Some Thoughts on the History of American Education - A Book Review

Often, people complain about the schools in the United States, and there are some that say that we are number 50 in the world as far as our schools are concerned. Still, there those of us that know the difference, and also understand that those that are doing these surveys are not from the United States, and they use different criteria to judge what a good school is. And the reality is the United States does have great schools.

No, they are not perfect, and we should always strive to make them better, of course that's what we've been doing since the nation has been founded. If you would like to learn more about the history of education in America, then I'd like to recommend a very good book to you. The name of the book is;

"Traditions of American Education" by Lawrence A. Gremin, 1977

Indeed, I am happy to say I have a copy of this book signed by the author. The intent of writing this book for the author was to make a difference transforming American Education; schools and colleges. The book examines the transformations of family, libraries, museums, publishers throughout the 19th century. There are also chapters on the Civil War factories, slavery and education, missed education, colonial education, education in the periods of 1783 to 1876, 1876 to 1976.

Also an explanation of how we adopted some of the European school system policies, and the author discusses rural versus metropolitan schools in America and the history behind it. There is information on 17th-century issues and the abandonment of feudalism, population growth, land speculation, social mobility, and religious strife all changing education along with the advances of science where Earth was no longer the center of the universe, and how English law, language, and culture ended up triumphing and changing education around the world due to colonial expansionism.

He talks about compulsory education and he explains how the church and family used to dominate education and how today the family has fallen apart and the churches are not allowed to dictate issues in schools.

He also speaks to vocational training, corporate training, union training, and the progressive mass media which has contributed to the way we think and learn. This book is completely comprehensive and an incredible study in the history of education. It's a must read for any school administrator who wishes to led, they must know the history. Often however I find when I discuss this with them they don't, that to concerns me. Please consider all this.

View the original article here