In R. G. Brockett, The Profession and Practice of Adult
Education (pp. 63-66). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Brockett, R. G. (1997). The Profession and Practice of Adult
Education. In R. G. Brockett, The Profession and Practice of Adult Education
(pp. 35-36). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Influential
Factors
Two notable educators during
this decade include John Dewey, author of Democracy & Education, and Clara Wilson
Stewart, founder of the Kentucky Moonlight Schools. Dewey and Stewart represent two educators
that had a significant and lasting impact on the field of Adult Education in
different ways. My research indicates
that John Dewey was a philosopher practicing in urban areas at universities with
transformative pragmatic/progressive ideas that impacted adult education in formal
and non-formal ways. Conversely, Stewart
grew up in the rural hills of Eastern Kentucky and was motivated to start her
Moonlight Schools to eradicate illiteracy among adults during her tenure as the
Superintendent of Rowan County Schools in 1911.
“Dewey continually
argued that education and learning are social and interactive processes, and
thus the school itself is a social institution through which social reform can
and should take place. In addition, he believed that students thrive in an
environment where they are allowed to
HISTORY OF ADULT AND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
experience and interact
with the curriculum, and all students should have the opportunity to take part
in their own learning.” (Wikipedia, Unknown) Dewey’s work at this time coincided with the
Progressive movement in the United States. “Examples of progressive adult education can
be found in many forms, including citizenship programs, community education,
cooperative extension courses, many adult basic education approaches, civic
education programs (such as public issues-forums), the New School for Social
Research, and many programs of the American Association for Adult Education and
the Adult Education Association of the United States of America.” (Brockett, 1997)
Ms. Cora Wilson Stewart
started the Moonlight Schools in Rowan County, Kentucky, in 1911 to address the
pervasive problem of illiteracy among poor rural adults. The term Moonlight refers to the fact that
all of the classes were held at night so that adults could attend. A few years earlier, Ms. Stewart had become
the first woman superintendent of schools.
“Since Cora had contact with all of the teachers in Rowan county, she
became keenly aware that there were mothers who could not write to children –
grown and living in other states, mothers who could not read the letters they
received, and who walked miles to bring these letters to Miss Cora to open and
answer for them.
Cora and her committee
of teachers canvassed the Rowan county districts and determined that there
might be as many as 300 adult learners that would take advantage of the
after-hours learning.
Nearly 1,200 adults
attempted to attend on the first night.
With the success of the first school, other schools opened in Eastern
Kentucky and then additional schools opened in Georgia,
HISTORY OF ADULT AND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
Alabama, South Carolina,
and Louisiana. President Herbert Hoover
designated Cora as the Director of the National Illiteracy Commission.” (Benschoten,
1931)
Benschoten, M. (1931). Kentucky Explorer Magazine.
Retrieved from Kentucky Explorer Magazine:
http://www.kentuckystewarts.com/WilliamG/CoraStory.htm
Brockett, R. G. (1997). The Profession and Practice of Adult
Education. In R. G. Brockett, The Profession and Practice of Adult Education
(pp. 35-36). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wikipedia. (Unknown). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey#On_education
Percentage of persons 14 years old and over who were illiterate (unable
to read or write in any language), by race and nativity: 1870 to 1979 (Snyder)
Year
|
Total
|
White
|
|
|
Black and Other
|
|
|
Total
|
Native
|
Foreign
Born
|
|
1910
|
7.7
|
5.0
|
3.0
|
12.7
|
30.5
|
1920
|
6.0
|
4.0
|
2.0
|
13.1
|
23.0
|
There were many events
during the decade that served as catalysts for dramatic social change. I have chosen two that will illustrate a time
when grass-roots leaders educated adults and connected with legislators that
resulted in changing laws for the greater good of the people. “One horrible tragedy that ultimately
resulted in sweeping workplace safety legislation was the New York City Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, in which 146 garment workers, most of them
women (ages 14-80), died needlessly. Because of the tragedy, garment workers walked
out all over New York City in the first-ever general strike. Against long odds, the grassroots adult
education leaders of the rebellion taught their peers how the legislative
process works informally at rallies and in small meetings. Representative Al Smith (who would later be
elected as governor of New York four times) argued on the floor of the state
legislature and new sweeping
HISTORY OF ADULT AND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
workplace regulations
were adopted that abolished sweatshops.” (Burns, New York, The Power and The People, 1999).
Embedded within the Women’s Suffrage Movement was
the fight for the right to be educated about and to have access to birth
control. The work of Margaret Sanger
around birth control was a catalyst to educate women on reproductive
rights. “Some countries in Northwestern
Europe had more liberal policies towards contraception than the United States
at the time. When Sanger visited a Dutch
birth control clinic in 1915, she learned about diaphragms and became convinced
that they were a more effective means of contraception than the suppositories
and douches that she had been distributing back in the United States.
Diaphragms were generally unavailable in the United States, so Sanger and
others began importing them from Europe, in defiance of United States law.” (Chester, 1992) Ms. Sanger opened her own clinic in Brooklyn
and began distributing information and diaphragms. It was during this time she founded the
American Birth Control League. She was
arrested on more than one occasion. However, the publicity of her trials
attracted large donors to her cause. “The
founding principles of the ABCL were as follows:
We hold that children should be
(1) Conceived in love; (2) Born of the mother's conscious desire; (3) And only
begotten under conditions which render possible the heritage of health.
Therefore, we hold that every woman must possess the power and freedom to
prevent conception except when these conditions can be satisfied.” (Sanger)
HISTORY OF ADULT AND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
Other organizations
that were born out of the necessity to educate the adult population during this
time included the New York Urban League and The People’s Institute in New York
City.
Burns, R. (Director). (1999). New York, The People and The
Power [Motion Picture].
Chester, E. (1992). Women of Valor: Margaret Sanger and
the Birth Control Movement in America. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Snyder, T. (n.d.). National Assessment of Adult Literacy.
Retrieved from nces.ed.gov: http://nces.ed.gov/naal/lit_history.asp
Sanger,
M. (1921). Birth Control: What it is,
How it works, What it will do. ABCL Meeting (pp.207-208): Unknown
Implications
My research
indicates that the old addages are true; necessity is the mother of invention,
knowledge is power, and education leads to freedom. When the true voice of the people is heard,
it has always changed the course of history.
Sadly, my life
experience teaches me that history repeats itself. All over America these days, politicans are
attempting to reduce the number of minorities who are eligible to vote under
the guise that these groups are commiting mass voter fraud. Today, women are still fighting for
reproductive rights. Workers rights are
being challenged as unions are being systematically dismantled throughout the
United States.
John Dewey and Cora
Stewart were pioneers in adult education in the same decade, but in different
ways. Their theories and programs have
helped people lift themselves out of poverty
HISTORY OF ADULT AND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION, 1910-1920
and allowed them to
participate in our democracy. Dewey’s
pragmatic progressivism has allowed, in part, learners and the demands of their
environments to dictate curriculum – where the teacher is viewed as a
facilitator of learning. There is a need
today to retrain our workforce so that Americans are able to remain competitive
in a global economy. Therefore, community
colleges and vocational programs are flourishing nationwide. Today, there are any number of community
education programs to thwart the ongoing battle against illiteracy. The power that the internet gives educators
to reach people in rural areas is unprecedented. Today, we benefit at looking back at the work
of Dewey and Stewart, as it has great informational, insightful, and
inspirational value to our progress as an educated society.
Summary of
History of Adult/Community Education
Areas
|
Social Background: Industrial Expansion, Labor Movement, Women’s Movement,
World War I, and Mass Immigration
|
Highlights: Progressive and Liberal Education collide, Urbanization and
Industrialization lead to the formation of
Socialist, Communist, and Anarchist parties. Catholic and Prodestant churches foster
university extension systems. Pulic
libraries flourished and the Arts and Crafts movement was born.
|
Influential Factors: John Dewey, pragmatic education philosopher, educator,
author. Cora Wilson Stewart founded the
Moonlight Schools which helped educate thousands of illierate adults. Workers rights are championed after the
tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. Women’s rights to birth control is sought
by Margaret Sanger in New York City.
|
Implications: The work of John Dewey and Cora Wilson Stewart gave power
to learners to determine their curriculum and access to democracy through
literacy. Community colleges and
literacy programs are flourishing as a result of their work.
|
i