The past, present, and future of democratic education in America

In the decades between the Revolution and the Civil War, Americans began to develop a robust school system.  Yet back then, like today, disagreement was pervasive regarding the kind of education that was needed, who should pay for it, and how schools should be governed. In a recent book titled “Democracy’s Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America,” Western Washington University's Dr. Johann Neem tells the story of how and why Americans decided that schooling should be a public good, and explores the significance of the debates that shaped the creation of our contemporary public school system.