American educator and theorist
George Sylvester Counts
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Born
| December 9, 1889
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Died
| November 10, 1974
(1974-11-10)
(aged 84)
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George Sylvester Counts
(December 9, 1889 ? November 10, 1974) was an
American
educator and influential
education
theorist.
An early proponent of the
progressive education
movement of
John Dewey
, Counts became its leading critic affiliated with the school of
Social reconstructionism
in education. Counts is credited for influencing several subsequent theories, particularly
critical pedagogy
. Counts wrote dozens of important papers and 29 books about education. He was also highly active in politics as a leading advocate of
teachers' unions
, the head of the
American Federation of Teachers
, the founder of the
New York State
Liberal Party
, and as a candidate for the
U.S. Senate
.
Influences
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Counts graduated from
Baker University
in 1911 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then became a high school principal, a science and math teacher, and an athletic coach before heading off to graduate school. While attending
graduate school
at the
University of Chicago
in 1913, Counts was influenced by
John Dewey
and
Francis W. Parker
. He planned on majoring in sociology until his brother-in-law encouraged him to go into education. Counts then decided he would major in education but minor in sociology and social science. During this time he was a student of
Charles Hubbard Judd
, a leading proponent of the
science of education
. It was uncommon during this time to combine a career in education with anything other than psychology. Counts took great pride in knowing he was Judd's first student to not minor in psychology. Counts earned a
doctorate in education
at the
University of Chicago
in 1916. His experience studying
sociology
under
Albion W. Small
during this period is attributed for encouraging Counts to concentrate on the sociological dimension of
educational research
.
[1]
[2]
Profession
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]
Early career
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Counts' first position was head of the Department of Education at
Delaware College
from 1916?1918, then as a professor at
Harris Teachers College
in 1918. Counts taught at the
University of Washington
in 1919, then
Yale
in 1920. Then, in 1926, he taught at the University of Chicago. In 1924 he published
The Principles of Education,
(1924) with
J. Crosby Chapman
. During this period Counts favored Dewey's
progressive education
model of
child-centered learning
, and this book provided a broad overview of education from that perspective.
[3]
In 1926 Counts returned to the University of Chicago. The next year he began a remarkable tenure at
Columbia University
Teachers College
. He remained here until he was forced to retire in 1955. In 1930 Counts wrote
American Road to Culture
[4]
a global perspective on education. In this book he identifies ten "controlling ideas" in U.S. education. He also talks about individual success, national solidarity, and philosophic uncertainty. Regarding this book's case about
American schools
,
H. G. Wells
said, "the complete ideological sterilization of the common schools of the Republic is demonstrated beyond question. The sterilization was deliberate."
[5]
Dare the School Build a New Social Order?
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After publishing two comparative studies of the
Soviet education
system,
The New Russian Primer.
(1931) and
The Soviet Challenge to America.
(1931), Counts was invited to address to the
Progressive Education Association
. His papers, delivered over three separate speeches, formed the core of the book,
Dare the School Build a New Social Order?
, published in 1932.
[6]
Counts provides a clear examination of the
cultural
,
social
and
political
purposes of education, and proponents the deliberate examination and navigation of teaching for political purposes.
[7]
In his address Counts proposed that teachers "dare build a new social order" through a complex, but definitely possible, process.
[8]
He explained that only through schooling could students be educated for a life in a world transformed by massive changes in science, industry, and technology. Counts insisted that responsible educators "cannot evade the responsibility of participating actively in the task of reconstituting the democratic tradition and of thus working positively toward a new society."
[9]
Counts' address to the PEA and the subsequent publication put him in the forefront of the
social reconstructionism
movement in education.
[10]
Conservative educators attacked the premise of Counts' assertion, and progressive educators recoiled at his criticism of their practices.
W. E. B. Du Bois
issued a rebuttal to Counts' assertions that teachers were capable of building a "new social order". In 1935 he spoke to a Georgia African American teacher's convention, curtly discounting the nature of the education system today.
[11]
Later career
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Counts continued teaching at Columbia. Several of his students, including
William Marvin Alexander
, went on to notability in the field of education themselves.
[12]
Counts retired in 1956.
From 1942 to 1944 Counts served as New York State chairman of the
American Labor Party
. In 1945 he established the
Liberal Party
in New York, he ran as its candidate for the
United States Senate
in 1952. Counts was the chairman of that party from 1955 to 1959. He was a member of the National Committee of the
American Civil Liberties Union
from 1940 to 1973, and was President of the
American Federation of Teachers
from 1939 to 1942.
[13]
Counts traveled to the
Soviet Union
several times in the course of his life, writing several books about Soviet education and comparing Soviet and American education systems. In the 1930s
William Randolph Hearst
used select statements from interviews with Counts to portray American university faculty as
Communist
Party sympathizers.
[14]
[15]
After retirement Counts served as a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh,
Michigan State University
and
Southern Illinois University
.
Legacy
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Counts' theories continue to draw support
[16]
from modern educators.
Bibliography
[
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The New Russian Primer
(1931) and
The Soviet Challenge to America
(1931) were Counts' first works, and
Dare the School Build a New Social Order?
(1932) is regarded as his seminal work. His other books include
The Social Foundations of Education
(1934);
The Prospects of American Democracy
(1938);
The Country of the Blind
(1949), and;
Education and American Civilization
(1952). He taught at
Columbia University Teachers College
for almost thirty years. His final publications included
Education and the Foundations of Human Freedom
(1952) and
School and Society in Chicago
(1971).
[17]
Bibliography of writings on Counts
[
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]
- Austin, J.
George Counts at Teachers College, 1927-1941;: A study in unfulfilled expectations.
- Braun, R. (2002)
Teachers and Power.
Touchstone Publishers.
- Berube, M. (1988)
Teacher Politics.
Greenwood Press.
- Cremin, L.A. (1964)
The transformation of the American school: Progressivism in American education 1876?1957.
New York: Vintage.
- Dennis, L. (1990)
George S. Counts and Charles A. Beard: Collaborators for Change. (SUNY Series in the Philosophy of Education).
State Univ of New York Press.
- Gutek, G. (1970)
The Educational Theory George S. Counts.
Ohio: Ohio State University Press.
- JAY, CHARLES DUANE.? "THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM OF GEORGE S. COUNTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (1913-1916): AN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY" (PhD dissertation, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale;?ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, ?1982.?8229283).
- Ornstein, A, & Levine, D. (1993)
Foundations of Education.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
- Sheerin, W. (1976) "Educational Scholarship and the Legacy of George S. Counts,"
Educational Theory 26
(1), 107?112.
See also
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References
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]
- ^
Gutek, G. (1970)
The Educational Theory George S. Counts.
Ohio: Ohio State University Press.
- ^
Jupp, J. (nd)
"George Counts,"
Kappa Delta Pi
.
- ^
Teeter, C. (nd)
George Counts
History of Notre Dame website.
- ^
Counts, G. (1930)
American Road to Culture.
New York: John Day Company.
- ^
"Chapter 2. The Sloughing of the Old Educational Tradition" in Wells, H.G. (1933)
The Shape of Things to Come
.
Penguin.
- ^
Counts, G.S. (1932)
Dare the School Build a New Social Order?
New York: John Day Company.
- ^
Counts, G.S. (1932) "Dare progressive education be progressive?"
Progressive Education 4
(9).
- ^
Aubrey, R. (1984) "Reform in Schooling: Four Proposals on an Educational Quest,"
Journal of Counseling & Development. 63
(4) p204.
- ^
Counts (1933)
- ^
Cohen, L. (1999)
Section III - Philosophical Perspectives in Education: Part 3. Educational Philosophies.
Oklahoma State University School of Education.
- ^
Wesley Null, J. and Ravitch, D. (2006)
Forgotten Heroes of American Education: The Great Tradition of Teaching Teachers.
IAP. p. XV
- ^
Altenbaugh, R. J. (1999)
Historical Dictionary of American Education.
Greenwood Press. p. 15.
- ^
Crutchfield, C. (n.d.)
George Sylvester Counts
.
- ^
Nasaw, D. (2000)
The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst.
Houghton Mifflin Books. p. 504.
ISBN
0-618-15446-9
- ^
Sperber, A. (1998)
Murrow, His Life and Times.
Fordham University Press. p. 71.
ISBN
0-8232-1882-1
- ^
Wood, G. (2005)
Time to Learn, Second Edition: How to Create High Schools That Serve All Students.
Heinemann Press.
- ^
Counts, G. (1971)
School and Society in Chicago. (American Education: Its Men and Ideas Series.)
Arno Press.
External links
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