Horace Mann and the Common School

Horace Mann and the Common School

Horace Mann’s concept of the common school stressed many ideals, chief among them the need to create an institution capable of preparing students to contribute positively to the community and society as a whole. In order to achieve this lofty goal, Horace Mann advocated three main ideas. The first was a commitment to instilling Protestant virtues in the students. Secondly, Mann supported the idea that a community should be taxed to support the school in order to create a bond between the school and the community. Finally, Mann believed in training men and women who would be committed only to the profession of teaching America’s youth. Many of Mann’s ideas regarding education took hold in America, and even today there is evidence of the influence of Horace Mann’s ideology in our school system. This essay will examine Mann’s main points and critique how effective they were then and whether or not they would work in today’s society.

Mann’s first main belief, that education should come with an intense devotion to Protestant principles, was probably the most controversial of all his ideas. Although it went against the idea of the separation of the church and the state, at the time that Mann proposed it, it wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. Certainly, most could agree that teaching good virtues to children in order to create responsible members of society was an admirable goal. In addition, the vast majority of America was Protestant at the time, and thus the idea of a commitment to common education which integrated Protestant virtues would be accepted much easier than without the endorsement of the church. Judging by these factors alone, Mann’s theory would seem to be sound. However, ev...

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...n’s part to shape the ideas of citizens, most of Mann’s other ideas were accepted with positive results. The ideas of a publicly funded common schools, and better educated career teachers have enabled us to achieve an overall level of education that rivals or betters that of any society in the world. The prosperity and growth in technology that we our experiencing right now in this country all began with good teachers inspiring students to excel, and thus we should not overlook the importance of individuals like Horace Mann who were instrumental in creating our current system.

Bibliography:

Chartock, Roselle K. Educational Foundations: An Anthology. Prentice Hall, Columbus OH, 2000. p. 31-35

Gutek, Richard L. Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education: A Biographical Introduction. Prentice Hall, Columbus OH. p. 196-217.