This work examines the Arthurdale School, which was created during the Great Depression and dedicated to the purpose of building community and preparing students for participation in democratic society.

The first of many homestead communities designed during the rollout of the New Deal, Arthurdale, West Virginia, was a bold experiment in progressive social planning. At the center of the settlement was the school, which was established to improve the curriculum offered to Appalachian students. Offering displaced and unemployed coal miners and their families new opportunities, the school also helped those in need to develop a sense of dignity during the Great Depression. The first book-length study of the well-known educational experiment, The Arthurdale Community School illuminates the institution's history, influence, and impact. Founded on American philosopher and reformer John Dewey's idea that learning should be based not on competition but on community, and informed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's guidance, the Arthurdale project sought to enable both children and adults to regain a sense of identity and place by studying the history and culture of Appalachia. Its goal was not to produce workers for global capitalism but to provide citizens with the tools to participate in a democracy. Author Sam F. Stack Jr. examines both the successes and failures of this famous progressive experiment, providing an in-depth analysis of the Arthurdale School's legacy. A fascinating study of innovation and reform in Appalachia, Stack's book also investigates how this project's community model may offer insights into the challenges facing schools today.

How New Deal economic policies played out in the small town of Arthurdale, West Virginia Today, the U.S. government is again moving to embrace New Deal-like economic policies. While much has been written about the New Deal from a macro perspective, little has been written about how New Deal programs played out on the ground. In Back to the Land, author CJ Maloney tells the true story of Arthurdale, West Virginia, a town created as a "pet project" of the Roosevelts. Designed to be (in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt) "a human experiment station", she was to create a "New American" citizen who would embrace a collectivist form of life. This book tells the story of what happened to the people resettled in Arthurdale and how the policies implemented there shaped America as we know it. Arthurdale was the foundation upon which modern America was built. Details economic history at the micro level, revealing the true effects of New Deal economic policies on everyday life Addresses the pros and cons of federal government economic policies Describes how good intentions and grand ideas can result in disastrous consequences, not only in purely materialistic terms but, most important, in respect for the rule of law Back to the Land is a valuable addition to economic and historical literature.

In August 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt visited the impoverished coal communities of north central West Virginia. Suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, these coal families looked to the First Lady for help out of the devastating economic times. Her visit spurred the creation of Arthurdale, the nations first New Deal Homestead Community. Arthurdale quickly became known as Eleanors Little Village because of the First Ladys involvement with the project. She visited the community often to dine, dance, and converse with the homesteaders and to attend high school graduations. In addition to the creation of new housing, Arthurdale featured a community business center, state-of-the-art school buildings, a craft industry, an industrial factory, and home-based agricultural production. Although not a financial triumph for the federal government, the social success of the community is immeasurable.

This biography chronicles the life and teaching practices of Elsie Ripley Clapp, one of the most significant female leaders in progressive education. Clapp's greatest contribution to American education is the community school, a place for self-realization, caring, cooperation, and cultural enrichment as well as the cornerstone of democratic society. Challenging the practices of contemporary education in her era, she envisioned pedagogy as the integration of living and learning, building upon local resources and the experiences of students and their community. Learning was more than training or the acquisition of knowledge, it was a form of communal sharing. Agreeing with her mentor John Dewey, a true education was more of a journey than arrival at a specific destination. This book explores Clapp's personal journey, her triumphs and her failures.

Backbreaking work, threadbare clothes, and black coal dust choking the air -- this is what a miner's daughter knows. Willa Lowell fears that this dust marks her to be nothing else, that she will never win against the constant struggle to survive. Even the fierce flame of her family's love -- her one bright spot against the darkness -- has begun to dim. Willa yearns for a better life -- enough food to eat, clothes that fit, and a home free of black grit. She also yearns for a special love, the love of a boy who makes her laugh and shares the poetry she carries in her heart. When a much brighter future is suddenly promised to her family, Willa knows it is a miracle . . . until she discovers that every promise has a price. But she also discovers that the real change has burned inside her all along -- if only she is strong enough to mine it. Writing in a style that is as breathtaking and lyrical as it is powerful, Gretchen Moran Laskas draws from her family's past to bring to life the story of a girl struggling against seemingly insurmountable odds. The Miner's Daughterwill touch readers' hearts and stay with them long after they've read the last word.

John Dewey was one of the most prominent philosophers and educational thinkers of the twentieth century, and his influence on modern education continues today. In Teachers, Leaders, and Schools: Essays by John Dewey, educators Douglas J. Simpson and Sam F. Stack Jr. have gathered some of Dewey’s most user-friendly and insightful essays concerning education with the purpose of aiding potential and practicing teachers, administrators, and policy makers to prepare students for participation in democratic society. Selected largely, but not exclusively, for their accessibility, relevance, and breadth of information, these articles are grouped into five parts—The Classroom Teacher, The School Curriculum, The Educational Leader, The Ideal School, and The Democratic Society. Each part includes an introductory essay that connects Dewey’s thoughts not only to each other but also to current educational concerns. The sections build on one another, revealing Dewey’s educational theories and interests and illustrating how his thoughts remain relevant today.