English & Literature

Who is Jane Addams from Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education: A Biographical Introduction and what is their importance?

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Jane Addams was a social activist who developed "socialized education." Her work at Hull House affirmed her success as prophet of a new social order from a rural society to an urban, industrial nation. Jane Addams lived from 1860-1935. She was born in Cedarville, Illinois to John and Sarah Addams. The Addams had seven children but her mother's death when Jane was 2 years old made her socially reserved. At age 17 Jane entered a strict, semi-religious women's college to study classics and was elected class president. She entered medical school that she disliked and returned home before she toured Europe twice. She met Arnold Toynbee, an English historian, and visited Toynbee Hall which became a model for her Hull House project in Chicago. Socialized education began with the settlement house idea to restore community awareness. Hull House advocated the social integration of working-class immigrants and middle-class reformers to resolve conflicts caused by urban life. For example Addams emphasized reducing the isolation industrial workers feel when operating machines all day as immigrants in a new society.