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- Title
The Public Purpose of the Public School.
- Authors
Butts, R. Freeman
- Abstract
The article presents the author's comments on the attention paid to public education in the U.S. The author criticizes current critics of education for their narrow ideological revisionism and their sterile economic viewpoint. He stresses that the educational need of the U.S. is to complete the dream of the public schools by focusing attention upon their public purpose as the highest priority. The public schools must be the testing margin for civic enterprises. Lifetime earnings of former students is not an adequate index of the value of their schooling. It is difficult to divert public funds from public schools to non-public schools for maintenance and repair or to give tax credits to parents who choose to send their children to private schools. The constitutional principles of public control, public support, and the secular intent of public education seem to be strengthened by recent court actions. Thus the prime purpose of the public schools is to cultivate the political virtues that are appropriate to constitutional self-government and that are required to achieve a society which stands for justice, equality, and freedom in the modern world.
- Subjects
UNITED States; EDUCATIONAL finance; UNITED States education system; PUBLIC schools; PRIVATE schools; EDUCATIONAL law &; legislation; GOVERNMENT aid to education; EDUCATION policy; PUBLIC institution laws
- Publication
Teachers College Record, 1973, Vol 75, Issue 1, p207
- ISSN
0161-4681
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/016146817307500208