Postwar Education: A Lesson in Planning

Abstract

my. Unless some framework is provided whereby nations can work together in comparative harmony, it seems generally agreed that appropriations for a peace conference are rather pointless. There is an analogy here with our educational experts and their susceptibility to power politics, as played by the agents of the subject areas which make up the program of study in general education. It is extremely important that school administrators recognize and understand this analogy and plan accordingly. As an illustration, take the case of mathematics. (Any one of several traditional offerings could have been chosen.) Prior to the United States' entry into the war, the popularity of mathematics as a high-school subject was not too great. The parties responsible for this condition included school administrators; curriculum specialists; and educational psychologists, philosophers, and sociologists. The attitude of these groups toward mathematics stemmed from their acceptance of a philosophy of education firmly rooted in empiricism and in organismic psychology. Out of this alignment of thinking came the conviction that mathematicians were too much