Seems we’ve always been asking that question and education has been a thing of scrutiny ever since the first classrooms appeared.
Although now there appears to be a concerted effort to abandon schools, eliminate Federal funding as well as the Department of Education, in 1946 the issue was whether or not America was doing enough in the area of education to enable students to get a solid foundation in fundamentals. Different set of issues, different desired effect and different times.
In 1946 it was an issue of concern. We were in the middle of a post-war world. In 1946 there was grumblings of potential problems with our former ally the USSR. Communism was becoming an issue facing those former colonies achieving independence. It was becoming a war of ideologies as well as ultimately, a popularity contest. China was in the grips of a Civil War which stood the chance of changing the face of Asia.
America emerged from the War as the most powerful nation on earth. But writing on the wall indicated it could be a tenuous one. America needed to maintain its position of leadership, and one of the crucial elements in maintaining that leadership was education. Education would make rational decisions. Education would equip the nations youth to carry on the great strides in technology and defense. There were hints of Space and the possibilities we could achieve great things. Schools were essential for progress.
But only if a nation was educated and equipped to face those challenges. A nation whose youth can’t make change in a grocery store is a nation destined to self-destruct. And insuring that our educational system was the best in the world was of primary importance in 1946.
And so the issue of just how well our educational system was working was the subject of discussion and debate on this episode of The Northwestern University Reviewing Stand, first aired in 1946.
Despite all the issues and agendas and incendiaries of recent years, the core issue is one of America continuing great strides by way of a solid education. Dismantling our Educational institutions based on distractions is fundamentally self-destructive. The distractions have become louder while the core issues become more critical and imperative. Focus is being disrupted and that cannot happen, as it was an issue of happening in 1946.
Names, places and issues have changed – core values have not.
Here is that episode of The Northwestern Reviewing Stand broadcast, over Mutual in 1946.
