Editing Educational essentialism (section)

==History of essentialism==
The Essentialist movement first began in the [[United States]] in the year 1938. In [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]], [[New Jersey]], a group met for the first time called "The Essentialist's Committee for the Advancement of Education."<ref>{{cite book|last=Howick|first=William H|title=Philosophies of Western Education|year=1971|page=50}}</ref> Their emphasis was to reform the educational system to a [[rationality]]-based system.

The term essentialist first appeared in the book ''An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education'' which was written by Michael John Demiashkevich.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Null|first=James Wesley|date=2007|title=William C. Bagley and the Founding of Essentialism: An Untold Story in American Educational History|url=http://www.tcrecord.org/library/abstract.asp?contentid=12868|journal=Teachers College Record|volume=109|issue=4|pages=1013–1055|access-date=June 7, 2016}}</ref> In his book, Demiashkevich labels some specific educators (including [[William Bagley (educator)|William C. Bagley]]) as “essentialists." Demiashkevich compared the essentialists to the different viewpoints of the [[Progressive Education Association]]. He described how the Progressives preached a “hedonistic doctrine of change” whereas the essentialists stressed the moral responsibility of man for his actions and looked toward permanent principles of behavior (Demiashkevich likened the arguments to those between the Socratics and the Sophists in Greek philosophy).<ref name=":1" /> In 1938 Bagley and other educators met together where Bagley gave a speech detailing the main points of the essentialism movement and attacking the [[Public Education|public education]] in the United States. One point that Bagley noted was that students in the U.S. were not getting an education on the same levels as students in [[Europe]] who were the same age.<ref name=":1" />

A recent branch has emerged within the essentialist school of thought called "neoessentialism." Emerging in the eighties as a response to the essentialist ideals of the thirties as well as to the criticism of the fifties and the advocates for education in the seventies, neoessentialism was created to try to appease the problems facing the United States at the time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ornstein|first=Allan|title=Foundations of Education|url=https://archive.org/details/foundationsofedu1998orns|url-access=registration|year=1993|page=[https://archive.org/details/foundationsofedu1998orns/page/465 465]}}</ref> The most notable change within this school of thought is that it called for the creation of a new discipline, computer science.

===Renowned essentialists===

[[William Bagley (educator)|William Bagley]] (1874–1946) was an important historical essentialist. William C. Bagley completed his undergraduate degree at Michigan Agricultural College in 1895. It wasn't until after finishing his undergraduate studies that he truly wanted to be a teacher.<ref name=":1" /> Bagley did his Graduate studies at the University of Chicago and at Cornell University. He acquired his Ph.D. in 1900, after which he took his first school job as a [[School Principal|Principal]] in a [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]] [[Primary school|Elementary School]].<ref name=":1" /> Bagley's devotion increased during his work at Montana State Normal School in Dillon, Montana. It was here where he decided to dedicate his time to the education of teachers and where he published ''[[The Educative Process]]'', launching his name across the nation. Throughout his career Bagley argued against the conservative position that teachers were not in need of special training for their work.<ref name=":1" /> He believed that [[Liberal arts education|liberal arts]] material was important in teacher education. Bagley also believed the dominant theories of education of the time were weak and lacking.

In April 1938, he published the ''Essentialist's Platform'', in which he outlined three major points of essentialism. He described the right of students to a well-educated and culturally knowledgeable teacher. Secondly, he discussed the importance of teaching the ideals of community to each group of students. Lastly, Bagley wrote of the importance of accuracy, thoroughness and effort on the part of the student in the classroom.

Another important essentialist is [[E. D. Hirsch]] (1928-). Hirsch was Founder and Chairman of the [[Core Knowledge Foundation]] and authored several books concerning fact-based approaches to education. Now retired, he spent many years teaching at the University of Virginia while also being an advocate for the "back to basics" movement. In his most popular book, ''Cultural Literacy — What Every American Needs To Know'', he offers lists, quotations, and information regarding what he believes is essential knowledge.<ref>{{cite web|title=School: The Story of American Public Education|work=PBS|publisher=Roundtable, Inc|url=https://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/innovators/hirsch.html|year=2001|access-date=April 5, 2011}}</ref>

See also [[Arthur Bestor]].