Horace Mann's 12th Report
Horace Mann’s Twelfth Report
In his Twelfth Report, Horace Mann discusses reasons that public education is imperative in the success of a peaceful, prominent society. Mann maintains that education is a way to produce successful and resourceful citizens. Without education, people can only do so much and can only go so far; they are raw materials that need to be developed into something more. Mann lists all of the important and necessary institutions in society that require educated people in order to flourish. Society, in turn, depends on those institutions to succeed. His main effort was to give all members of society the same tools for success, thus giving society a chance to thrive. According to Mann, public education fosters civilization by creating inventors, discoverers, and artisans, among other disciplines. An important point he makes, which is also true in our society today, is that only public education can counter the domination of poverty created by the multitude working in factories and other low-paying, labor intensive jobs. Ignorance breeds poverty and education is the only hope of combating that. Not only is education beneficial to individuals, but also to the society as a whole. In a competitive world, each nation must strive to be strong and self-sufficient. Education aids in reaching this goal. “For the creation of wealth, then-- for the existence of a wealthy people and a wealthy nation,-- intelligence is the grand condition,” Mann says. He clarifies in his report that he uses intelligence and education interchangeably. Mann furthers his point by discussing in depth the objective of Intellectual Education. “Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men,” says Mann. Intellectual Education is one objective of Mann’s that is still very relevant today. The basic premise of Intellectual Education is that the state has an obligation to provide citizens with an education
In his Twelfth Report, Horace Mann discusses reasons that public education is imperative in the success of a peaceful, prominent society. Mann maintains that education is a way to produce successful and resourceful citizens. Without education, people can only do so much and can only go so far; they are raw materials that need to be developed into something more. Mann lists all of the important and necessary institutions in society that require educated people in order to flourish. Society, in turn, depends on those institutions to succeed. His main effort was to give all members of society the same tools for success, thus giving society a chance to thrive. According to Mann, public education fosters civilization by creating inventors, discoverers, and artisans, among other disciplines. An important point he makes, which is also true in our society today, is that only public education can counter the domination of poverty created by the multitude working in factories and other low-paying, labor intensive jobs. Ignorance breeds poverty and education is the only hope of combating that. Not only is education beneficial to individuals, but also to the society as a whole. In a competitive world, each nation must strive to be strong and self-sufficient. Education aids in reaching this goal. “For the creation of wealth, then-- for the existence of a wealthy people and a wealthy nation,-- intelligence is the grand condition,” Mann says. He clarifies in his report that he uses intelligence and education interchangeably. Mann furthers his point by discussing in depth the objective of Intellectual Education. “Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men,” says Mann. Intellectual Education is one objective of Mann’s that is still very relevant today. The basic premise of Intellectual Education is that the state has an obligation to provide citizens with an education