Dewey’s educational theories and philosophies have been debated since their origin in early 19th century (Westbook, 1993). The strongest opponents of Dewey’s progressive theory were educational traditionalists or essentialists, who believed knowledge should be given directly to students in a formal, systematic fashion (Ornstein & Levine, 2003). Essentialists claimed two problem areas in applying Dewey’s progressive theory: that academic achievement, student learning, and economic productivity were diminished; and that universal truths and values were questioned (Ornstein & Levine, 2003; Westbook, 1993).