The Golden Age of American Education - Part I

The Golden Age of American Education - Part I By Lloyd Miles

Here it is 2023 and I have been talking to teachers, reading articles, and questioning educational leaders and the answer is yes, no, and maybe. How can that be? Who can help me with this? Was there a Golden Age of American Education?

I found an article in the Northern Illinois University Alumni publication about a retired teacher/college professor in Illinois who has just co-authored a college textbook on teaching and coaching. He is in his 90s and the author of that article was amazed at his depth of knowledge and recall of facts. He has lived and taught in the supposed Golden Age so maybe he can help me clear this up.

So, here I am at Independence Village Assisted Living in Naperville, Illinois, visiting with Dr. Peter S. Pierro.

Hello, Dr. Pierro, my name is Lloyd Miles and I really appreciate you giving me some of your time to discuss some of the history of American education.

Please call me “Peter” and I’ll call you Lloyd. Well, I would really enjoy talking to anyone who would listen to me about anything. And this is a really good area for me to share. I have taught many different levels of education. So, what can I tell you about it?

There seems to be a mystery about a very common period of American history, so here it is; Was there a Golden Age of American Education?

Here is the easy answer - Yes and No. Actually, there were two separate and equal types of schools at this time operating under two separate philosophies of education. There was the Traditional School and there was the Progressive School. The Traditional School is based on Essentialism and Perennialism philosophies. The Progress School is based on Progressive and Existential philosophies.

I think the best way for me to have it make sense to you and your readers is to tell you about my learning and teaching experiences under each of them. I am the son of two parents who had immigrated to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s. I was educated in an elementary school system that was a good example of the Traditional School.

The classroom and curriculum were entirely teacher-directed. We sat in desks lined up in rows, no talking with one another, speaking only when allowed by the teacher, raising our hands to get permission to talk, learning the facts and memorizing the times table, repeating the correct answers when called upon, lots of rote learning in the factual knowledge in science, history, math, and English.

I attended an excellent high school. The philosophical basis was still a Traditional form of Essentialism - students were expected to acquire the knowledge and skills that are required to become productive citizens in our society. The more advanced students were identified and given a track in Perennialism philosophy; the transmission of the Cultural Heritage - a college bound curriculum including the Arts, Literature, Mathematics, Science - a higher level training of the mind.

At age 18, I graduated from high school and, since World War II was still going on, I became a member of the Navy Air Corps. Two years later, I started my college career at a junior college and completed my bachelor level education at Northern Illinois State Teachers College. Beginning in 1950, I was in two small towns in Illinois. I was a middle/junior high school teacher and basketball coach for five years. I taught my kids the way that I was taught - the Traditional School based on Essentialism and Perennialism with Behaviorism as the basic psychology..

But interestingly, I was completely different as a sixth grade teacher and as a junior high school coach. My classroom teaching was the standard sitting in rows and teaching the kids how to add and subtract fractions, how to spell a bunch of new words, how to read a book and give a report on it, and other important skills and knowledge.

My coaching, however, was interacting with my kids; doing the passing and shooting skills together; showing them how to guard their opponents; getting into the scrimmages to show them how to pass and cut, how to make the outline pass and start the fast break, and all the other skills. It was a classic example of having my kids Learn by Doing while doing with them.

Two things happened to me at the same time that changed my whole set of education beliefs of what the “Teacher” does and what the “Learner” does. First, I was beginning my work on my Masters’ Degree at the graduate school at Northern Illinois University - note the new name - meeting with a new set of professors and a new philosophical/psychological base.

Second, a teacher colleague at my school had taken a new teaching position the year before at Barrington, Illinois. He told me that this school district, in suburban Chicago, was one of the outstanding education systems; people came from everywhere to see what they were doing.

Well, Lloyd, that’s about at the end of my life with the Traditional School and the beginning of a whole new school experience. Hey, Let’s get some lunch and we can get back later.

Good idea - I really like what I’m getting.