>> Hello. And welcome to our first regular session of American Education Reform. >> Nowadays, we hear people of different persuasions, argue about what they think all young people should learn. Yes, most agree on math, language, some science, etcetera. But what about history, and what sorts of history? Computer coding, theatre and the arts. >> Well, and how should they be taught to behave? Should we make sure they're highly moral? How would you know? At least should we make sure they don't bully anyone, and know how to react to a bully, or, or eat the right foods and exercise. Should we make them very patriotic citizens? And/or citizens willing to criticize public policy. How do we see the schools relative to who we are the people, a culture, a nation. >> If you do hear these questions discussed, what role do people in your area envision for the schools? >> Hm. We have some in this country and I've had for a long time actually, those who would minimize what schools do rather dramatically, educating their children at home for example. In many countries, aspects of U.S. schools like sports and certain extracurriculars are handled outside schools, it would seem strange in those places for schools to do that. Many want schools to stick to the academics only, please. Moral education is a family or church, synagogue, mosque responsibility, they say. So what is the role for schools in the mix of purposes, functions? >> These are underlying questions we hear today, of schooling's role relative to family and other educating organizations. >> Mm-hm. >> And schooling's purposes vis-a-vis our moral purposes and our national destiny. Our history allows us to see these tensions, and the messy mix in which they actually happen. >> Hm. There is nothing terribly abstract in history. If we go back to the very origins of the U.S. for example, we see lots of struggles with education's purpose, the institutional mix, the moral vision, we may hear some loud echoes to the present. >> In the episodes of this module, we'll dig into the underlying educational issues in the 13 British Colonies that were the seedbed of the United States. >> Hm. We'll try to place ourselves back into the shoes of the early colonists and see how their encounter with a new land and peoples, challenged the notions and institutions they had brought with them. >> In this encounter, an important shift in the role of schooling takes place and provides a powerful winds into some fundamental aspects of U.S. education. Schooling itself seems to take on a new importance in the colonies. >> Hm. >> What explains this shift? Why and by what means did schools assume an increasingly important role alongside other educational approaches? >> So, we'll look at central tendencies across the colonies, in particular, how religious, economic, social, and political affairs shaped education. And we'll see how things differed in the very different colonies and regions of the early U.S. recognizing that nearly every nation faces considerable internal variation as well. >> We'll look at how our revolution affects schooling's purpose and role. As the colonies become an independent republic with a written national constitution, how did this effect what schools were now meant to do? >> Finally, and hey, we are at Penn after all. We'll take a look at one particular model, that proposed by this University's founder Ben Franklin. He saw the need for a new sort of education. Why? What was he reacting against? As an early school reformer, what was his model and motivation? >> So, let's head off to school in 17th and 18th century North America. [MUSIC]
