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TO MY COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS

IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AND THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

AND AMONG THE SCHOOLMEN

OF MISSOURI AND OHIO

PREFACE

Ir has now come to be understood that a series of essays upon the educational reformers cannot by any stretch of the imagination be termed a 'history of education.' The biographical and personal details must be subordinated and brought into perspective, and a suitable historical and philosophical connection given a work, before it can be so dignified. The present volume, therefore, is not intended to be a continuation of my History of Education before the Middle Ages and my treatment of the Middle Ages and the Transition to Modern Times. To a certain extent it duplicates material toward the end of the latter volume, and it largely anticipates my History of Education in Modern Times, but the nature and purpose of the present work are quite different.

I have felt that an account of the life and work of the men who, during the past three centuries, have introduced various innovations and reforms into modern education might contain interest and value for many who would never read a more comprehensive and unified production. I have, however, made some attempt as well to present the social setting of each reformer. Moreover, although the facts of biography are narrated somewhat at length, an effort has been made to elimi

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nate everything that does not seem to have some bearing upon the contributions of the educator under consideration or upon the spread and permanence of his work. Such a treatment, I venture to hope, will prove of service to the general reader and to the student of educational origins whose time is limited. The volume may be used as a reference work, a reading circle book, or even as a text for classes that are not in condition to cope with the complexities of modern educational history. The worth of the book for any of these purposes has probably been heightened by a liberal quotation from the sources in the body of the text and the addition of supplementary readings at the end of each chapter.

This work is largely an outgrowth of my lectures before extension classes, teachers' institutes, and other informal gatherings in the states of Missouri and Ohio. I have, no doubt, unconsciously received much help from those who have listened to me upon these occasions, and have made bold to dedicate the book to them. More direct assistance, however, has been received from my friends, Professors Jesse H. Coursault of the University of Missouri, Arthur J. Jones of the University of Maine, and Edward O. Sisson of the University of Washington, and from my wife, Helen Wadsworth Graves.

December 30, 1911.

F. P. G.

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