Education in America Case

Education in America

Sidiki Tarawali

Posc 323

Dr. Scott Johnson

As schools are one of the most familiar civic institutions, education in the United States has been ever changing and adapting to the growth of American society . Even while the founding fathers all agreed that educated citizens are key to sustaining their new republic, achieving that common purpose had not been an easy journey.

In a society as socially diverse as the United States however, its no surprise that heated policy debates about purposes and practices in public schooling arise almost regularly. Even today, because the Constitution does not explicitly or implicitly give the federal government authority to regulate education, the role of the United States government in education is limited and indirect. Direct regulation of education is a power reserved to the states under the the 10th amendment. One of the main focuses of the US Department of Education is to supervise the role of the federal government in education. Prior to the creation of the cabinet and more recently No Child Left Behind however, the american education system existed with little presence or accountability from the federal level.

Education however, was always a priority in the foundation this nation. Founding father Thomas Jefferson, developed and proposed a system of public school to the Virginia Assembly on three separate occasions, which were all turned down. Early thinkers about education thought the only way to create virtuous civic-minded citizens was through common schooling.

The 19th century marked the Common School era in American education. By the phrase “common school” early educational thinkers meant elementary schools were to be universal and egalitarian, with all children attending. They were to be supported by taxes and to have a common statewide system of administration. And the early grades were to have a common core curriculum that would foster patriotism, solidarity, and civic peace, as well as, enable effective commerce, law, and politics in the public sphere. (Kaestle)

Thomas Jefferson once argued that locally controlled public schools were key democratic institutions in two ways. By teaching correct political principles to the young, they could nurture virtuous citizens. Equally important, local control gave adult citizens a chance to exercise self-rule, highlighting that education was a common good not simply a consumer good. (Hirsch)

Jefferson’s plan for a common school aimed to secure both the peace and safety of the republic, and also social fairness and the best leaders. By outlining a system of elementary education requiring all children to attend