Minding American Education: Reclaiming the Tradition of Active Learning

by Martin Bickman

The tradition of active learning—a view of learning that is constructivist, progressive, and as deeply committed to student achievement as any standards-based scheme—has a long and distinguished pedigree in American educational thought and practice, but its value has been ignored in the rush to achieve high test scores. Martin Bickman urges us to reconsider the alternative vision of such seminal thinkers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller, John Dewey, and George Dennison as he weaves an incisive synthesis of American literary innovation, philosophy, and school reform. In this timely volume,

Genres: Education, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lianne Kulik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic commentary on American education, and the only one I have ever read that gives Transcendental scholars the weight they deserve in the conversation. Offers a thoroughly researched history, particularly of American educational scholars. Though I, of course, cannot pretend to agree with every statement of application the author makes, I wholeheartedly agree with the former review: this is a "must read" for anyone pursuing the teaching field in any realm.

Side note: I'm not sure why the author chose to write this using APA format. With the amount of quotations used, and the historical nature of the book, Chicago/Turabian format with footnotes would have been more appropriate, and would serve the reader well.

[Jed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the most important book ever written, should be read by everyone who has ever attended school in America, especially by anyone who will ever teach in a school.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Bickman taps into a forgotten source of American education - Transcendentalism. He retraces the steps taken to today's classroom, posing several "what if's" along the way. It was a slow read, as non-fiction tends to be for me, but full of extremely pertinent information, concepts, and ideas not only for teachers at every level, but for those ever learning.