The 3 Rs


The Failure of Progressive Educational Methods

In the current issue of the UK magazine Standpoint, secondary-school history teacher Matthew Hunter amusingly describes how progressive educational methods have failed students:


Such tasks allow pupils to learn about history in an enjoyable and engaging way—or so the theory goes. In reality, all content and understanding of the past is sucked out, and the classroom begins to resemble the playground. An unfortunate side-effect is that pupils are frequently confused by the inevitable anachronisms involved in making history "relevant". "Sir, how many Victorians would have had a TV?" I was asked.