Old School Still Matters: Lessons from History to Reform Public Education in America: Lessons from History to Reform Public Education in America

Can public schools in America be saved? This book considers theory, current practice, and the common school ideal through a historical lens to arrive at practical suggestions for reforming contemporary public education.

• Presents information on a topic of paramount importance, as almost 90 percent of American children in grades K–12 attend public schools

• Provides a thorough analysis of the writings of Horace Mann, the education reformer largely credited with helping to create the common school in the 19th century

• Merges theory and practice, analyzing the common school ideal in a historical sense while also presenting ways to reform contemporary public education