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Bronson Alcott: Why You Wouldn't Be Here if it Weren't for Him 299 Views


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Description:

Bronson Alcott had some pretty innovative ideas about education. His notion of having students work on their desks while lying on giant waterbeds never took off, but most of his other ideas were pretty good.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

Thank you We sneak Bronson all cut allah shmoop in

00:08

earlier times the american classroom was basically a pit of

00:11

despair Every day students passed over the threshold and suffered

00:16

while their teachers drilled the same facts into their heads

00:18

over and over a cz If this weren't torture enough

00:23

students were forced to copy the works of great authors

00:26

and thinkers in order to learn how people wrote about

00:29

the weather in ancient greece Not very useful In these

00:33

dark days many students went mad with boredom and many

00:35

more expired of hand cramps I will But then on

00:41

the horizon there appeared a hero a knight in shining

00:44

armor Bronson alcott alcott was not an educator by training

00:49

In fact he only became a teacher that get out

00:51

of debt All of the irony your teacher would probably

00:54

find that hysterically funny at any rate Once alcott was

00:57

in the classroom he took steps Gone Was the whole

01:01

copying other writers thing Instead i'll cut favored writing from

01:05

personal experience He believed that students could tie the events

01:09

in their lives like what they did on summer vacation

01:12

to the subjects they learned in class Alcott also believed

01:16

in self analysis and that students learned best when they

01:18

were encouraged to talk among themselves debating difficult questions like

01:23

what is the airspeed velocity of an unlabeled swallow Sadly

01:30

for our hero his progressive methods and theological leanings got

01:33

him booted out of boston where he was working as

01:35

a teacher Alcott moved his family to concord massachusetts where

01:39

he became acquainted with men like ralph waldo emerson and

01:42

henry david thoreau Not that they didn't think alcott was

01:46

crazy too But every small town needs a resident while

01:50

all cuts ideas gain traction in later years If you

01:53

know of him today it's likely because he had a

01:55

famous daughter louisa mae louisa may alcott who authored several

01:59

nineteenth century novels about little people While alcott may not

02:04

have been able to make dramatic changes to the american

02:06

education system while he was alive his ideas are widely

02:10

used today Without all cut many of the innovative tools

02:13

your teachers used today like shmoop huh wouldn't exist And 00:02:17.408 --> [endTime] school would still be a pit of despair

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