Mann modeled his concept on the Prussian education system in which schools were established, supported, and administered by a central authority.  The state supervised the training of teachers, attendance was compulsory, parents were punished for not sending their children to school, and efforts were made to make curricula and instruction uniform.  Diversity in education was seen as a detriment to society at large.  Mann, who happened to be president of the Massachusetts state senate, and others who were in political power sought to centrally control the education of the populace.  They were determined to take education out of the control of parents and put it firmly into the hands of the government.

The notion was met with strong resistance by an estimated 85 percent of the population. The residents of Cape Cod were the last holdouts against this forced schooling.  In the 1880's, the area was seized by militia, and the children were marched to school under guard.  "Our way is the right way."  "You will comply" was the message. Doesn't sound very democratic, does it?

It is interesting to note that, according to a paper released by Massachusetts' senator Ted Kennedy, prior to compulsory schooling, the state literacy rate was ninety eight percent. Ninety eight percent! That seems to be an indication that basic literacy was (is) highly obtainable by anyone with a will to learn.  In fact, there is strong evidence that the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic can be learned in about 100 hours if undertaken when the student is ready and eager to learn. 

If compulsory schooling were an improvement over home/individually chosen education, one would assume that the literacy rate would go up following its advent, but that, in fact, is not the case.  Indeed, the literacy rate for the state of Massachusetts has not gone over the ninety one percent mark since the implementation of compulsory schooling.

This country was founded on the notion of democracy and of manifest destiny.  How much say do we each have over our own future when we are encouraged to follow blindly in lockstep behind one another into a prefabricated idea (who's?) of what an education entails?  Seventy-five years ago, the noted British mathematician and philosopher, Bertrand Russell, purported that mass schooling in the United States had a profoundly anti-democratic intent.  He asserted that it was a scheme to create national unity at the expense of family unity.  And, perhaps, in the interest of a small number of powerful people intent on keeping their positions intact.

Nevertheless, according to recent reports, the average American child watches between 18 and an astounding 55 hours of television per week "for fun".  Some kids watch TV after school and all weekend long!  How much time does that leave a child to develop his own individuality?  Not much!  Then again, the development of individuality does not appear anywhere in the stated purpose of compulsory education, does it?

With all the time spent either, eating, dressing, traveling, sleeping, doing what they are told they must do by their teachers, or mindlessly watching television, there is precious little time left for the average child to explore and ponder the wonders of the universe for himself.  The word freedom is bandied about rather recklessly in this country.  Our society is supposedly founded on the ideal of individual freedom.  Sure, we appear to have lots of freedom.  Some of it is real while some of it is merely the illusion of freedom.  Most of us that are products of the public education system are so indoctrinated into the larger system it is set up to support that we cannot see the forest for the trees.  We buy, buy, buy (it's the American way!) the ideals and values that we are fed by people who decide what to feed us and continue to perpetuate our own mental imprisonment.  It's a vicious circle.  The snake has swallowed its tail!

What if we empowered our children to think for themselves rather than parrot the facts and figures they are instructed to memorize if they are to succeed in school?  That might be dangerous to society as we know it.

One of the first statements a professor of education at a venerable and well-established university in California made to his class with regard to children in public school was: "We don't want them to think".

Children, think? God forbid!