This is Part IV in the series History of Public Education.
In just a century and a half, give or take, public education United States by the 1950’s had gone from infant beginnings to the largest schooling system in the world; scared by wars and calloused by politics. The American public education system was celebrated by many as the best in the world. Until, one Soviet Union satellite Sputniked into space, that is. What a blow to US National pride!
If the United States of America had the best education in the world, then why was it not first in space? The power of acquired knowledge and innovation in science, and its impact on national security, was fresh on people’s mind since World War II. It wasn’t long before US officials responded by beefing up science in its schools. The National Defense Education Act was passed in 1958 to finance both scientific research and education. So away went the trend about home economics and—hello, Cold-War-style science education!
About a decade later the United States of America was the first to land on the moon.
Many milestones in US history which relates to education can be listed off: The passing of the Civil Rights Act (about time!), the Immigration Act, Bilingual Education Act (later repealed and replaced with No Child Left Behind), and of course—another round of “Monkey Trials.” Darwinists had been long been fighting for their right to teach evolution in schools. In the 1920’s the appeals had lost in court. This time though, Epperson v. Arkansas, was ruled in favor of monkey business, and prohibiting teaching of evolution as a theory considered unconstitutional based on the first amendment.
But even in the wake of the Civil Rights movement, there were some children who still were left out. It wasn’t until 1971 and the case of Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Pennsylvania that children who were classified as “mentally retarded” were legally allowed a free public education.
But don’t underestimate the power of the press. A 1975 Newsweek story called Why Johnny Can’t Write sparked strong interest in back-to-basic education. No, not science. Not wood-wittling either. The other stuff; reading, writing, and math. What a concept!
One wonders what how history would be different if former president Ronald Regan had actually carried out his vow to abolish the Department of Education. The DOE had attained cabinet status during the Carter era, which is a direct eye-poke for those who believe in market education. Alas, we cannot do more than speculate because the dis never materialized beyond campaign promise.
But Regan didn’t sit idle when it came to education. In 1983 the National Commission of Excellence in Education issued a report titled “A Nation at Risk.” Americans were once more reminded that our schools were not as hot as we thought. Or as the report’s author, James J. Harvey, said in his own famous words: “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.”
Well knowing how strongly America feels about the connection of education and National Security (remember the Sputnik, fear of foreign influence during World War I and II–or heck–even the Revolutionary War), you are certain that them are fighting words. That is all it took for the US to launch a counterattack on milk-toast education and fix the exposed threat to our kid’s futures, right?
Well, not quite…Let’s talk more Regan era, then we have the 90’s to cover, and the fear of millenium change until today.
Follow our conversation and conclusion of History of Public Education by checking www.summercounts.com frequently, or by subscribing or following us on Facebook.
http://summercounts.com/blog/2011/04/12/604/
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2002/Gary-Schools.html
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/educationhistorytimeline.html
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/roots_in_history/choice.html
http://www.aoh61.com/history/bible/nativism_chronology.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-only_movement
http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_histmats_civilrights64text.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epperson_v._Arkansas
http://www.faculty.piercelaw.edu/redfield/library/case-parc.pennsylvania.htm
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