Old School Still Matters Lessons From History To Reform Public Education In America

Can public schools in America be saved? This book considers theory, current practice, and the common school ideal through a historical lens to arrive at practical suggestions for reforming contemporary public education. Despite dramatic, sweeping changes in recent decades, a strong case can be made for guiding the reformation of contemporary public education in the United States on common school ideology of the nineteenth century. The author argues that the common school remains a public institution capable of preparing America's youth to contribute to the community in a positive manner, and that education must be treated at a public good where all children—regardless of social class—have a right to a quality education. The work includes a thorough overview of Horace Mann's writings on K–12 public education that support the common school ideal—concepts that are over 150 years old, yet still highly relevant today.

Applying lessons from history to the reality of poverty today in the United States—the most affluent country in the world—this book analyzes contributing factors to poverty and proposes steps to relieve people affected by it. American history is replete with efforts to alleviate poverty. While some efforts have resulted in at least partial success, others have not, because poverty is a multifaceted, complicated phenomenon with no simple solution. Winning the War on Poverty studies the history of poverty relief efforts in the United States dating to the nineteenth century, debunking misperceptions about the poor and tackling the problem of the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. It highlights the ideological differences between liberal and conservative beliefs and includes insights drawn from a well-rounded group of disciplines including political science, history, sociology, economics, and public health. Premised on the idea that only the lessons of history can help policymakers to recognize that the United States has a persistent poverty problem that is much worse than it is in many other democracies, the book suggests an 18-point plan to substantively address this dilemma. Its vision for reform does not pander to any particular ideology or political party; rather, the objective of this book is to explain how the United States can win the war on poverty in the short term.

Can public schools in America be saved? This book considers theory, current practice, and the common school ideal through a historical lens to arrive at practical suggestions for reforming contemporary public education. Despite dramatic, sweeping changes in recent decades, a strong case can be made for guiding the reformation of contemporary public education in the United States on common school ideology of the nineteenth century. The author argues that the common school remains a public institution capable of preparing America's youth to contribute to the community in a positive manner, and that education must be treated at a public good where all children—regardless of social class—have a right to a quality education. The work includes a thorough overview of Horace Mann's writings on K–12 public education that support the common school ideal—concepts that are over 150 years old, yet still highly relevant today.

(The official journal of the Organization of Educational Historians) The American Educational History Journal is a peer-reviewed, national research journal devoted to the examination of educational topics using perspectives from a variety of disciplines. The editors of AEHJ encourage communication between scholars from numerous disciplines, nationalities, institutions, and backgrounds. Authors come from a variety of disciplines including political science, curriculum, history, philosophy, teacher education, and educational leadership. Acceptance for publication in AEHJ requires that each author present a well-articulated argument that deals substantively with questions of educational history. AEHJ will accept two types of original unpublished manuscripts not under consideration by any other journal or publisher, for review and potential publication. The first consists of papers that are presented each year at our annual meeting. The second type consists of general submission papers received throughout the year. General submission papers may be submitted at any time. They will not, however, undergo the review process until January when papers presented at the annual conference are also due for review and potential publication. For more information about the Organization of Educational Historians (OEH) and its annual conference, visit the OEH web site: www.edhistorians.org

First published in 1968, The Irony of Early School Reform quickly became essential reading for anyone interested in American education. One of the first books to survey the relationship between public educational systems and the rise of urbanization and industrialization,Irony was instrumental in mapping out the origins of school reform and locating the source of educational inequalities and bureaucracies in patterns established in the nineteenth century. This new and enhanced version of the classic text is now available for the legions of people who have asked for it. It includes an update by the author along with the same cohesive text and criticism contained in the original. Readers will appreciate that this edition: brings back into print a book that holds an important place in the field of educational history and in the modern literature of educational reform; assesses the impact of the original publication in light of writing about American history and education since its original publication and explains its continuing significance; shatters warm and comforting myths about the origins of public education; and shows how some of the most problematic features of public education have their origins in nineteenth century styles of educational reform.

For over a century, Americans have translated their cultural anxieties and hopes into dramatic demands for educational reform. Although policy talk has sounded a millennial tone, the actual reforms have been gradual and incremental. Tinkering toward Utopia documents the dynamic tension between Americans’ faith in education as a panacea and the moderate pace of change in educational practices. In this book, David Tyack and Larry Cuban explore some basic questions about the nature of educational reform. Why have Americans come to believe that schooling has regressed? Have educational reforms occurred in cycles, and if so, why? Why has it been so difficult to change the basic institutional patterns of schooling? What actually happened when reformers tried to “reinvent” schooling? Tyack and Cuban argue that the ahistorical nature of most current reform proposals magnifies defects and understates the difficulty of changing the system. Policy talk has alternated between lamentation and overconfidence. The authors suggest that reformers today need to focus on ways to help teachers improve instruction from the inside out instead of decreeing change by remote control, and that reformers must also keep in mind the democratic purposes that guide public education.

Applying lessons from history to the reality of poverty today in the United States—the most affluent country in the world—this book analyzes contributing factors to poverty and proposes steps to relieve people affected by it. American history is replete with efforts to alleviate poverty. While some efforts have resulted in at least partial success, others have not, because poverty is a multifaceted, complicated phenomenon with no simple solution. Winning the War on Poverty studies the history of poverty relief efforts in the United States dating to the nineteenth century, debunking misperceptions about the poor and tackling the problem of the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. It highlights the ideological differences between liberal and conservative beliefs and includes insights drawn from a well-rounded group of disciplines including political science, history, sociology, economics, and public health. Premised on the idea that only the lessons of history can help policymakers to recognize that the United States has a persistent poverty problem that is much worse than it is in many other democracies, the book suggests an 18-point plan to substantively address this dilemma. Its vision for reform does not pander to any particular ideology or political party; rather, the objective of this book is to explain how the United States can win the war on poverty in the short term.