307. THE MEANING OF EDUCATION.—A half century ago education might have been defined as the process of acquiring certain types of book knowledge which contributed to the culture of the individual. More recently the concept of education has been broadened and deepened. Present-day education aims not only to add to the culture of the individual, but to vitalize the community as well. Education is no longer limited to the schoolroom, but includes all agencies and activities which in any way help toward a fuller and more responsible citizenship. Education is no longer confined to infancy and youth, but is a life-long process. Our educational system no longer assumes that the needs and capacities of all pupils are similar, but attempts so to diversify training that each individual will be enabled to develop his peculiar powers and to contribute to American life in the manner best suited to his individual ability. Taken in its widest sense, education has seven great objectives. These are health, command of fundamental processes (such as reading, writing, and arithmetic), worthy home- membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy use of leisure, and ethical character. [Footnote: These objectives have been formulated by the National Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education.]
308. EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY.—Two centuries ago the education of the masses was politically a matter of small concern, for most governments were conducted by a narrowly restricted class. But in a democracy education is fundamental. The idea that the masses should govern themselves is an appealing one, but before self-government is safe a comprehensive educational system must have made substantial inroads upon illiteracy and ignorance. Not only must the citizen of a democracy be individually capable, but his capacity to co÷perate with his fellows must be large. Under an undemocratic government the people rely upon their rulers; in a democracy they must rely upon their own joint efforts. From both an individual and a social standpoint, therefore, democracy demands more of its educational system than does any other form of government.
309. DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES.—Education was an important concern in most of the American colonies, and especially so in New England. After 1800 the common school system was extended rapidly, the district school passing westward with the pioneer movement. Educational facilities continued to expand and to diversify until at the end of the Civil War period there were more than seven million children in the elementary schools of this country. The period following the Civil War also saw the beginnings of the high school, a characteristic American educational institution which arose to take the place of the older Latin grammar schools and the private academies. Normal schools for the training of teachers, and colleges and universities for higher education, developed rapidly after 1880. Today there are more than three quarters of a million teachers in the United States, instructing more than 25,000,000 students in institutions ranging from kindergarten and elementary schools to colleges and universities.
310. MERITS OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.—The merits of our educational system are of great significance. We are definitely committed to the ideal of an educated citizenry. It has been the policy of the several states to establish and maintain free public schools. School attendance is compulsory, on full or part time, for children up to a certain age, the age varying from state to state. No public school is sectarian, the freedom of religious thought and action guaranteed by the Federal Constitution having been continued into our public school system. The public schools stimulate democratic tendencies by bringing together large masses of children from all walks of life. Our school system likewise has an Americanizing influence upon a large number of foreigners because their children study in our public schools and then carry into their homes the influence of the school. Within the last quarter of a century our schools have greatly extended their functions, becoming, in many cases, genuine community centers.
311. FINANCIANG THE SCHOOLS.—The substantial advances made in American education during the last century are a cause for congratulation. At the same time, our standards of education are rising so rapidly that a number of educational problems are becoming acute.
An important problem has to do with the financial support of our rapidly expanding school system. In many states the schools are inadequately supported by the tax payers. In some of these states the public schools are not readily accessible to large numbers of children, while in the schools that are accessible the equipment is often inadequate to the demands made upon it. In many states teachers still receive insufficient salaries.
Our schools ought not to suffer from lack of funds. Ours is the richest country in the world, and our school system is one of the most vital and fundamental of our institutions. Often the failure of taxpayers properly to support the schools is due to either or both of the following causes: First, failure to appreciate the importance of education; second, the lack of accessible wealth as a basis of taxation. The first objection must be met by so perfecting our educational system that taxpayers will be convinced that money invested in schools means large profits in the form of a more efficient and prosperous citizenship. The second objection calls for the reform of our taxation system.
312. CONTROL OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES.—In the United States education is a state rather than a national function. There is no Federal administration of schools, each state having its independent system. Each state has a system of elementary education, and nearly every state has a secondary or high school system. Nearly all of the states also have state universities in which instruction is either free or is available at a nominal charge. The public schools are supported chiefly by local taxes and are controlled mainly by the local authorities. In most states local outlays are supplemented, to a greater or less degree, by state contributions. State support is almost always accompanied by a measure of state control, though the extent of this control varies widely among the several states.
313. THE QUESTION OF UNIFORM STANDARDS.—To what extent should there be uniformity within our school system? We have no national system of education, and the lack of co÷rdination between the educational systems of the several states has many undesirable features. Educational standards vary widely from state to state, and often from county to county within the same state. The confusion growing out of this situation has given rise to the demand for the systematization or standardization of our school facilities.
The question is a difficult one. Most authorities believe that education ought not to be centralized under the Federal government, but ought, rather, to remain a state function. But even though it is not desirable to allow the Federal government to take over the chief educational powers of the state, it is believed by many that some national agency might render valuable service in co÷rdinating the educational programs of the several states. At present many educators feel that the Federal government should insist upon minimum standards in education in the various states of the Union.