Joseph Lancaster & the “Delusion” of Public Schools

Virtual lecture examines early 19th century educator Joseph Lancaster

How to teach our children is a subject of great debate during this difficult time. On Tuesday, September 22, Binghamton University professor Adam Laats will share a historical perspective on educational challenges through the story of Joseph Lancaster. His talk is part of the Erie Canal Museum lunchtime lecture series. It will take place on Facebook Live at 12 p.m.

Laats will discuss 19th century educator Joseph Lancaster, who had developed a revolutionary school system for the poor in England’s cities. American reformers including DeWitt Clinton convinced Lancaster to move to New York in 1818. They viewed his system as the solution to the problems of American cities. Lancaster’s experience in the U.S. was also the country’s tumultuous first attempt to reform its urban public schools.

The program will be on Facebook Live to protect everyone’s health and safety. Please consider making a $5 donation through this link on our website. $5 is the admission fee for our bimonthly lunchtime lectures. Everyone who donates will receive a personal link to watch the lecture live on Zoom and participate in a Q&A session.

When Joseph Lancaster arrived in this country, he was greeted as a genius of historical importance. Cities and states rushed to implement his vision of student-taught classrooms for the poor. Twenty years later, buried in debt and accused of abuse and mismanagement, Lancaster was dead. By then, almost all “Lancasterian” schools had closed or abandoned his methods.

Laats will explain what happened to Lancaster’s bold initiative. He will also discuss Lancaster’s plan to address urban poverty, and the reasons his “system” was so quickly discarded.

Adam Laats is the author of several books about U.S. educational history. His books include Fundamentalist U: Keeping the Faith in American Higher Education and The Other School Reformers: Conservative Activism in American Education. He teaches at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

We hope you will join us for this fascinating talk!

The Erie Canal Museum is partially funded by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.