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November 17, 1999 The Century Series:
By Lynn Olson
American education grew up from the community outward. From Colonial times onward, local citizens built the schools, raised the money, hired the teachers, and chose which books to use. They also elected local leaders to oversee the job. The process was often fractious, and more players have entered the fray in the
20th century. The
voices of elected board members and their constituents have been joined by a
discordant chorus: a
new breed of education professionals, the courts, the federal and state
governments, teachers'
unions, and advocates for a host of other competing groups and
interests. Meanwhile, new
legislation and rules have spawned bureaucracies and moved decisions further
from local communities.
The result is what the historian David B. Tyack calls "fragmented
centralization." Today, that
system is also under challenge from market-based approaches as Americans once
again ask questions
about who controls their schools and how they are run. The ninth installment
of "Lessons of a
Century," a yearlong Education Week series of monthly special sections,
looks at "Who's in
Charge?"
PHOTOS: As this 1915 American School Board Journal cartoon shows, school boards have long struggled to balance many conflicting interests.
© 1999 Editorial Projects in Education |
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