In our first episode, we explore the history of compulsory education in America. We look at the first group of students who were compelled to learn particular things, the ideas and decrees that led to towns being compelled to build schools, and then the rapid rise of the “common” and then public schools. Please blame my accent or the glass of wine for the fact I can’t pronounce “compulsory” correctly.
Reference list:
- A History of Compulsory Education Laws. Fastback Series, No. 75. by Michael Katz
- School: The Story of American Public Education (PBS Series // Companion Book)
- The School in the United States: A Documentary History edited by James W. Fraser
The quote from the end is from Carl F. Kaestle in the book School: The Story of American Public Education:
In our society, that we provide common public schooling is inherently a compromise – We must therefore strive continually to find a creative balance between local and central direction, between diversity and standards, between liberty and equality.
The answer to the pop quiz is from the book, The Testing Wars by William Reese.
