Progressive U.S.

The aim of progressive education, according to the Bank Street mission statement, is to nurture the creative, independent, and problem- solving talents of all children by “applying to the educational process all available knowledge about learning and growth.”

Influenced by the ideas of educational theorist John Dewey, the founders of Bank Street wanted to study how children learn, and how to create classrooms—and a school—that would become a microcosm of the ideals and practices of a democratic community. The founders were opposed to the rote learning practices prevalent in schools at that time. Instead, they established classrooms in which children were encouraged to be active: to venture out and inquire about the world around them.