Democracy and Social Ethics · Theme

Education and Social Value

How Democracy and Social Ethics develops 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.

Where it surfaces

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