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Mortimer Adler and the Padiea Proposal


            Mortimer Adler was a philosopher and writer, as well as a critic and an editor. With his philosophical background formed by such individuals as Homer, Plato, Saint Augustine, David Hume, and Sigmund Freud, he felt his views were a direct contrast to John Dewey. His most popular books were: How To Read A Book and The Art of Getting a Liberal Education in 1940. He skipped his grad work, and went right into writing his dissertation on how to measure music appreciation.
             Adler noted that the 1900s was the first century that the United States had public school through the twelfth grade, and that "democracy [had] come into its own" in this century, with equal rights being more diligently applied in our nation. Some other points he made were that 10% of age eligible kids made it to high school the beginning of the 20th century, and that in our present time frame, approximately 100% attend, although, many do not complete secondary schooling for we have a "quantity versus quality" mentality. His observations led him to conclude that there was dissatisfaction from all societal groups about the quality of public school, including the American youth. He disputed the attitude he perceived, that part of our population is not fully educable - could be trainable, but not able to be a full participant in our democratic society.
             Adler stated that, "There aren't unteachable children. There are only schools and teachers and parents who fail to teach them." He believed that the ultimate schooling goal should be that it is the gateway to a lifetime of educational pursuits and exploration. "The Paideia Proposal" was for one-track public schooling with the same objectives. Although Adler had many other publications, I chose to focus on "Tha Paideia Proposal," as it was one of his major works on education. The three main objectives of this proposal were:.
             1. "Personal growth or self-improvement" with aspirations to seek advantageous opportunities;.


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