Old School Still Matters: Lessons from History to Reform Public Education in America

Lessons from History to Reform Public Education in America

Can public schools in America be saved? This book considers theory, current practice, and the common school ideal through a historical lens to arrive at practical suggestions for reforming contemporary public education.

• Presents information on a topic of paramount importance, as almost 90 percent of American children in grades K–12 attend public schools

• Provides a thorough analysis of the writings of Horace Mann, the education reformer largely credited with helping to create the common school in the 19th century

• Merges theory and practice, analyzing the common school ideal in a historical sense while also presenting ways to reform contemporary public education