The concept of progress was emphasized asserting that human beings are capable of improving their environment by applying intelligence and the scientific method. Progressivism held that political reforms could refashion human society. The belief was through legislation, and peaceful social innovation through education would reform the nation. People such as Pestalozzi, Freud, and especially Dewey influenced the Progressivism movement. Dewey exerted a profound influence on Progressive education. Progressive education was a rallying point for all those who opposed educational traditionalism.
William Heard Kilpatrick was born in White Plains, Georgia in 1871 and died in 1965. As a child, he was deeply influenced by the extremely different personalities of his parents. From his strict minister father, he learned the value of hard work, discipline and clear thinking. His mother provided the balance to his father's sternness, and from her he learned compassion, relationship, connection to others and self-confidence. It is these attributes that are the foundation for Kilpatrick's work ethic and teaching. While attending Mercer University, he read Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species and was changed forever. He graduated Mercer University in 1871 and with a $500 loan from one of his brothers; he left for graduate school at John Hopkins University. At John Hopkins, his interest in evolutionary science and "open-ended intellectual inquiry"" was developed. As a result, he denounced the formal religious practice of his family and sought more secular ways of believing and living. After graduating John Hopkins, he became a teacher, principal and college instructor. During this time, he discovered the teachings of Johann Heinrich, Pestalozzi and Francis Parker. These individuals were the inspiration of his teaching philosophy. When he was a principal at an elementary school, he was instrumental in having report cards eliminated.
