Blog #2 Part 1 Refection

    Part one of the book introduced so many intriguing details of the origins of the US education system. I've taken our current education system for granted. I knew education had its troubles when learning about desegregation in elementary school, but I never thought about what it took to establish a basic school system. The text showcases how many important aspects we hold dear now were first introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. We wouldn't have the diverse and accessible education we have right now without the work of education reformers. These ideas have taken many decades of turbulent troubles and development to fully take root. 

University of Virginia: Founded By Thomas Jefferson

    Education initially was incredibly sparse and heavily tied to religion; only the most privileged of Americans had access to advanced schooling. After the American Revolution, education would finally start getting the attention it needed. Thomas Jefferson would be one the first to promote a common school system. Jefferson believed that "public education was essential for democracy." I found it interesting that from the start, education was viewed as the key to democratic liberty. This idea would be echoed by other reformers. His colleagues would mostly ignore him, but Horace Mann would make tremendous progress a few decades later.

Horace Mann

    According to E. D. Hirsch, "Horace Mann is rightly the patron saint of public education..." Based on the readings in the text, I agree with this statement. Despite the terrible backward ideals of the time, he wanted a public school system that would give boys and girls an excellent education with no distinction between rich and poor. He also importantly wanted the school system to have set standards and be funded by tax dollars. We have to note how radical his ideas were considered for the time. Such a stance was a great starting point for educating America. His influence jump-started the building of common schools. Despite his ambition, not all his ideas were perfect. It would soon be evident that religion and race would cause great divides.

African Free School: One of the few schools opened for blacks.

    Religion and racial divides would prove to be a cumbersome obstacle for progress. Religion would divide Catholics and Protestants because they wanted to enforce their own religious ideologies upon their children. This would cause separate schools to be opened on the basis of religion. Race relations in the country were obviously not great. A majority of African Americans were still enslaved during the time period. The African Americans that did get access to education were divided into their own schools and given subpar facilities. An interesting quote from the text states, "African Americans began to tie the quest for freedom and the quest for education and excellence together." Education was viewed as a way of liberation even if it didn't give them better job opportunities. These troubles would be the next big challenge.

  Doing the group project was an interesting undertaking. The different perspectives I saw were intriguing, but I still firmly hold to my original observations. I believe education and freedom are greatly intermingled, and it's fascinating seeing reformers from decades ago have this viewpoint. The steps they made were a grand accomplishment and lead the US to "providing more schooling to more children than any other nation on earth..." Such a grand leap in progress was made. Education has been on a large dynamic journey, and we've only learned the beginnings of it.