IMO, the pressures leading to degradation are all somehow linked to universalization:

(a) Resource constraints. Student/teacher ratios. The availability of good teachers, at scale. A great teacher is the ultimate lever. But great teachers in every class, with enough time and energy to invest in every student... very hard to achieve at national scale.

(b) Voluntary, self-motivated students who want to learn vs checked-out teenagers that just want to pass the exam with minimum effort... it's a massive difference. It's the difference between a world class gymnastics club and the PE class from an 80s teen movie. Even if half the class is highly motivated, it can't be like the gymnastics club when half the class is there involuntarily.

The visionary, optimistic concepts are usually focused on what students can achieve when motivated and willing. Universal, mandatory education rarely achieves this attitude.

(c) The bureaucracy required for scale. Decisions about teaching methods, standardized testing and whatnot... these can be performing terribly for years and decades before getting dropped. A department starts judging schools or teachers by standardized tests... and then a whole generation falls into a stale "teaching to the test" paradigm that disillusions both teacher and student.

"Why are we doing this" - because we have to.

Those were great ideals and pristine origins of schooling. But somewhere post-industrialization, schooling turned into training camps that would suck away the youth from their families, villages and rural professions, into work that would power the clerical and factory jobs. It was called nation building, economy work, office work, machine work, transport work etc. But the effect was, villages and families were broken.

The nation building happened at the cost of family separation, uprooting of people and families from their native locations, suffering hectic work schedules in alien lands. That's the gift of schooling and higher education.

I have a cousin who escaped schooling when he was 8. He ran away from the town where he was put into school, walked 25 kilometers in the night to reach our village. He never went back to school. Looking back, I would rate his life quality and achievements far better that those of us who went through all the tough exams, roamed around the globe, worked too hard to be in the job etc. he doesn't know about internet, but his health and happiness are far superior due to sticking to his home and farm.

The linked article talks about Wilhelm von Humboldt's philosophy of education. While I haven't read much into 19th-century German literature, the article seems to suggest that a national education system is foundational in nation building and, possibly on-brand romanticism, that the final goal of education is to produce "independent, critical thinkers".

The same ideals have driven the initial push for public schooling in the United States (which happened at the same time at least in the big East Coast cities). However, with the expansion west, schooling became more of an assimilation instrument, where the preparation of "informed citizens" became more of the goal. This led to public school clashes with established religious schools (mostly Catholic in Chicago and in California), which then resulted in a full separation between public and religious school funding.

The goal of education seemed to have changed with the beginning of the 20th century and the push for universal high school. Powell, Farrar, & Cohen argue in "Shopping Mall High School"[^1] that universal secondary education forced schools to become more “consumer-oriented" by offering classes and activities (i.e., sports) that would keep students in school until 18, while compromising with their original ideals to prepare citizens or critical thinkers.

[^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mall_high_school

I’ve come to firmly believe that a society which looses the pursuit of the noble in the individual in exchange for mere technological excellence will in the long run loose technical ability as well.

It’s not even about a religious ideals, but secular ones as well. Really any belief system that puts the onus on individuals to pursue nobleness, as opposed to the more empty “reforming society” or “fixing society” that universities in particular appear fixated on currently.

Reminds me of CS Lewis’ critiques our modern age in “Abolition of Man” who critiqued it very well.

Of course we see this tension of education of the individual vs mass indoctrination in most western public school systems. TFA was a good read, as I’d always assumed and read that universal education was created as just a tool for mass indoctrination for obedient workers.

I also vividly recall pg’s reflections on the school system in Hackers and Founders. He was spot on with his observations and still is. My own experience made so much more sense. He wrote that a decade ago it hink. Still, Nothing changed!

I have two daughters. One just finished primary school and the second is halfway through primary. Its a disaster. They dont learn proper reading and math, they dony learn creativity. Its just a big waste of time sending them there to be honest. Heck, they watch 1 hour of stupid TV shows there everyday.. why??? My wife home schools them additionally, so that they learn proper reading, math, history & art. Its sad that this is necessary. My daughters excel now all tests obviously but its frightening to see how low the average skill level of their peers is. there are 12 year olds who cant read a paragraph or do simple maths in their head. They dont know anything about the history of the country.. Its terrifying that this is the future generation. They need to carry the torch after all.

And its not the kids fault. WE as a society failed them!!!!

ps i am from Amsterdam, NL btw

Whoever wrote this clearly didn’t know that Bildung is just German for education

Neitzsche had an interesting set of lectures he gave about the future of schools if you can get through the annoying style of a fictitious argument between philosopher and student. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/28146/28146-h/28146-h.htm

Part two link is not working...

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/1.7175393

See Latin America, south Europe. Inconceivable wealth and natural resources. Full of independent thinkers cannot even do basic things without bribes.

Having said that, people are different. They have different IQs, interests, abilities, motivation, and levels of family support. No education system will work equally well for everyone.

That isn't a problem with today's public school system. It's a problem that any education system would face. Someone with an IQ of 70 will never understand concepts like compound interest, no matter how much time, money, or tutoring is provided. While a smart and motivated person will usually learn despite a mediocre school system.

This is why every attempt to "fix" the public school system has failed spectacularly.

Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on some of Life's Ideals by William James - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16287/16287-h/16287-h.htm

What William James Still Teaches Us About Teaching: A Reflective Look at "Talks to Teachers" in Ed Psych Today - https://www.nzlamb.org/blog/what-william-james-still-teaches...

This 19th-Century Book Is Still Timely for Teachers - https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-this-19th-c...

William James’s pragmatism in education, from experiential learning to global application - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2026.2...