What do we know about our educational system? There's so many policies and government control over education that we as citizens have little to no control over what we get to learn from any of the schools accessible to us. To study out the history of American education would be a great feat. It would be great to have a timeline history of the involvement so that we could go back and see what events and choices formed the education system we currently have. Perhaps this kind of study would help us what we should go back and change in order to improve what we have.
I came across a speech given by President Boyd K. Packer where he provides an overview of the education systems created and developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He notes how elementary and secondary schools were established in each of the communities developed by early Church members, including the first schools established in the Salt Lake Valley. It wasn't long before church schools were transformed into government-sponsored schools. With that change, all religion was dropped from school curriculum and subsequently the Seminary program was introduced.
Here's a scriptural reference that helps us understand God's perspective on education: And the spirit and the body are the soul of man. [D&C 88:15; emphasis added]
For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy. . . .
The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
Light and truth [will] forsake that evil one. . . .
[We are] commanded. . . to bring up [our] children in light and truth. [D&C 93:33–34, 36, 40; emphasis added]
Following this change, Church academies expanded to serve as college-level educational facilities. These were established in Canada and Mexico in addition the the U.S.
President Packer tells of the structure of Church-owned schools today: "In recent years, the board of education of the Church and the board of trustees for Church colleges and universities has been the First Presidency, six members of the Quorum of the Twelve, a member of the Presiding Bishopric, and the presidents of the Relief Society and the Young Women of the Church.
I can best tell you how you are governed today, how the board of trustees functions, by explaining the principles and procedures we follow in the meetings of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. These procedures protect the work from the individual weaknesses apparent in all of us."
President Packer explains that today church colleges and universities are becoming extinct. Baylor University has broken its connections with the Baptist church as well as many others. Church schools often include curriculum that addresses moral and religious aspects in life whereas state schools do not. In this detailed speech, he also provides aspects related to God's counsel regarding education.
There's more information to read and learn from in President Packer's speech, so here's a link to it to read it yourself: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=373
This is just one historical account of education in America; the development is intricate and interesting to read about.
