Education and Social Value

Addams argues that education must connect children's experiences to social life, freeing their potential and preparing them for democratic citizenship, rather than merely teaching rote skills or abstract knowledge.

Critiques the individualistic focus of women's education, which trains for intellectual accumulation but fails to prepare for active social engagement.

Addams critiques public schools for failing to give working-class children a sense of social value in their industrial labor, instead preparing them only for commercial or clerical work.