The Myth of the Common School

Rating:
Summary: The best book on the history of the public school system.
Review: Author Charles Leslie Glenn believes in the most noble objectives of public schools, but he is careful to think about whether those objectives have been achieved. While he was a state education official in Massachusetts he had unmatched access to archival material about Horace Mann and Mann's efforts to establish compulsory school attendance in the United States. Glenn also uses his knowledge of French and Dutch and his first-hand experience with Europe to provide historical and comparative perspective on what was happening in other countries at the same time the United States made government-operated schools compulsory. The Myth of the Common School is so thoroughly researched that the footnotes alone are worth the price of the book, but the thinking in the book is so original and deep that Glenn helps you learn things none of the earlier authors have put together so clearly and convincingly. A fine book, not to be missed.