School: The Story of American Public Education

by Sarah Mondale (Editor), Sarah B. Patton, James D. Anderson (Contributor)

Esteemed historians of education David Tyack, Carl Kaestle, Diane Ravitch, James Anderson, and Larry Cuban journey through history and across the nation to recapture the idealism of our education pioneers, Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann. We learn how, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, massive immigration, child labor laws, and the explosive growth of cities fueled school attendance and transformed public education, and how in the 1950s public schools became a major battleground in the fight for equality for minorities and women. The debate rages on: Do today's reforms challenge our forebears' notion of a common school for all Americans? Or are they our only recourse today? This lavishly illustrated companion book to the acclaimed PBS documentary, School, is essential reading for anyone who cares about public education.

Genres: Education, History, Nonfiction, Sociology, School, Teaching, Historical

243 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2001

Reviews

[J. Boo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full of the mushy, high-minded progressive pablum that the "SEE IT ON PBS!" tagline implies. We live in a perfectible world where there are no trade-offs, everyone needs to be on the college track, etc.

This passage was particularly infuriating, and is illustrative of some of the other issues with the book:

"Other problems existed aside from the condition of the facilities [of schools in the 1800s, when Horace Mann took an interest in them]. Schoolchildren spent hours sitting on hard benches, which Mann feared would damage their spines. There were no blackboards and no standardized textbooks, so pupils spent hours memorizing or reciting passages from books they brought from home, no matter how outdated or irrelevant. One book on penmanship devoted an entire page to the proper writing of the letter O, at a 53 degree slant..."

IT IS A BOOK ON PENMANSHIP! OF COURSE THERE'S A WHOLE PAGE ON WRITING A SINGLE LETTER! WHAT'S MORE, THE O IS FOUNDATIONAL - THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER CIRCULAR ELEMENTS IN LETTERS- e.g. b, c, d, p, q, etc. - WHICH ARE GENERALLY TAUGHT AS DERIVATIONS OF THE CIRCULAR MOTION OF THE LETTER O!

Now, in theory this might just be Mann being Mann, but the fact that the authors and editors happily passed this tidbit on as an example of "how we used to do dumb stuff" speaks poorly of them. Perhaps I'm just bitter at spending vast sums of money on handwriting-focused occupational therapy, though.

I did like the pictures, which are the only things saving the book from one-star ignominy.

[Kacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been debating between 3 or 4 stars simply because I only read this book for one of my required college courses. If it weren’t for class, I wouldn’t have read this book but I’m glad I did.

It is imperative we know what issues our school systems have faced in the past and continue to face in the present. Anyone deciding to go into the schooling/educational system in any way should read this book. Anyone sending a child into a school should also read this book. There were very many eye-opening passages and retellings of American education history that allowed me to appreciate where we are now while also thinking of ways we can improve in the future. Although I did not agree with some ideas from the writers, it was a thought provoking text that helped me reform my beliefs and shape new opinions on American education as they did a good job with providing both sides to any argument/debate discussed in the text.

4 stars for now. I love a good nonfiction book that makes me think and challenges what I thought I knew.

[JuJu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really readable overview of the history of public schooling in America. My only real problem with it was the lack of information about special education.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book would have been better with just the facts and not the author's political attacks. It's his book right? But if I had known, I probably wouldn't have read it.
The history of the public school is interesting, but as soon as the state(s) made it mandatory and took the rights away from the parents it was never "right" in any form.
The book offers a lot of what happened, what didn't work, no why and toward the end it talked about schools trying new alternatives to teaching, but again, the political opinion in the book is skewed and offering a $25k voucher for every kid isn't the answer.
The public schools are already too concerned about the funding and not putting the students as the top priority.
Isn't that what a school should be about? The students?

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for people wondering why so many people complain about the system. It gives you an unbiased, concise history of public education in our country. If you are really intrigued by education, it also mentions how education was taught in the beginning (very worth learning about), the reforms (also worth learning what each meant) and the present state of the system. I highly recommend it. When you add standardized testing to its predecessor the IQ test, you can see how to a certain degree we have a system that needs to be constantly reformed for the better.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read this because it was required for class. However, it is a fascinating read. Also, it is filled with pictures which of course, will make anything more interesting. My other textbook is a snoozer because of the lack of pictures, obviously.

The worst thing about School is that it was published in 2002. I would love an update on the last 20 years and the developments on No Child Left Behind and the uptrend of school shootings.

Still, School is a fun read about different periods of time regarding our education system and how it has changed. There are many topics it does not cover but instead, focuses on the major points (Brown v. Board for example).

[Roberta Decenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very enlightening and informative book. It covers the history of education in America from its conception in the 1700s all the way until the current millennium. I found it very interesting and informative on many accounts. I thought it was interesting to learn about the education not just of Americans but also of those who came to this country looking for the “American Dream” and promise and how it differed from the education of born and raised Americans. In school, we certainly do learn about the era of segregation and discrimination of African Americans and the movement in the 1960s to desegregate, but we never discuss how that segregation actually extended and applied to ALL minorities and immigrants (regardless of colour, sometimes it had to do with religion) within our school systems. I also found it interesting to learn what the current goals of schooling actually are in this country- to breed workers and a productive labor force- and as a life long learner, I find I don’t actually agree with this intent. It has led me to wonder exactly what indoctrination we all, and especially myself, have been getting for years and why us Americans consider our lives better for nothing beyond work. I find that very sad really. In short, it is a very eye opening and enlightening read and a great way to get an overview on this amazing experiment of public schooling. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of our public school systems.

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

More summative than comprehensive, more left-leaning than right-leaning, this is a history that lacks balance. I won’t deny that it led me into some detours of my own curiosity and investigation, things I wanted to look into further, which is good, but as a whole book, it suffers from an unfortunate bias, from an overuse of quotes by the same several voices in education, and from tired cliches that don’t offer any kind of original or inspirational thought. I’m no fan of conservative politics, nor of anyone who heralds far-right extremes, but this book seems inclined to presume the worst of all conservative ideas, even naming them as such, until the final two or three pages, when one of those ideas gets a nod. A thorough history of public schools can’t get away from battles with religion and indoctrination, questions about whether or not it does or should exist in the classroom, but I believe it’s possible to write that story without making every proponent of religion and conservatism in American history appear to be anathema to the goal of achieving an honest, fair, and ultimately successful system of education in this nation.

[Talbot Hook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly decent popular account of American school systems from their foundations to the early 2000s. It's not nearly as political as some of the other comments would have you believe, but it doesn't reach adequate depth on nearly anything. As an introduction, however, it serves its purpose fairly well: It initiates you into the major players, events, movements, and pieces of legislation that inform our current framework for education and chases the overarching historical tension of American education: equality versus quality (or fairness/standards or equity/excellence - this tension has many names). Perhaps the strangest thing is that this book has an introduction to each section which makes the following "true" section seem rather redundant; effectively, the reader reads the same account twice over (and the lens isn't all that different). This was likely to bring in expert voices, but it makes the book about 30% longer than it needed to be; that time would've been better spent going into greater depth with, especially, the early days of American educational systems. Great visual elements, though.

[Thom DeLair]

This was a relatively quick read with many pictures, it almost felt like reading a high school year book. It gives a concise overview of American public education: the 19th century, the first half of the 20th century, 1950 - 1980 and 1980 - 2000. It encapsulates many of the ideas into a few thinkers and specific historical events. Much of the material felt familiar but was nice that it was presented in a whole fashion. The main point, I took from it, was how much the roles of public schools play as the stage of local democratic practices and as a place to instill civic values. It's a good book to start with if you're just learning about the history of education in America.

[Nathan Deck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly pushing an agenda, and that comes out the most in part 3 with the one sided presentation of the various methods of school reform in the 20th century. I am not sure how the authors would change the material if they were to add a 4th part covering the early 20th century and especially the continued decline in public school performance over the last few decades. They present Regan’s claim of a nation in crisis as him crying wolf, but the current data is all publicly available thanks to W Bush and the no child left behind act.

[Ellie Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

(for ed policy class)

this was just a book about school. a very broad overview and a great anchor text for an ed policy class. i didn't really learn anything new or groundbreaking because i consider myself pretty well-versed in the basics of educational history, but i appreciated the pictures and general organization. hopefully it will act as a catalyst for deeper conversations about education as an institution

[kindel huffaker]

Read this for my education class and it was so cool to see how far we have come. “The future of democracy depends on the education of its people… will we give all students what they need to succeed, or stand by and see their opportunities limited? That choice will determine the future of our children- and our nation.”

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy-to-read general summation of public schooling in the US that serves as an introduction to our educational history. I particularly appreciated the section introductions written by the educational historians Tyack, Kaestle, Anderson and Cuban.

[Danielle Cardoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was cool with all the information it gave about the history of education systems. I kinda wish it had just stuck to the facts instead of giving opinion alongside it but overall pretty good.

[Khristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview.

[Rod Naquin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My fav kind of book--a broad survey! Gets us to abt 2001--awesome to find Core Knowledge in here.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty dry, some of the information is interesting though.

[Kelynn Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school. And for it being a school book it was kinda interesting.

[Jacob Hales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gud booke about skool

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO thought provoking, especially 20 years later. Really puts how history evolves into perspective and sheds light dynamics that drove the public school system to where it is now.

[Rolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and thorough--needs an update with a new chapter covering the 21st century, but other than that, I would love to use this in graduate classes.

[Eric Volpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative. A lot of repetitive info and filler. Cool pictures though.

[Liz Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent history of US public education

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several researchers contributed to this history on public school in America. It simply scratches the surface on the facts so it's a great starter on the subject.

I was fascinated by the various topics within public school's history. I even cried at some of the hardships and courage demonstrated by children in the face of bigotry and poverty.

It's interesting to see the recurring battle between traditional curricula and those that want to implement various theories to what "ought" to be part of school.

Overall, it's a great read interspersed with black and white images of the past.

[Noelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an extremely informative book on the history of public education. It has been my evening reader all this week. :) Being raised in a home school, I knew nothing about the history or formation of public education as we know it. The first two sections were especially helpful - and made interesting by historic photographs.

So far, I've only encountered two paragraphs that drip with liberalism (and have nothing to do with history). If you consider the fact that PBS has partnered with the author, this is quite an accomplishment.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this as an overview of the role of public ed in our society. It makes me feel even more confident in my homeschooling path as compulsory ed has been anything but constant since its inception.It's been one long experiment that keeps changing and morphing as new goals are desired. It really comes down to fundamental paradigms as to what you believe education is for, whether it's for vocationalizing, pure academics or learning for learning's sake. Your own goals will determine your children's course through compulsory ed.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a pretty good overview of the history of public education in America. Informative? Yes. Insightful? Not so much. It gives a lot of generalized information about the issues of the public school system and how it got to where it is, but it doesn't give any solutions. I don't know if that's because the authors were just looking to give a history lesson or what, yet the language implies that they had some insights about it. Maybe they're just trying to remain impartial? I don't know. I did learn some stuff, however, and that was rewarding.

[Jeff Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the history of US public education and the issues that have affected its development. Interesting that many of today's current issues have been around throughout education's history and that many of the assumptions of our current corporate-obsessed culture were also popular in the late-19th century, when corporate excess was last at its peak.