According to Jefferson’s Plan According to Jefferson’s Plan

Who should be educated? What knowledge should be taught?

(Why/For what purposes)? What values should be taught?

(Why/For what purposes)? Who should control the curriculum

(and for what purposes)?

 

Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson

Jefferson’s vocations were in law & agriculture

He gained fame as a scientist, philosopher and statesman He was best known for his revolutionary

ideas Born in West Virginia to a prosperous

landowner & farmer

Fundamental Tenets of Classical Fundamental Tenets of Classical Liberal IdeologyLiberal Ideology

Faith in Reason Natural LawRepublican

Virtue

Progress NationalismFreedom

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Faith in ReasonFaith in Reason

• A better guide than tradition, custom, and dogmatic faith

• Mind as “blank slate” • Humankind capable of great feats• Galileo, Copernicus, Newton

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Natural LawNatural Law

“Universe is a machine”

Understanding yields control

Science replaces theology as guide to action

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Republican VirtueRepublican Virtue

Perfectibility of the individual Duties to God and to natureThe work ethicMen’s virtues/ Women’s virtues

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

ProgressProgress

Continual individual and societal progress toward perfection

Changing the world to what ought to be

Revolution as an option Education as the vehicle

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

NationalismNationalism

Allegiance to a nation, not a stateA new national identity Uneasy balance between national

government and local self- determination

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

FreedomFreedom

“Negative freedom” Intellectual

• Free from external coercion of church and state Political

• Representative government Civic

• Freedom to “live as one pleases”• Bill of Rights

Economic • “Laissez-faire” economy• The Wealth of Nations

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Jefferson’s Plan for Popular Jefferson’s Plan for Popular EducationEducation

Self-Education

ElementarySchools

GrammarSchools

University

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First Tier—Elementary SchoolsFirst Tier—Elementary Schools

Foundation of entire education structureDecentralized districtsThree years of free education Screening for future leadersPreparing citizens for effective functioning

Second Tier—Grammar SchoolsSecond Tier—Grammar Schools

Boarding schools Languages, advanced curriculum Developing local leadership Preparation for university

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Third Tier—University EducationThird Tier—University EducationCommon education from grammar schools

allowed for advanced instruction Specialization in a “science”Preparation for leadership—law,

government, the professions Education for meritocracy

Fourth Tier—Self-EducationFourth Tier—Self-Education

Lifelong learning as the culmination of educational aims

Jefferson’s support of public libraries“Knowledge is power; knowledge is safety;

knowledge is happiness”

Concluding RemarksConcluding Remarks

Political economy and ideology influenced early education processes, inside and outside of schools

Jefferson’s thinking reveals the tensions in classical liberalism

Admirable ideals versus the “dominant ideology”

Aristocracy: rule by the best, --or a system of government, sometimes based on nobility: but often a privileged class holding hereditary titles, or an upper class known as aristocrats.

Meritocracy: is a system of government based on rule by ability (merit) rather than by wealth or social position; merit means roughly intelligence plus effort. One implication is that whatever level in society a citizen reaches is held to be what she deserves. Meritocracy is also sometimes used to describe a government or other body that stresses formal education and competence over other features, such as ancestry.

JeffersonJefferson

The man who farmed his land, it was thought, depended on no one for the livelihood of his family

The family ruled the transmission of culture, values and religion.

The family was patriarchal. The husband / father was expected to rule the family and provide wisdom, and love as well as economic substance.

Jefferson’s “Virginia Plan” consisted of several key tenets Schools of the Hundreds- Each county is divided into small, 5-6 square mile districts, (called “hundreds), each of which containing one basic school- The schools were for “all” children and taught basic literacy and education in: reading, writing, and arithmetic- “the principal foundations of future order will be laid here” (95)

Grammar schools

-Every year, “the boy of best genius” is sent to a grammar school

-At grammar school, students would learn “Greek, Latin, geography and he higher branches of numerical arithmetic” (94)

- every one or two years, the best students are selected to continue grammar school for six years

William and Mary College

-At the end of six years of grammar school, one half of students are selected to study science of their choice at William and Mary College

-These students are to be the leaders of the new society

*Notice Jefferson’s rationale for not permitting religion in the schools, for it is a largely private matter National libraries – Jefferson also envisioned the creation of national libraries, for the benefit of all citizens, not simply students.

According to Jefferson’s Plan According to Jefferson’s Plan

Who should be educated? What knowledge should be taught?

(Why/For what purposes)? What values should be taught?

(Why/For what purposes)? Who should control the curriculum

(and for what purposes)?