Posted by Written by Clio Miller; graphic made by Ida Stoever
While championing the development of schoolhouses in the 17th century, Horace Mann’s guiding principle was that citizens cannot sustain both ignorance and freedom. Therefore, breaking away the chains of ignorance has been one of America’s fundamental attempts at sustaining freedom for the betterment of its citizens. This is the purpose of school.
While the U.S. has a universal education system, the Founding Fathers were careful not to mention it in the Constitution. Why? Perhaps because the U.S. began as an experiment–radical freedom and democracy are not historically stable. In the 6th century of Ancient Athens, Solon, the man credited with planting the first seeds of Democracy, created laws that barely lasted for 50 years. On the other hand, the Communist-adjacent laws put in place by Lycurgus (for which Sparta is known), lasted for more than 500 years. Giving the people power in any form is often detrimental to society–and education is the most radical form of giving power to the people and extending democracy (the roots of which literally mean “people” “power”–“demos” “kratos”, or “δῆμος” “Κράτος”).
So why would nations’ leaders risk giving their citizens any personal form of enlightenment at the risk of toppling their official power? Education can also be a weapon used by leaders to shape their most important citizens: children. Children are the key to the success of future societies–and the best news is, they are entirely moldable. Every society shapes people through some form of corrupting the youth; sometimes with malicious intentions, such as the Hitler Youth. Sometimes with innocent intentions, such as Socrates’ walking lectures.
Even in America, where politicians boast about the protection of free education, there have been many attempts to control what information students are consuming. This has been done by hiring teachers who are known to hold particular views (a tactic used across all types of institutions), or in extreme cases, by trying to control exactly which curricular material is permitted at a school. The latter has been especially poignant in recent months with our new presidential administration, which has already eliminated the previously mandatory DEI programs, and has sent the Board of Education to highlight and downplay certain parts of our country’s history supposedly for the purpose of increasing pride in our country. This sparked furious responses, which typically hold the opinion that, “when partisan politicians ban the teaching of our country’s full history, children are purposely made ignorant of how American society works” (Mcghee and Ray, 2022).
But uprooting the entire system of government does not help if there is only a small issue in the way it functions. If you have a rip forming in your wallpaper, you don’t take a sledge hammer to the whole wall. This is not to say that the American education system does not have its faults–but resolving them doesn’t require an upheaval of the system.
However, as a public student myself, I do resonate with some of the problems that are raised when discussing the American school education system. To me, being educated is a way to understand the world around you and your place in context. It is a tool you can use to learn how to help other people. It is not helpful when it becomes a process by which as much information as possible is funnelled at you with blaring deadlines, or a place where a student who destroys their mental state to get every bit of work done is praised. I have certainly done one too many sheets of busy work in Chemistry, and played with Play-Dough one too many times in an AP, only to find the class feverously cramming information within a week of the exam. This can feel like the returning swing of a pendulum that slaps your face with work after lulling you into a false sense of confidence in the material.
One of the most common criticisms of schools in America is that they are a waste of time because we forget most of what we learn within a few years (Caplan, 2022), the dreaded question being, “when am I actually going to need to know this?” But this whole objection actually demonstrates one of the reasons why schools are so important. Since its beginning, America (by the circumstances of its creation) has built itself on efficiency and (especially in the North East) the Protestant Work Ethic. This, unfortunately, makes us take the most direct route instead of the scenic route. School is one way to slow that process of starting your career as soon as you can work in a factory by exposing students to ideas that they are not used to. Does this mean that in order to create good people, we need to give them five sheets of busy work per class per day? No. The purpose of school isn’t to make you remember every minute detail you hear, but to foster your skills of critical thinking and understanding others in the hopes students will pursue further education and become virtuous adults.
However, when looking at schools in general, it is clear that they provide a net good, including the opportunity for economic mobility, safe places for children, and the development of social skills. Certainly everyone in the education system experienced the last example when schools opened after quarantine and socialization skills noticeably tanked.
Citizens cannot maintain both ignorance and freedom. Because democracy gives every citizen the right to vote, it is the job of the government to provide people with education so they can understand the issues on which they vote, or they may not understand that they have the power to change the world. So if you happen to be a student while reading this, don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Every time a teacher hands you the fifth sheet of busy-work, every time you get a C on a pop quiz, every time Mr. Neden asks you to dig deeper into your written reflection after you’ve already had a moment of contemplation so sincere you transcended the known world–don’t worry. It’s definitely done with the pure intention of making you a better citizen in our democracy.
The Maroon 