I have long thought that one of the greatest problems plaguing this country is a lack of a coherent educational philosophy. That is not just because my degree is in education, that I am a former public school teacher or that I currently homeschool. Education is important. It is a reflection of our goals as a society and it fits each individual for that society.
Early America boasted an educational system almost entirely supported by local communities without tax money. And they gave rise to one of the most literate societies of the time, with literacy rates perhaps higher than today. Consder the fact that the Federalist Papers, rarely read today even in universities, were written for and understood by the common man. Horace Mann, the first Secretary of Education of Massachussetts and considered the father of American education, sought the perfection of man. He saw education as a tool to solve all social ills. John Dewey, the father of modern progressive education who greatly influenced eduction here in America and in many other countries (including the USSR), viewed the distinction between society and the individual as false. Today, our focus seems to be minimum competency, measured through minimum competency testing for the purpose of establishing a competitive workforce.
NCLB is gutting the curriculum. Many youngsters spend most of the school day on worksheets focused on preparation for standardized tests. While wealthier kids still have art, music, drama and physical education, many poorer students experience little beyond test preparation. Even in wealthier schools, concentration on test trivia is driving out social studies, inquiry, experimentation and reflective discussion. — Asbury Park Press
We are no longer providing our children with an education sutiable to maintain the liberty our forefathers fought so hard to win. As the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave slides further into socialism, why is it that Portia Simpson Millers, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, of all people seems to understand the noblest purposes of education?
Education, the Prime Minister said, must bring about mental and cultural liberation; build confidence and assertiveness in people as well as foster a strong sense of identity, creativity and integrity.
“Education must enable us never to succumb to the notion that excellence, virtue and success are beyond us or determined by others or things foreign”, Mrs. Simpson Miller noted. — Jamaica Information Service
I think our President could take a few notes. When reporting on topics of education, however, the Prime Minister’s office might want to take note of the dates. Unless they are somehow reporting from the future.
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Michael Hampton
Aug 02, 2006
Be careful who you idolize. Horace Mann is probably the single person most responsible for bringing about the destruction of American education and the problems you see around you, by replacing the mostly successful system then in use with the Prussian system of “education” whose purpose is not education per se, but the retardation of intelligence and maturity in order to create obedient workers.
Dana
Aug 02, 2006
Um, you should know me better than that by now, Michael. I included Mann because he is the beginning of the problems we see to day. Rather than viewing education as a means to liberty for the individual, he saw it as a means of social engineering. He wasn’t the first with this view, but the most influential. And hence he is the father of our modern American education.
We had higher literacy rates before him…when schools were controlled locally without state aid or governance. But then, at least I’m told, most knew how to read before entering school. Those pesky parents…
Boris
Nov 10, 2006
Dana wrote: “We had higher literacy rates before him…when schools were controlled locally without state aid or governance.”
I’ve wondered about that for a while. I goes without saying that little red schoolhouses must have been much cheaper to operate than modern brick kid-factories, but I still don’t know much about how education was funded in the old days. Was it local taxes? Donations? Endowments?
I’m sure there is probably an excellent book on this somewhere but I don’t know where to begin. Any help would be appreciated. (I don’t know anything about this site but I’ll look around.)
Dana
Nov 10, 2006
Interesting question. And it depends on how far back you want to go. Early schools were often started by the church for those less advantaged children whose parents weren’t literate or couldn’t educate them for some reason. They wanted to ensure that every citizen could read the bible. As time passed, some were started by tax dollars, but the control was completely local. It really wasn’t until Horace Mann that the government began to direct education.
The reason the system was so successful was that parents placed a heavy emphasis on it. The model education began at the mother’s side by the fireplace and ended at the father’s side in the field. Mom taught literacy…often with no books other than the bible…and by tracing letters in the ashes of the fireplace. Even as schools took on more importance and were seen as a way for children to get more of an education than most parents could provide (foreign language, higher math, etc.), most students could read before entering school.
Dana
Nov 10, 2006
and don’t forget that even as schools became more formalized, the school master often did not really have lodging of his own. He boarded with the families of his students on a rotating basis in exchange for his services as an educator.
Dana
Nov 10, 2006
Here’s a pretty good link that gives some of the info you might be looking for:
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/education-in-colonial-america/