For those of you who
live in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the new Museum of the American Revolution
is a “Must See.” If you are a teacher or administrator in an area school, a
field trip for your students would be a meaningful experience. There are
interactive kiosks; a chance to dress up in colonial attire and students can board
a model of a privateer vessel.
One of the information panels that caught my eye was
entitled “ Educating Citizens.”
It read “ After the a Revolutionary War, many Americans
believed that education was the best way to secure their republic.” They held
that only people who had been taught to think critically could rule themselves without
a king.”
In fact Dr. Benjamin
Rush, a physician in colonial Philadelphia and a signer of the Declaration of
Independence, wrote a treatise on the importance of education.
"Thoughts
Upon the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic" was written in 1786. Rush
observed, “Education must take place in the United States. A general, uniform system of education needs
to be established that would be adequate for all of the essential purposes of
citizenship.” 231 year later his observations are still true. If we are to continue
to succeed as a nation, we must have an educated population.
As you prepare
for the coming school year, keep these notions in mind, as you get ready to
meet your students. We wish you much success and satisfaction in gthe coming
school year.
c. 2017 J.
Margolis
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