1. 1889-1974

2. Counts is credited for influencing several theories, particularly, critical pedagogy. He also wrote dozens of important papers and 29 books about education. Also, he was highly active in politics as a leading advocate of teachers’ unions, the head of the American Federation of Teachers, the founder of the New York State Liberal Party, and he was a candidate for the US senate.

3. While attending the University of Chicago, Counts was introduced to the beliefs of John Dewey and Francis Parker for the support of Progressivism. He became a leading critic for them. He then developed the Social Reconstruction view of education.

4. Social Reconstruction focuses on the student’s learning on the social concerns of the world. The teacher presents the social problems to the class and acts as the facilitator to find a solution to the problem. The students make a goal to work towards in the community, improving a local park or restoring an important building in the area, and all year they do things that work towards accomplishing this goal.

5. In 1937, Counts gave a speech to the Progressive Education Association that put his philosophy on the map. In his address Counts proposed that teachers "dare build a new social order" through a complex, but definitely possible, process. He explained that only through schooling could students be educated for a life in a world transformed by massive changes in science, industry, and technology. Counts insisted that responsible educators "cannot evade the responsibility of participating actively in the task of reconstituting the democratic tradition and of thus working positively toward a new society." Counts' address to the PEA and the subsequent publication put him in the forefront of the social reconstruction movement in education.

6. All the way up until his death in 1974, Counts was still writing books. His last books included The Social Foundations of Education and The Prospects of the American Democracy. He was teaching at the Columbia University Teachers College. He was also was serving as a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Michigan State University, and Southern Illinois University even after his retirement. Counts continues to draw support as well as criticism from modern educators.