The Influence that Horace Mann, Benjamin Rush, John Dewey, and Edward Thorndike’s Work had on Today’s Education.

The Influence that Horace Mann, Benjamin Rush, John Dewey, and Edward Thorndike’s Work had on Today’s Education.

Dr. Marvin Parker

Trident University International

1 December, 2021

Abstract

Over the years, there have been many influential leaders, figures, and groups that have changed the face of the educational platform as we know it today.?Harnessing the creative powers of these leaders, implementing initiatives to provide efficient solutions to the critical issues facing the education sector have all been aimed at solving these problems through the process, policy, and even legislation within government.?Horace Mann, Benjamin Rush, John Dewey, and Edward Thorndike are four of the leaders discussed throughout this paper.

Introduction

This paper looked at the influences of Horace Mann, Benjamin Rush, John Dewey, and Edward Thorndike and the roles their work has played in today's education.?Each of their philosophies, decisions, policies, or theories from the past, although continuing to evolve, have relevance today. Because there is so much influential work from each, there are only a few shared in this paper.

Horace Mann

There are three areas specifically where Horace Mann proved influential to education include (1) Push for the creation of the Unified or Common School System, (2) Promotion of Diversity & Inclusion of the System, (3) Technology Accessibility.??

Unified or Common School System

Horace Mann was a major proponent for creating the "Unified or Common Schools System" that we see today (Carlton, 2020). He also worked diligently to vary the curriculum to ultimately remove sectarian instruction in the lessons, which proved to be a precursor to major legislative interpretations of church & state separations even in the discussion about school. Mann's vision included universal, public education, open to everyone; however, void of private or even religious influences.?He saw a place where moral character and ethical values were instilled in both the learners and educators. Mann recognized that to move a society forward and expand the nation's economy, it needed an educated workforce, a disciplined generation of people, and understood moral education is vital and the way forward to our social existence. Mann's vision would promote social redemption, remove potentially discriminatory class conflicts, and enhance citizen engagement while inculcating moral habits throughout society.

Standardized Curriculum

Whether or not all these visions were realized, Mann's initiative began the journey to where we are today.?Mann recognized that through the use of a standard curriculum, educators could be better trained in the art of effectively delivering lessons no matter the schools they teach (Jeynes, 2007). Our schools have shared similar structures over the past decades.?The curriculums over the years have changed since then, but the curriculum remains an essential tool for consistency in learning and teaching standards.?Mann was an advocate for the removal of the attempted "indoctrination" in favor of teaching the moral and ethical principles of Christianity. No Child Left Behind that came to life in the 2000s validates the importance of an institution that values learning and teaching that account for everyone in the pipeline.

Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity was also a central theme of Mann's vision, as indicated by the terms "universal, unified, common, everyone, and public." Today, our schools are far more diverse than when Mann originally set in motion our schools' unified/common future.?Ethnicity, socioeconomic class, religion, abilities, backgrounds, etc., and much more have also validated Mann's vision and promulgated access and inclusion into the school system that we embrace today. The citizens in Mann's time changed how they thought about education from one politically desirable path to one of preservation and improving society (Labaree, 2010). Mann's early recognition for the value of an inclusive and educated workforce is still seen today in the levels of diversity in universities and their relationship to the learners increased civic engagement and a citizen’s involvement in their government and political environments, why, well because the more educated the people are, the more they are informed.

Innovation in Education

Technology is another aspect of learning that has been re-imagined since the time of Mann. Today, access and use of technology in the educational setting are universal, free, and accessible to learners and educators.?Although controversial, Mann's vision represented going against the norm, being disruptive, and not what society recognized as necessary for that time.?The political system played a significant role in the acceptance of the common school movement (Jeynes, 2007); however, at its core, the genius of his movement was innovative and bought together different ideas and transformed them into something new.?The more Mann's thinking caught on, the more ideas and experiences people were exposed to, the more creative they became, and the more transformative academia became.

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Rush was instrumental in the medical field of American psychiatry and the philosophy of education (National Library of Medicine, 2020), education theory that would soon be incorporated and utilized in academia even today. His movement towards a "general education" for all was rooted in need to make our society more homogeneous and be values-led. These were the qualities that he felt promulgated better citizenry. Fundamental worth, equality of all people, and individual freedom were some of the basic principles Rush felt were necessary principles for our institutions to reform. There are four areas highlighted that proved Benjamin Rush was instrumental to education. (1) Advocacy for the Education of Girls and Boys, (2) Education of Women, and (3) Prison Reform.

Advocated for the Education of Girls and Boys

Rush believed in an education system that didn't segregate boys and girls but integrated them.?He recognized the value of their collective behaviors and the positive impact these behaviors would have on educational systems. Rush recognized the importance of reaching children early in their lives because it is when they learn how to interact communally, and the development of their lifelong interests is formed at this stage of life. ?Rush recognized that early engagement in the lives of children helps them learn to think critically, boosts creativity and their imagination.

Education of Women?

Rush promulgated women's education because he felt it was a fundamental right of every human, regardless of gender.?Rush recognized the critical role females played in the development of children in the home.?At that time, Rush realized that women were underrepresented in society and restricted across the global society. He sought a more inclusive approach for women to be more involved and empowered through civic education.?Rush understood both the short-term (better life for her and her family) and the long-lasting effects of educating women (i.e., a better society). Because of Rush's vision, women are provided equal rights to education access and have continued to actively participate in business, government, and today's economic growth.?

Prison Reform

Rush recognized the many adverse effects that punishments, confinement, labor, solitude, etc., had on society.?His "general education" initiative was a way to give power to everyone, which brought about the necessary and positive changes in society. Prison reform is today as divisive as it may have been in Rush's time; however, like Rush, the overall goal of reform is to bring about improved conditions and give those affected alternatives.?Although still divisive, correctional education remains a critical component used today to rehabilitate offenders (U.S.DoE, 2021). ?After Rush, many efforts have been employed to improve the support for correctional education structures within the penal systems.

John Dewey

"Arguably the most influential thinker on education in the twentieth century" (Smith, 2001). Dewey was instrumental in education reform and a proponent of tapping into education as the way to abandon habits in favor of creative thought. The areas where Dewey’s work was instrumental (1) Informational Education, (2) Reflective Thinking, and (3) Learning-by-Doing.

Informal Education

Enlarging engagement is fundamental to informal education. Jeffs & Smith (2012) captured the essence of the need for informal education by stating, "it is to cultivate communities, associations, and relationships that make for human flourishing" (pg. 2).?Dewey immediately recognized that exploration and enlargement of experiences are present throughout the process of cultivating learning. ?Learning occurs all around us, for example, with coworkers, peers, parents, friends, or even in environments where the participants don't know each other personally, but may share common interests (e.g., sporting events).

Exploration of Reflective Thinking

The process of self-examination or examining one's character, motivation, action, thoughts, feelings, etc., is the nexus of Dewey's exploration of reflective thinking. In this process, the basis of thought is not about the future, but of a previous period in which one has experienced (i.e., childhood, prior relationship, previous mistakes, or successes, etc.), where the person can contemplate, be introspective, and learn. ?Dewey recognized that reflective thinking provided opportunities for developing the questioning attitude, new thought, or perspectives, and allows the person to quickly apply what they've learned from a previous experience to a new situation before the learning potential is lost.

Learning-By-Doing

????Learning-by-doing is rooted in learning from felt experiences as contracted by learning from others and their experiences (e.g., watching a presentation, reading works from others, or listening to others, etc.) (Reese, 2011). Dewey recognized that more learning occurs when the person performs the action and, in doing so, makes the activity more engaging and memorable.?It also makes the experience more personal because it creates space for mistakes, reflections, and refinement of our actions.?Dewey also understood that through learning-by-doing, a person is part of a community of learning that connects us to others and our environment.

Edward Thorndike

"Edward Thorndike (1898) is famous in psychology for his work on learning theory that led to the development of operant conditioning within Behaviorism" (McLeod, 2018).?The area Thorndike’s work was instrumental include (1) Operant or Instrumental Conditioning, and (2) Connectionism.

Operant or Instrumental Conditioning

Operant Conditioning or Instrumental Conditioning is the employment of rewards or punishments for various behaviors and these outcomes are rooted in individual needs, wants, and expectations. ??Reinforcement of the behaviors are in the form of positive (strengthening the behavior) or negative (removal of unfavorable outcomes) reinforcements; however, contingent on the behavior. Some simple examples are when you raise your hand on class your teachers recognize this action as good, positive, favorable which strengthens this activity for the future. Thorndike recognizes that those behaviors that are followed by a favorable outcome are repeated.?Whereas if you had just shouted out the answer to the question the teacher would recognize this action as negative, unfavorable, undesirable which could potentially prevent this activity in the future.?

Connectionism

Thorndike's work on Connectionism is seminal.?Thorndike recognized that a person is more likely to demonstrate patterns of behaviors that are historically followed by various forms of satisfaction. Whereas those behaviors that would result in pain, discomfort, or dissatisfaction are less likely to be repeated. Thorndike's work in education means that rewards stimulate learning while punishments don't.?Repetition in education promotes the learning potential; however, Thorndike underscores that that potential to learn must be satisfied in the process. ?Within Thorndike's theory of Connectionism, the main principles identified throughout research are (1) Law of Effect, (2) Law of Readiness, and (3) Law of Exercise, all of which are in play in today's educational environments and have played pivotal roles n the lives of learners and educators.

Conclusion

This paper looked at the influences of Horace Mann, Benjamin Rush, John Dewey, and Edward Thorndike and the roles their work has played in today's education.?Each of their philosophies, decisions, policies, or theories from the past, although continuing to evolve, have relevance today.?There is no question that education shapes the lives of individuals, either in the classroom or the social setting.?The quality of that educational exchange is foundational to the successful future outcomes of the learner, and Mann, Rush, Dewey, and Thorndike understood what the implications were if they got it wrong.

?References:

Carleton, D. (2020). Middle Tennessee State University; Horace Mann. Retrieved from https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1283/horace-mann

Jeffs, T., Smith, M. (2012). What is informal education. Retrieved from; https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-informal-education/#:~:text=Informal%20education%20they%20suggest%2C%20works%20through%20conversation%2C%20and,the%20learning%20that%20goes%20on%20in%20daily%20life.

Jeynes, W. (2007). American educational history: School, society, and the common good. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. (Read Chapters 3–8.)

Labaree, D. (2010). Someone has to fail. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Read Chapters 1– 4.)

McLeod, S. (2018). Edward Thorndike: The Law of Effect. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/edward-thorndike.html

National Library of Medicine (2020). Diseases of the Mind: Highlights of American Psychiatry through 900: Benjamin Rush, M.D. (1749-1813). Retrieved from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/diseases/professional.html

Reese, H. (2011). The Learning-by-Doing People.?Behavioral Development Bulletin, 17(1). 1- 19. Retrieved from, https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2014-55719-001.pdf

Smith, M. (2001).?Education, community-building, and change. Retrieved from, https://infed.org/mobi/john-dewey-on-education-experience-and-community/

United States Department of Education (2021). Correctional Education. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/correctional-education.html