The Imperfect Panacea: American Faith in Education

by Henry J. Perkinson

This short history of American Education examines our nation's peculiar faith in the power of its schools to solve its various social problems. Focusing mainly on the post Civil War period, it shows how our early public school system was used in an attempt to solve such problems as racial inequality, urban decay, unemployment, and nationalization. It also shows how later problems such as overpopulation, AIDS, environmental pollution, drugs, automobile safety, crime, and cultural discrimination have been put on the school's agenda. In a new concluding section, Professor Perkinson discusses why the public schools have not solved these broad social problems and why they should not be expected to do so.

Genres: Education

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

when people say, 'it takes a village,' they don't really believe it. 'the sins of one generation' is the more appropriate cliche, and the sad reality is that while the sins of one entire village falls on its children, the accountability for those kids is placed soley on the one village institution that can be measured and berated: the school. there exists this myth that schools can -- and should -- be a sort of panacea, a place where all problems can be resolved. violence? adhd? crime? social inequality? the schools can fix it all. we see this myth, in part, in the formulaic feel-good teacher movie: a unlikely, unorthodox teacher comes into a failing school with apathetic teachers and turns unruly, undisciplined kids into stars by discovering that the only problem was that the kids were just given up on. the more sophisticated, 2007 version (freedom something) features the added twist of a teacher who gives up everything -- and must -- in order to make that difference. the message seems to be that the blame for poorly performing schools lie squarely on indifferent teachers and administration, and if they only could muster the passion and care of a common citizen, they would change the world.

this book gives us the sad history of this kind of thinking, but at the institutional level.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history of education in America.