The Arthurdale Community School : education and reform in Depression-era Appalachia / Sam F. Stack, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stack, Sam F., 1954- author.

Series:

Place matters (Series) (Lexington, Ky.)

Place matters: new directions in Appalachian studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arthurdale Community School (Arthurdale, W. Va.)--History.

Arthurdale Community School (Arthurdale, W. Va.).

Community and school--West Virginia--Arthurdale--History--20th century.

Community and school.

Place-based education--Appalachian Region--History--20th century.

Place-based education.

Educational change--Appalachian Region--History--20th century.

Educational change.

Depressions--1929--Appalachian Region.

Depressions.

History.

Appalachian Region.

West Virginia--Arthurdale.

Physical Description:

197 pages, 12 pages of unnumbered plates : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, [2016]

Summary:

The first of many homestead communities designed during the rollout of the New Deal, Arthurdale, West Virginia, was a bold experiment in progressive social planning. The first book-length study of this well-known educational experiment. The Arthurdale Community School illuminates the institution's history, influence, and impact. Founded on American philosopher and reformer John Dewey's idea that learning should be based not on competition but on community, and informed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's guidance, the Arthurdale project sought to enable both children and adults to regain a sense of identity and place by studying the history and culture of Appalachia. Its goal was not to produce workers for global capitalism but to provide citizens with the tools to participate in a democracy. Author Sam F. Stack Jr. examines both the successes and the failures of this famous progressive experiment, providing an in-depth analysis of the Arthurdale School's legacy. A fascinating study of innovation and reform in Appalachia, Stack's book also investigates how this project's community model may offer insights into the challenges facing schools today. Book jacket.

Contents:

Progressive education and the Depression

Back to the land and the Arthurdale School

Elsie Ripley Clapp and the community school

Beginning a community school

The struggle to survive

From community school to traditional

The end of a dream?.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-191) and index.

ISBN:

9780813166889

0813166888

OCLC:

922631872