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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Brick in the Wall,
By Robert A. Williams "libertarian" (Oberlin, OH United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Education and the rise of the corporate state (Beacon paperback) (Paperback)
When talking about the relatively recent phenomenon of state schooling in the history of mankind, the U.S. experience is said to have been initiated by Anglo-Saxon Protestants in reaction to Catholic immigrants and their schools. But Joel Spring writes that "A factory-like system in the nineteenth-century schoolroom was not accidental". These government indoctrination centers were designed to not only produce obedient, tax-paying citizens but also obedient factory workers. Teachers had little say in what their students would learn; they did not even have the opportunity to choose classroom texts - these were chosen by officials, not teachers.
This book covers a dynamic period in the history of state schooling. If you agree with Pink Floyd's plea - "We don't want no thought control", you'll like this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Necessary for all interested in history of American schools!!,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Education and the rise of the corporate state (Beacon paperback) (Paperback)
I'm a trained teacher and a history buff. This book is great. Such a topic could be covered in a dull way, but the author does a good job of making it interesting and accessible. We all know our schools are in trouble. This book will help you understand the foundation of the system. Great insight, highly recommended.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Interesting Revisionist History of American Public Schooling,
By Kevin Currie-Knight "Education Grad Student" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Education and the rise of the corporate state (Beacon paperback) (Paperback)
Why is the modern school the way it is, with its idea of 'educating the whole child,' its regimented daily bell schedule, etc? In "Education and the Rise of the Corporate State," education historian Joel Spring presents a good deal of evidence to show that modern schooling has largely developed as a response to (really, an attempt to further) the increasingly corporate structure of American society that began in the early 1900's.
Drawing a good amount from histories like Gabriel Kolko's Triumph of Conservatism and James Weinstein's The Corporate Ideal in the Liberal State, 1900-1918, Spring first presents evidence that America, via industry/government collusions into 'trusts' - was becoming increasingly corporate in its structure in the early 20th century. Companies were becoming larger, government became increasingly convinced that, while 'bad trusts' should be weeded out, trusts offered a way to achieve supposed economic efficiency and eliminate "wasteful" competition in industry. Spring draws heavily from the work of Herbert Croly (The Promise Of American Life), a social philosopher of prominence who, early in the century, argued for exactly this type of corporate organization of American life. While Spring doesn't mention it, he also should have brought up Walter Lippman as another prominent intellectual advocate of this system (Drift and Mastery. But, this society - increasingly organized around the principle of "social efficiency" - needed an education system that would keep apace. Enter the modern school. Extra-curricular activities were introduced in schools, largely with the intent of keeping students at school for a longer period of daily time. Junior high schools were introduced as a "middle period" between elementary and high school by which to better sort children into the occupational studies they would take up in high school. Progressive education largely advocated its methods on the grounds that things like group work (as opposed to individual work), hands-on education, etc, would best prepare students to a world where individuals would function as parts of the national (or corporate) whole, rather than as individuals pursuing individual goals. If there is one criticism one can level at Spring's well-written book, it is that his selection of sources is a bit... well... selective. As mentioned, Croly's work is used a lot in the early chapters of the book, as is research done by Kolko. The reader, though, might be inclined to ask whether relying so heavily on so few works to make a broad point may be a bit problematic. Surely, if one wants to show an ethos to be rampant, one should be citing many works by many sources. Spring's research is by no means thin, but he does tend to rely on certain works very heavily. Otherwise, I really do love this book for its very interesting interpretation. Spring is by no means a conspiracy theorist; he writes very neutrally about his subjects, and does not operate on the assumption that any of this was a cover-up, or anything other than (mostly) well-intentioned people doing things that may have ultimately been misguided. Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone wanting an interpretation of education's evolution that differs a bit from the conventional "mass-schooling-is-about-liberating-individuals" approach.
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