Four Centuries of American Education
by Anna Cameron, Editorial Research Assistant

In Four Centuries of American Education David Barton asks, By what standard should a good education be measured? He goes on to say that the numerous technological advances over the last fifty years have not necessarily taught students how to think and reason. Therefore, while said technological advances are very beneficial to education, they fail to provide students with true education. Barton laments the fact that the bases for education which have proved successful for centuries: religion, morality and knowledge, are no longer considered essentials. He also encourages readers to defend the above criteria from being replaced by a more secularized form of education.

To support his thesis, Barton provides examples of the ways that American Education has regressed. He contrasts sample questions and problems from past curriculums with those from current curriculums to show the ways in which America's education system has neglected true education. For instance, in 1862 an elementary geography test given to students in public schools in Chicago included the following questions: How many degrees of longitude are there? How many degrees wide are the temperate zones? Name the principle animals of the frigid zones. Not only would most elementary school students in the 21^st century have difficulty understanding the above questions, they certainly would not be familiar with the lessons taught in the first textbook ever published in America.