The Failed Reform that Created America’s Public Schools with Adam Laats
On this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. Adam Laats complicates the history of the American public school system and explains what this story can tell us about the state of public education today. Prof. Laats discusses how children attended, and did not attend, public school in the nineteenth century. We also hear about the collections he is examining while at the MHS and some of the interesting characters that have appeared in the documents.
Prof. Laats is the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the MHS.
To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.
Episode Special Guest:
Adam Laats is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Education and History at Binghamton University (SUNY). He is the author of six books, including most recently Mr. Lancaster’s System: The Failed Reform that Created America’s Public Schools (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).
This episode uses materials from:
Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)
