Education
The Progressive Movement in education had a lasting impact on practice and instructional methods. People such as John Dewey and Maria Montessori believed that education should be responsive to the needs and interests of children as opposed to teaching a set curriculum using traditional practices. In addition they were opposed to strict teaching styles that relied heavily on textbooks, memorization.The focus of the progressives was on teaching children how to think and learn.
In the late nineteenth century most southern children, particularly in rural areas, received little more than an elementary education. Georgia's legislature, like those of other southern states, committed funds to the expansion of school facilities and the replacement of one-room schools with consolidated schools, more teachers, and higher grade levels.