ABOUT PEN

The Progressive Education Network exists to herald and promote the vision of progressive education on a national basis, while providing opportunities for educators to connect, support, and learn from one another.

In 2005, The School in Rose Valley, Pa, celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary by hosting a national conference, Progressive Education in the 21st Century. During the conference a committee was formed to revive the Network of Progressive Educators, which had been inactive since the early 1990’s. As a result of the committee’s efforts, the Progressive Education Network (PEN) was formed, and in 2009 was incorporated as a 501 (c) 3 charitable, non-profit organization.

The roots of the network can be traced to the early 1900’s and the Progressive Education Association, once one of America’s leading educational organizations, which greatly influenced the shape of 20th Century education in America. The history of the association is chronicled in Lawrence Cremin’s The Transformation of the Schools (1965), and Patricia Albjerg Graham's Progressive Education: From Arcady to Academe - A History of the Progressive Education Association (1967). PEN owes its inspiration to the early pioneers of the progressive education movement, many of whom founded schools which are still in operation today (i.e. John Dewey – The Lab School in Chicago, IL; Lucy Sprague Mitchell – The Bank Street School in New York City; Frances W. Parker – The Parker School in Chicago, IL; Caroline Pratt – City & Country School in New York City; Carleton Washburne - Winetka Public Schools). PEN’s philosophical underpinnings can be traced to the writings of John Amos Comenius, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Friedrich Froebel, and Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.

Though educators have been challenged in agreeing upon a single definition for progressive education, consensus builds around these defining principles:

• Education must prepare students for active participation in a democratic society.
• Education must focus on students' social, emotional, academic, cognitive and physical development.
• Education must nurture and support students' natural curiosity and innate desire to learn. Education must foster internal motivation in students.
• Education must be responsive to the developmental needs of students.
• Education must foster respectful relationships between teachers and students.
• Education must encourage the active participation of students in their learning, which arises from previous experience.
• Progressive educators must play an active role in guiding the educational vision of our society.

The purpose of The Progressive Education Network is to support these principles and influence the course of the national dialogue about early childhood, elementary, and secondary education in America. PEN seeks to establish a nationwide network of educators committed to sharing teaching practices that foster in students a strong motivation for learning and the agency for social activism. Of primary importance to the organization is the involvement, leadership and participation of teachers.

PEN has sponsored two national conferences – 2007 in San Francisco, and 2009 in Washington, D.C. Conferences are being planned 2011 in Chicago, IL, and 2013 in Los Angeles, CA. PEN is committed to sponsoring a bi-annual national conference held during the Fall of every odd year as well as supporting regional networking events.

In 2010, the PEN Board of Directors identified a strategic action plan, which includes the following strategic directions:

1. Enhance National Communication and Connection
2. Develop Educational Opportunities for Teachers and Educators
3. Enhance Regional PEN Organizations
4. Generate Progressive Education Research
5. Strengthen and Diversify PEN Board
6. Cultivate Financial Support for PEN

The PEN Board invites educators to join us in this exciting effort to create connections and advance the legacy of Progressive Education.

NETWORKING WITH PEN
Visit PEN’s NING for information, discussion, and photos. Join discussions about important issues, or start a discussion of your own. more...

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