#common-schools model

The common-school ideology comes out of an established belief that a system of public education was a necessity for this blossoming country.  As mentioned above, Washington, Jefferson, Mann all had a part to play in the establishment of this school culture.  Washington and Jefferson both believed that, for the benefit of the United States, there needed to be a way to groom future political leaders.  Washington sought the creation “an aristocracy of the educated” (Spring, 2014, p. 11) for the purpose of leading the United States away from the “hereditary aristocracy” found across Europe, and in particular, England.  In his proposal, criticized as elitist, Washington would call for all political leaders to possess a college education, a requirement only the wealthy could afford (Spring, 2014).

Jefferson, conversely, looked to the American populous as a whole, believing that any American citizen could become part of this political elite.  Tozer et al. (2009) outline Jefferson’s plan, and within his ideas of public education, the seeds of the common-school can be seen.  Jefferson desired a system of schooling that would form wards measuring about five square miles.  Within each ward, an elementary school will be established which will provide all non-slave children three years of free schooling.  This free schooling will allow the students to study reading, writing, and common arithmetic, allowing each student a level of education deemed necessary for one to operate in society (Spring, 2014; Tozer et al., 2009).  Tozer et al. (2009) further explain that from each elementary school, one male would be selected to continue on to grammar school for potentially two more years of schooling.  Through grammar school, the best student would be selected  and retained after each school year, the remainder dismissed.  

Tozer et al. (2009) go on to explain that the proposed plan was a departure from the aristocracies described above, leaning more on a student’s merit to award station and prestige, than their birthright or level of parental success.  Through hard work, any male, non-slave student could move into a governing position.  This allowed for the discovery of a generation’s political and cultural leaders from all American populations, the elite and common alike (Spring, 2014; Tozer et al., 2009).  Women, on the other hand, were not seen by Jefferson as anything beyond “a wife, homemaker, bearer of children and delight to her husband — period” (Tozer et al., 2009, p. 46).   In summarizing Jefferson’s idea, Spring (2014) writes:

The details of Jefferson’s plan are not as important as the idea, which has become ingrained in American social thought, that schooling is the best means of identifying democratic leadership.  This idea assumes that the educational system is fair in its judgments.  Fairness of selection assumes that judgment is based solely on talent demonstrated in schools [and gender] and not on other social factors such as race, religion, dress, and social class (p. 11).

Horace Mann, the father of public schools, centered his educational reform efforts in Massachusetts, where he would serve as secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education (Spring, 2014; Tozer et al., 2009).  Through his education reform, Mann pushed for the development of common footing for all students, one allowing each students access to the same information and instruction, upon which to build their life (Spring, 2014).  Mann’s efforts are generally considered the beginning of the Common-school Era of education, within the United States.  The intent was to create an educational experience that was common amongst all students, and Mann effectively implemented this ideal across Massachusetts (Spring, 2014; Tozer et al., 2009).  

Mann believed “that all children in society [should] attend the same type of school” (Spring, 2014, p. 12).  In these schools, Mann believed the common curriculum, stated only one time in 1842, would include reading, writing, and arithmetics, similar to Jefferson (Tozer et al., 2009).  Mann’s ideal minimum education would add orthography and geography.  Furthermore, Mann desired the inclusion of educational goals related to the teaching of a common political philosophy or ideology, producing citizens that felt an obligation to vote (Spring, 2014).  He viewed this addition to the elementary school curriculum as a vital part in maintaining a healthy democracy.

Mann’s common-school system drew students from a variety of backgrounds and possessing a variety of resources and privilege.  The schools, then, worked to bring each student to the same level of knowledge and ability by the end of their schooling.  This would allow for graduating students an equal starting position from which they may begin their lifelong socioeconomic competition (Spring, 2014).  In doing so, Mann wished to instill a common set of morals (Tozer et al., 2009), as well as a general agreement related to political values (Spring, 2014).  I believe Mann’s vision for each student’s education can be summed up by the words “the same,” though another might consider “assimilation” to be a better descriptor.