Childhood like education, socializing, career, nutrition, care, and et all, everything under one
roof. Well that’s what I feel would be great goal. Although public schools are driven by
economic and political powers, we need to pay attention to all the above.
Around 1790, George Washington proposed national university for training political leader and
create a national culture. But people criticized him as elitist. To avoid the problem Thomas
Jefferson provided equality of opportunity, but only for non-slave citizen to gain political office.
In the 1830s, Horace Mann declared schools the great balance wheel of society by providing
graduates …show more content…
American Education, 16th edition (Page 12).
For Mann, the important idea was that all children in society attend the same type of school.
Within the walls of the public schoolhouse, students were to be taught the basic principles of a
republican form of government. The combination of social mingling in school and the teaching
of a common political philosophy would establish, shared political beliefs that would ensure the
survival of the U.S. government.(Spring, Joel (2013-01-01). American Education, 16th edition
(Page 12).
Mann felt that equality of opportunity through education would ensure citizens occupied their
particular social positions because of merit and not because of family wealth, heredity, or special
cultural advantages.Spring, Joel (2013-01-01). American Education, 16th edition (Page 58). It
means that all the students are starting at same point in life with same opportunity and end their
destinations as destined. There are three main models to support equality of opportunity. the
common-school model, the sorting-machine model, and the high-stakes testing model.( Spring,
Joel (2013-01-01). American Education, 16th edition (Page 59). In the common school model