ABSTRACT
Certainly, public education is one of the major cornerstones of democracy. Textbooks have long referred to America as “the melting pot”—a land of opportunity for all people. And undeniably, a free public education is one of America’s greatest opportunities. In response to the complexity and multiplicity of social issues in the early twentieth century, public education is conceptualized as a social institution through which to enculturate the nation’s young into the dominant culture. Social efficiency proponents, influenced by mechanical engineer Frederic Taylor, who applied scientific methods to industrial management, believe that scientific rationality and technology are the answer to public education. What goes on inside public schools reflects the social and political climate on the outside—a phenomenon established from the inception of public schools and maintained throughout their history. Public schooling straddles at least two opposing poles: conformity and democracy.
