children are born ignorant and need to be explicitly taught most skills and knowledge" and that learning follows a ladder of increasing difficulty and complexity" (Evers 1998). From this view, mastery is achieved through discipline, sequencing, and guided practice. While these concerns highlight the need for rigor, progressive learning in early childhood should not be mistaken for a lack of skill development.

Rabindranath Tagore presents a complementary perspective that highlights children's natural curiousity. He wrote that children possess a "God given gift of taking delight in the world" and criticized schooling that becomes an "education factory, lifeless and colorless" (Tagore 1925). In his own school, children developed competence and discipline through meaningful daily activities such as crafts, hygiene, cooking and interaction with nature, guided by teachers rather than imposed through rigid instruction. Progressive learning in early childhood can also be considered authentic learning because it engages children in tasks that are meaningful, purposeful, and connected to real life, fostering understanding alongside skill acquisition.

This philosophy is gradually influencing early childhood education in the Philippines. Some private schools have already begun adapting progressive approaches, which is encouraging. However, it will take time for these practices to be consistently observed in public schools, even though the Department of Education has initiated reforms through the Kindergarten Curriculum Framework (Department of Education 2016). One challenge is that seasoned educators must unlearn long-established didactic practices. To function effectively as facilitators of progressive learning, teachers must shift from being transmitters of knowledge to guides of children's inquiry, a transition that requires training, reflection, and institutional support.

In conclusion, progressive learning does not mean the absence of mastery. Instead, it shows that essential skills can be developed gradually through meaningful, guided, and authentic experiences, allowing children to learn deeply while educators continue to learn and unlearn along the way.

References:

Department of Education. 2016. Kindergarten Curriculum Framework. Pasig City, Philippines

https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Kinder-CG_0.pdfOpens in a new tab

Evers, W.M. 1998. "How Progressive Education Gets it Wrong." Hoover Digest, no.4

https://newlearningonline.com/new-learning/chapter-2/supporting-material-1/a-critique-of-progressive-educationOpens in a new tab

Tagore, R. 1925. "Talks in China." In A Tagore Reader, edited by Amiya Chakravaty, 213-215 Boston, Beacon Press, 1961

https://newlearningonline.com/new-learning/chapter-2/supporting-material-1/rabindranath-tagores-school-at-shantiniketanOpens in a new tab

To Learn and To Unlearn