1. Chapter 3: School as a Public Institution
The Common-School Era
Chapter 3: School as a Public Institution

2. Intro
The beginning of the Common school era in the U.S was based on developments in social institutions such as industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. The practicality of Classical Liberalism took on a different form in New England versus rural Jeffersonian Virginia.

3. Jefferson agrarian VA vs Massachusetts
Geographically divided nation
“Country living” superior to urban society
Classical Liberalism= everyone born on equal footing regardless of heredity
Freedom on the frontier.
Supported state funded, locally controlled schools
Laissez-faire approach to school
MASSACHUSETTS
Immigration- mass population of Irish immigrants
Urbanization- Immigration flock to large cities (New York/Philadelphia) for jobs in emerging industries ( factories, railroads)
Transportation developments- great improvements in road building, canals, railroad expansion connected cities allowing for a more efficient way of moving people and goods.
Jefferson

4. RELIGIOUS IMPACT
Great Enlightenment- gradual displacement of Puritanism
Ushered in religious tolerance
More free thinking
Schools seek to go beyond the 3 R’s

5. Political Developments
White male suffrage expands
By 1828, four of seven men were qualified to vote.

6. Economic Developments
As cities expanded, with natives as well as immigrants flocking to industry jobs, the need arose for a set of “common values” built around standard practices and could be emulated by immigrants. This would be beneficial as industry became more industrialized.

7. Horace Mann

8. Horace Mann Cont’d. Born in 1796 in Massachusetts
Descendants of some of the earliest U.S. Settlers
Lawyer
Served as Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education
Served in the U.S. House of Representatives
President of Antioch College

9. Mann and Common Schools
Lobbied for safe healthy physical learning conditions.
Most schools in the early poor construction
Cold, dark
No bathroom facilities
No water for washing/drinking
Common schools should teach “common elements”
Modern Values based in religious beliefs that would support and sustain industrial development
Admirer of Prussian school system
Free, state financed and controlled

10. Mann and Common Schools cont’d
Believed in physical punishment as a last resort
The use of should be decreased until it could be eliminated from use in schools
Better training for teachers
Championed employment for more female teachers based on nature female tendencies of nurture.

11. Mann and Common Schools cont’d
Economic value of schooling
Education is key to financial success
Well educated workforce is better for industry

12. Questions
What were the major advantages/ disadvantages of rural vs urban life?
How was Puritanism differ in urban Massachusetts?
How does common elements curriculum impact other religions?
How did the increase of women in teaching positions affect society?
In what ways has the economic value of schooling increased/decreased?