An analysis of John Dewey's writing for liberal journals reveals Dewey's early and forceful efforts to refute anti-intellectual perversions of his theories. During the 1920's, the child-centered branch of the progressive education movement included some schools and individuals that expressed anti-intellectual positions. Richard Hofstadter in his 1963 book "Anti-intellectualism in American Life" assigned some of the responsibility for anti-intellectual education to John Dewey. Hofstadter's analysis, however, was based on Dewey's books only. Had Hofstadter also considered Dewey's journalistic writings, he might have seen more clearly that Dewey was not anti-intellectual. An examination of educational commentary in the "Nation" and the "New Republic" during the 1920's shows that the two leading journals, both with long-standing interests in educational matters, provided a forum for thoughtful dialogue on progressive education and its child-centered elements. And it demonstrates that John Dewey and others issued repeated warnings against the anti-intellectual variants of child-centered education. (RM)