Local Civics with National Purpose: Civic Education Origins at Shortridge High School (Historical Studies in Education)

This book examines the development of civic education in the United States through the lives of two teachers at Shortridge High School (SHS) in Indianapolis around 1900. After situating civic education at the turn-of-the-century, the book describes the career of Laura Donnan--her influences, teaching, extracurriculars, and civic life--through the lens of her unique epistemology, shaped by negotiating the gendered ideologies of her era. Then, the book re-examines Arthur W. Dunn's career, focusing on his ten years at SHS, and the influence of Donnan on his popular community civics curriculum and subsequently the 1916 report "The Social Studies in Secondary Education." Previous scholars have overlooked Dunn's time at SHS, viewing it simply as a stepping stone for the progressive educator's career. This book argues that Dunn's time at SHS was pivotal to his career due to influential colleagues, primarily Donnan. To conclude, Clark discusses the implications of Donnan's epistemology in shaping civic education in the United States Series Editor’s Preface 7 Acknowledgments 9 Contents 11 1 Introduction 14 Chapter Overviews 15 2 Contextual, Argumentative, and Theoretical Introductions 18 Indianapolis and Shortridge High School Circa 1900 18 Shortridge High School 20 Contributions to Understanding the Development of Civic Education 21 Theoretical Framings 23 3 The Context of Civic Education in the United States Around 1900 29 The Americanization Movement and Civic Education 32 Civic Groups Interested in Civic Education 36 The Creation of the Social Studies 38 The Rise of Curriculum Ideologies 44 Donnan, Dunn, and Shortridge as Illustration of the Progressive Era 45 4 Laura Donnan 50 Early Life and Influences 51 Education and Early Teaching Positions 54 School Life 56 Professional Life Outside of Shortridge 58 Civic Life 61 Epistemology and Worldview 61 5 Civic Education at Shortridge High School 69 The NEA Speech 1889 70 Primary Source and Text Analysis 71 Discussion and Deliberation 72 Experiential and Place-Based Learning 74 Inquiry-Based Instruction 74 Simulation 75 The Extracurriculum 75 Civic Education at Shortridge 76 Decision Making 77 Pluralism and Civil Rights 78 Civic Activism 80 Social Science 81 Values and Moral Development 81 Final Thoughts on Civic Education at Shortridge 83 6 The Extracurriculum of Shortridge High School 87 The Extracurriculum in Turn-of-the-Century Schools 88 The Extracurriculum at Shortridge 89 Donnan’s Extracurriculars 89 The Shortridge Senate 90 The Daily Echo 95 Significance of Extracurriculum at Shortridge 99 7 Arthur Dunn at Shortridge 1900–1910 104 Arthur Dunn Before Shortridge: A Clarification of the Literature 105 Arrival at Shortridge High School 107 Dunn’s “Progressive” Teaching in History and Geography, Not Civics 108 Connection to National Municipal League—1905 111 Dunn’s Emergence as Civic Expert in Indianapolis—1906 112 Textbook: 1906–1907 114 The Study: 1906–1909 116 Dunn’s Departure: 1910 119 Significance of Dunn’s Time at Shortridge 119 8 Arthur Dunn on the National Stage: Local Civics for National Purposes 125 Departing Shortridge 126 Arthur Dunn After Shortridge: A Brief Review of the Literature 126 Dunn and the National Municipal League: 1910–14 127 Dunn, the Bureau of Education, and the Reports: 1914–16 128 Dunn the Free Agent: 1916–20 130 Dunn and the Junior Red Cross: 1920–27 131 Dunn’s Ascension of the Educational Career Pyramid 132 9 Donnan, Dunn, and Their Civic Education Implications 139 Locating the Influence of Donnan on Dunn 139 Local Civics for National Purposes 144 Laura Donnan as Progressive Exemplar: Agency and Enacted Epistemological Practice 147 Enacted Epistemological Practice 150 10 Conclusion 153 Revisiting the Main Arguments 154 Final Thoughts on the Impact of Laura Donnan 158 Index 163