Dewey and Rose on Progressivism_______     
                                                                                                                                            henry c. amoroso, jr.• university of southern  maine
    "I have been listening very closely. You want everyone to go to school. You also believe that all children can learn so long as they are taught in the right way. Your ideas do not make sense." 

"Our ideas appear extravagant to many. But why you?"  

" Each of you grew up in comfortable homes with mothers who read to you in their laps. You had fine clothes and slept in clean beds.  Schools cannot replace what your mothers gave you." 

"Yes," Emma replied with a hint of irony. "Our good families gave us a bourgeoisie education." 

 Addams said, " Rose, in fairness to John, it is too soon to know if his ideas will work." 

"My mind tells me that he will fail. Pedagogy alone cannot turn a poor child into a student . If you care about the education of all children, why don’t you find a way for their mothers to say at home with them?" 

Dewey frowned." That’s what Emma and Elizabeth are trying to do. My job is to make sure that all teachers are properly trained.

"Elizabeth told me that her parents nurtured her learning. But she found history books on her own. Do you want my children to do the same thing? If so you cannot tell them what to do with their education. This leads me to my final point. How do you explain Mr. Parker’s failure in Quincy? As soon as he left, teachers went back to the old ways."   
 
"We need more experiments to find out what works." 

 "Have you ever heard of St. Bosco?

"Can’t say that I have." 

"He grieved for the poor so he set up homes to care for them."  

"The same for Pestalozzi and Montessori ,"Parker replied. I told my teachers in Quincy to care about children first and foremost." 

"I want teachers to love children, Miss Bosco. I also want them to teach them how to be good citizens."

"Elizabeth asked me about my childhood. I learned much from  her questions. She cared about my answers. That made me care, too."