Why Public Schools? Whose Public Schools?: What Early Communities Have To Tell Us - Softcover

Mathews, David

9781588381101: Why Public Schools? Whose Public Schools?: What Early Communities Have To Tell Us

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1588381102 ISBN 13: 9781588381101

Publisher: NewSouth Books, 2003

Criticism of public education, debate over vouchers, increases in home-schooling, proliferation of private and church-affiliated schools -- all are indicators of contemporary dissatisfaction with public schools. Education historian David Mathews set out to understand why, and he began with the question of who or what is the 'public'? Whose schools are the public schools, and who is ultimately responsible for them? And how did we come to have public schools to begin with? These are serious national questions, but in this thoughtful and provocative study, Mathews examines them from a distinctly local perspective: the history of public schools in six southwest Alabama counties from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s. This history, he finds, puts today's educational issues in a context that provides an expanded perspective on our potential as citizens.

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About the Author:

David Mathews attended the public schools of Clarke County, Alabama. After graduating from the University of Alabama, he went on to Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D. in American educational history. Mathews has been president of the University of Alabama and secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. He is currently trustee and president of the Kettering Foundation. His other recent books are Politics for People: Finding a Responsible Public Voice and Is There a Public for Public Schools?

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