Children of the Mill: Schooling and Society in Gary, Indiana, 1906-1960

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Routledge, May 1, 2014 - Education - 304 pages
Gary, Indiana was founded in 1906, and was part of the US Steel Corporation's plan to build the world's largest steel mill. The city's school system became world-famous as a progressive educational experiment until the 1930s when a changing political and economic climate led to an erosion of the system, which faced a serious overcrowding crisis in the 1950s. Blending social and intellectual history, Ronald Cohen examines the economic, political, and cultural context of the unique educational experience developed in this urban industrial center. Cohen demonstrates that while various interest groups - local as well as national - helped mold educational policies and practices, the Gary schools operated within the framework of corporate capitalism. Despite their early experimental nature, the Gary schools exemplified the rise of mass education in a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, class structure and urban setting.
 

Contents

Establishing the System 19061910
1
In the Schools 19101915
22
Times of Troubles 19151920
47
Flush Times 19201930
78
A NOTE ON SOURCES
245
INDEX
275
Copyright

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About the author (2014)

Ronald D. Cohen is Professor of History at Indiana University Northwest. He is the author of Moonlight in Duneland: The Illustrated Story of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad and Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970.

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