Near the end of the 19th century, a series of reform movements known collectively as "Progressivism" gained momentum and soon made an impact on politics, culture, journalism, social services, and education in the United States. It arose in reaction to the problems created by the dramatic increase in urbanization and industrialization that characterized the second half of the 1800s.

Although Progressivism was never an organized and unified movement, it found expression through many separate societies (such as labor unions and women's suffrage groups) and many individual reformers (such as Jacob Riis, Sinclair Lewis, and Jane Addams).  In the decades in which Progressivism  was at its height, changes were made in the workplace; journalists took up issues such as anti-immigrant bias and urban poverty; women won the right to vote; political corruption, business monopolies, and corporate power were challenged as being antithetical to the public good; and class distinctions were seen as having no place in a true democracy.

One of the concerns of Progressivism was the quality of the life of the child. Its adherents made efforts to improve health care and nutrition, build playgrounds and recreation centers, place humane limits on the hours and conditions of child labor, make education freely available to every child, and alter fundamentally the nature of schools and schooling.

One of the strong voices in that element of Progressivism was that of John Dewey, who was influential in changing the focus of education from the school to the student. He believed that an authoritarian, formal, stultifying school environment was an inadequate preparation for life in a vibrant democracy. He believed that children were naturally playful and curious, and that it was through these qualities that the most meaningful education could be achieved. At the famous University of Chicago Laboratory School, he and others developed curricula and methodologies that focused on activities and projects, discovery, investigation, and real-world experiences. Dewey believed that education was not a preparation for life but a part of life itself. He believed that adult guidance and control was essential to a well-run classroom but did not need to become oppressive and inflexible. Dewey also had an enormous influence on teacher training, primarily by establishing teaching methodology as a science and ensuring that it was as important as mastery of any subject area on the path to teacher certification.

In that climate of child-centered educational reform, two parents founded the Miquon School in 1932. Dissatisfied with local public and private schools in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, they decided that they could offer their children a better education in a school that was based on Dewey's principles of humane, responsive, child-centered education. Although Miquon has gone through many changes since its beginnings in a farmhouse with a few small multi-age classes and a few versatile teachers, it has remained firmly attached to its Progressive roots.

 The basic tenets of Progressive Education include the following:
 

There are many facets to a child: his or her intellectual, imaginative, emotional, and social life, as well as the physical and moral. All of these domains can be nurtured in schools whose programs focus on the more creative and collaborative aspects of learning as well as on the cognitive development of children.

Critical thinking is valued over rote learning. Children can be educated to be independent and lifelong learners. Project-based learning is central in Progressive schools. Children are encouraged to construct their own models rather than memorize what the teachers say and to engage in increasingly complex tasks using a variety of learning materials.

Schools should serve as models of democracy, creating the space for every child to have a voice and to make a significant contribution to the community. Children can be prepared to become responsible, well-informed, and productive members of a community; to be articulate, literate, and numerate, and to be able to work with a wide range of people.

These ideals are articulated in more detail in the school's Mission Statement and Statement of Philosophy.
Their implementation in our classrooms can be understood through our annual curriculum report.