ABSTRACT
The common school theme is strongly egalitarian. It embodies the moral equality of all individuals and their equal status and rights as citizens. The clearest manifestation of the tensions has been in the relationship of the schools to the economy. The development of public secondary schools in the latter half of the nineteenth century posed some new challenges for the ideal of common education. The original debate about the economic functions of secondary education revolved around the location and control of technical training. There can be little doubt that schools serve the economy by providing students with basic skills, particularly literacy and numeracy. The discussion often envisions schools as ideally producing critical thinkers, individuals with certain generic skills and competencies, who can step into a job situation and develop the more specific skills required by the job. The United States can have both excellence and equity and can maximize educational opportunities as well as educational achievements that will enhance competitiveness.
