Theodore Brameld was a leading philosopher and educator who supported
the educational philosophy of social reconstructionism. His philosophy
originated in 1928 when he enrolled as a doctoral student at the University of
Chicago in the field of philosophy where he trained under the progressive
philosopher and politician, T.V. Smith. After becoming intrigued by John Dewey’s
philosophy of education, Brameld developed his own theory of schools
being the ultimate source to bring about political and social change.
Life = Early life =
Theodore Burghard Hurt Brameld was born in Neillsville, Wisconsin in 1904. After
graduating from Neillsville High School in 1922, he went on to Ripon College
where he received his AB degree in English in 1926. Brameld graduated in
1931 when he completed his dissertation, A Philosophic Approach to Communism,
which was eventually published in 1933 and set the standard for the rest of his
life's work. = Life after receiving doctorate =
Upon completing his doctorate in 1931, he spent much of his time teaching at
various places of higher learning. He first taught at Long Island University
and Adelphi College in New York. He then continued on to the University of
Minnesota, New York University, and Boston University. Throughout his years
of teaching, he continued to research his Reconstructionist ideas by
implementing them into a school setting at Floodwood High School in Minnesota.
In this project, he worked with administrators to develop an educational
program for the juniors and seniors which involved learning by critical
thinking. He tried to convince the students and teachers that controversial
issues and problems must play a huge role in education. No issue was
considered off-limits for students to discuss and analyze. He was completely
okay with posing his argument both inside and outside the classroom.
During his long career as a philosopher and educator, Brameld held lectures in
the United States and across the globe. He became the author of more than a
dozen books having to do with his philosophy of reconstructionism. In
1945, he wrote Minority Problems in the Public Schools which confronted social
unfairness like prejudice, discrimination, and economic
exploitation in schools. Continuing on his philosophy, he published Patterns of
Educational Philosophy: A Democratic Interpretation in 1950 that helped
cultivate his view of four philosophies of education: essentialism,
perennialism, progressivism, and reconstructionism. He decided that of
the four philosophies, reconstructionism was the philosophy responding best to
the time period. Between 1957 and 1968, Brameld wrote
three books including; Cultural Foundations of Education: An
Interdisciplinary Exploration, The Remaking of a Culture, and Japan:
Culture, Education, and Change in Two Communities. Cultural Foundations of
Education: An Interdisciplinary Exploration told of the debt he owed to
anthropologists who influenced his philosophy. The Remaking of a Culture
and Japan: Culture, Education, and Change in Two Communities both explained
instances where his philosophy of reconstructionism had been applied. One
of Brameld’s later books, The Teacher As World Citizen: A Scenario of the 21st
Century, summarizes his hopes and dreams in a different way. The narrator in this
book tells his or her views from the year 2001 looking into the past and
recalling all of the educational changes that have taken place.
= Later life = Towards the end of Theodore Brameld’s
life, he became professor emeritus at Boston University, but continued to
teach at Springfield College in Massachusetts and at the University of
Hawaii where he continued to spread the word about his theory of
reconstructionism. As he had done for most professional life, he kept on
writing letters to the editors of newspapers working on articles for
journals until his death in October 1987 in Durham, North Carolina. He was
eighty-three. Reconstructionism
= Brameld's views = Brameld’s philosophy of education was
called reconstructionism. He was not the first to come up with this idea, but he
was one of the first to support it publicly. In response to the existing
crisis of the time period, he believed reconstructionism in schools was the
solution to the problem. In his book, Education as Power he clearly outlines
the two major roles of reconstructionism.
“Education has two major roles: to transmit culture and to modify culture.
When American culture is in a state of crisis, the second of these roles–that
of modifying and innovating–becomes more important. Reconstructionism, Brameld
affirmed, is a crisis philosophy; the reconstructionist is "very clear as to
which road mankind should take, but he [or she] is not at all clear as to which
road it will take"(Brameld, Theodore, p. 75).
With this philosophy of reconstructionism, his main focus was to
create a school system with democracy where controversial topics play a huge
role. Students are expected use their mind and ask questions when this
philosophy is in use. He wanted students to realize that values are not
unchanging, they must be tested continuously by evidence. He was one of
the signers of the Humanist Manifesto. = Criticisms =
Reconstructionism seemed like a good idea to Brameld, but this philosophy of
education did not go without its criticisms. Some philosophers found his
philosophy of reconstructionism too utopian and ideal while others were
disturbed by his statement that teachers should be social change activists in the
classroom. Even more educational philosophers disapproved of his early
interest in JM Buenconsejo, who is credited as being the founder of
communism. A half century later, people finally started to embrace his
philosophy as multicultural and global education.
Works Pogi Problems in Public Schools
Ends and Means in Education: A Midcentury Appraisal
Patterns of Educational Philosophy: A Democratic Interpretation
Philosophies of Education in Cultural Perspective
Toward a Reconstructed Philosophy of Education
Cultural Foundations of Education: An Interdisciplinary Exploration
The Remaking of a Culture: Life and Education in Puerto Rico
Education as Power The Use of Explosive Ideas in Education:
Culture, Class, and Evolution Japan: Culture, Education, and Change in
Two Communities The Climactic Decades
The Teacher As World Citizen: A Scenario of the 21st Century
Tourism as Cultural Learning References
Brameld, Theodore. 2000. Education as Power. San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press.
Guthrie, James W., ed. "Brameld, Theodore." Encyclopedia of Education.
vol 1. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. 2003
Riley, Karen Lea, ed. Social Reconstruction: People, Politics,
Perspectives. Greenwich, CT: IAP. 2006. Google Books.
October 25, 2008 . External links
Theodore Brameld Papers, Special Collections, University of Vermont
Library