John Dewey visited and wrote about a number of experimental schools, including the School of Organic Education, founded by Marietta Johnson in 1907.  In Schools of Tomorrow he wrote: "(Marietta Johnson's) main underlying principle is Rousseau's central idea, namely: The child is best prepared for life as an adult by experiencing in childhood what has meaning to him as a child; further, the child has a right to enjoy his childhood."

Visit The Center for Dewey Studies by clicking here.

"If education is to become the conscious agent of building a better world, it must emphasize the all-round life of the learner."

Marietta Johnson Museum

A Museum dedicated to the founder of the School of Organic Education

"The reason for having a school where children work together is that the child must learn to work with others. Granting this, Mrs. Johnson has tried to find a plan giving the utmost liberty to individual development...she calls her methods of education 'organic' because they follow the natural growth of the pupil."
Schools of Tomorrow, Chapter II, "An Experiment in Education as Natural Development"

School of Organic Education

The web page  designed by students of the school today

mariettajohnson@mindspring.com

John Dewey and Marietta Johnson were among the founders of the Progressive Education Association. Mrs. Johnson was a noted educator whose experimental school in the Utopian community of Fairhope, Ala., still operates.