Foundations of Education

Among the significant figures in the history of the American Educational System, few have had as much ideological and practical influence as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, John Dewy, and Johann Pestolazzi. Each altered the course of American education to a degree that the developments made during and after the lifetimes of each of these figures are practically manifested in today’s educational environment. In some cases, as with Franklin, much of his contribution was practical, with the establishment of public libraries and emphasis on self-education. Others, such as Dewy, were ideological pioneers that changed the methods of education. One can never overlook the role of politics in American Education; the regulation of education and the presence of Patriotic/Nationalist agendas in curriculum are still issues that we face today, those who played a significant role in the establishment of the current system also influence the fundamental goals and outcomes of that system.

Benjamin Franklin is heralded as one of the greatest American philosophers as well as one of the most influential figures in American history. His fundamental desire for education and self-improvement would set an example for others to follow as well as establish a model for the educated American. He was also a major proponent of schools as both an ideological tool for indoctrinating members of other religions, as well as a method for assimilation of other races and cultures into the white Anglo model. We are still struggling as a culture to undo the influence of those who followed this model. Practices of exclusion, segregation, racism, and exploitation were typical of the early model of American education. Franklin notes, “Why increase the Sons of Africa, by Planting them here in America, where we have so fair an opportunity, by excluding all blacks and Tawnys and increasing the lovely white…”

This statement is somewhat loaded in that it is apparently anti-slavery, but for the wrong reasons. It places an obvious racial value judgment on Blacks as intellectually inferior. The racist tendencies of his philosophy were not, however, the most important parts of Franklin’s development of education. His establishment of public libraries is probably the greatest accomplishment and boon t...

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... the maternal method of instruction. While it economic benefits may have influenced his championing of women as natural teachers (they were paid a third as much at the time), it brought the educational system to a level of equality unseen in other careers. John Dewey’s developments of teacher education combine with Jefferson’s to form the modern requirements for teaching certification.

While all of these figures were tremendously influential, the state of the American educational system is far from stable. The reason these figures stand alone as the most influential is that their concerns and actions are at the basis of all the current issues in the educational system today. The role of education is still something we struggle to define, as is the nature of education. Is it the role of a state to control the opinions and ideologies through education, or are we truly a free nation? With the growth of the internet and other forms of free information, we are approaching a time when we must truly decide what is knowledge, what is necessary education, and what is the role of the school in modern culture.

Works Cited

Spring, Joel. “The American School.” New York, McGraw Hill (2001).