I wouldn’t dispute the negatives about Dewey and his like but I do think that children have historically been treated as more of a discipline problem than as eager young minds to nurture.
I've been listening to the abridged CD edition of this, it's great; disclaimer is that I've been living an alternative lifestyle based on clutter for most of my life. ;') Anyway, a couple days ago I reached a section on a "disorganized" school.