I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematics and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture . . . to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine. — John Adams, 1780
Sometimes, the purposes of schooling align with individual and social needs of the time; other times, they don’t. Reflecting the best management thinking of 1918, when local communities rapidly expanded and institutionalized schooling, today’s public schools take a minimalist, utilitarian approach to knowledge, aiming to teach only the knowledge that graduates seem likely to use in their jobs and their homes. That approach never made much sense, and even less so now, at a time when artificial intelligence might render much of our “practical” knowledge obsolete, with household tasks and jobs from clerk to investment manager increasingly likely to be done without humans. If schools are to continue, what might history tell us about what schooling should do next?
Comments