1900's Education | "The True Character of the New York Public Schools"

Magazine article

By: Adele Marie Shaw

Date: December 1903

Source: Shaw, Adele Marie. "The True Character of the New York Public Schools." The World's Work 7, no. 2, December 1903, 4204–4221.

About the Author: Adele Marie Shaw (1865?–1941) graduated from Smith College and taught in a girls' high school in Brooklyn, New York. She was hired as a special correspondent from 1903 to 1904 by The World's Work magazine to study conditions in public schools. Shaw was also the author of many articles in a variety of popular magazines.

Introduction

Although Americans had put great faith in the public schools, by 1890 serious problems had emerged. Rural schools were largely underequipped, dilapidated, and taught by underprepared teachers. Urban schools were crowded, poorly maintained, and struggling to cope with problems presented by large numbers of...