The Paideia Program is a K-12 school-reform model built on philosopher Mortimer Adler's 1982 manifesto The Paideia Proposal, which specifies three distinct teaching modes used across a single school day: didactic instruction to convey factual knowledge, coaching to build academic skills through guided practice, and Socratic seminar to develop understanding through group discussion of primary texts. It translates Adler's perennialist philosophy, already recorded in this atlas as its own Perennialism entry, into a concrete, adoptable school structure rather than a set of abstract curricular principles.
Facts
Central QuestionHow can a democratic society give every child the same quality of schooling, not merely the same quantity, in a system Adler viewed as undemocratic 1 Most Effective ForAll students regardless of age or whether they plan to attend a university 1 Connections
Developed By
Mortimer Adler, Thinkers Paideia Program's own live entity-description: built on philosopher Mortimer Adler's 1982 manifesto The Paideia Proposal.
Includes
Source Paideia Proposal (Wikipedia)
Informed By
Paideia Program's own live entity-description: it translates Adler's perennialist philosophy, already recorded in this atlas as its own Perennialism entry, into a concrete school structure.
Sources
1. Paideia Proposal (Wikipedia)
The proposal section
It was a response to what Adler characterized as the United States' antidemocratic or undemocratic educational system, a holdover from the 19th century
The proposal section, sentence describing liberal education for all ages
The Paideia Proposal is a system of liberal education intended for students of all ages, including those who will never attend a university.
Includes: Mortimer Adler, Lead section
The Paideia Proposal is a K-12 educational reform plan first proposed in 1982 by Mortimer Adler.
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