The Complexities of Anti-Education: Historical Restrictions, Modern Hypocrisies, and Philosophical Perspectives
The concept of "anti-education" is multifaceted, encompassing historical efforts to suppress literacy, contemporary debates over school choice, and philosophical arguments questioning the value of widespread education. Examining these different angles reveals a complex landscape where access to knowledge, the purpose of education, and the very definition of "education" are contested.
Historical Roots: Anti-Literacy Laws as a Tool of Oppression
Historically, anti-education has manifested in the form of laws and practices designed to prevent specific groups from accessing literacy and formal education. A stark example is the anti-literacy laws enacted in many slave states in the United States before and during the American Civil War. These laws targeted slaves, freedmen, and, in some cases, all people of color.
The motivations behind these laws were rooted in the fear that literate slaves could forge documents to escape to freedom and that education would lead to organized rebellion. As Reverend Mr. Converse noted, as quoted in the Anti-Slavery Almanac, "If the free colored people were taught to read, it would be an inducement for them to stay in the country." The first anti-literacy law was passed in South Carolina in 1740, following the Stono Rebellion, prohibiting enslaved people from learning to write and restricting their ability to read.
Pro-slavery ideologues like James H. Hammond blamed abolitionists for the perceived need for these laws. In a letter to British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson in 1845, Hammond argued that allowing slaves to read abolitionist writings would turn them into "demons" filled with "despair, hatred, and blood."
These laws took various forms. A 19th-century Virginia law criminalized "every assemblage of negroes for the purpose of instruction in reading or writing, or in the night time for any purpose." AME Bishop William Henry Heard recalled that, during his enslaved childhood in Georgia, any slave caught writing would have their forefinger cut off.
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Restrictions on Black education extended beyond the South. While not always illegal in the North, many states, counties, and cities barred Black students from public schools. Until 1869, only whites could attend public schools in Indiana and Illinois. Ohio excluded Black children from public schools until 1849, when it allowed separate schools for Black students. Public schools were largely segregated in Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Massachusetts was the only state to desegregate public schools before the Civil War, in 1855.
Attempts to establish schools for Black students often faced violent opposition. An effort to open a college for Black students in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1831 was quickly abandoned due to local resistance. Private schools that attempted to educate Black and white students together, often founded by abolitionists, were destroyed by mobs, such as Noyes Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire, and Prudence Crandall's Female Boarding School in Canterbury, Connecticut.
Despite these oppressive laws, educators and enslaved people found ways to circumvent and challenge them. John Berry Meachum moved his school to a steamship on the Mississippi River, beyond Missouri's jurisdiction, when the state passed an anti-literacy law in 1847. Margaret Crittendon Douglas wrote a book about her experiences after being imprisoned for educating free Black children in Norfolk, Virginia, drawing national attention to the issue. Frederick Douglass taught himself to read while enslaved. An ad for a runaway slave in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1845 noted that "[Fanny] can read and write, and so forge passes for herself."
Enslaved people viewed literacy as a path to advancement and liberation, secretly learning from and teaching one another. One historian noted that 20% of runaway slaves in antebellum Kentucky could read, and 10% could write. Children traded items for reading lessons from white children, and adults learned from each other, both Black and white. Lucius Holsey, an enslaved man, acquired a small library by selling rags. Despite the laws, schools for enslaved Black students existed throughout the South. In 1838, Virginia's free Black population petitioned the state to allow their children to attend schools outside of Virginia. Some slaveholders ignored the laws, allowing their children to teach their slave playmates to read and write, and some saw economic benefits in having literate slaves.
Contemporary Debates: School Choice and the Perpetuation of Inequality
The debate around "anti-education" takes on a different form in contemporary discussions about school choice, particularly concerning its impact on marginalized communities. The principal of Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker Campus, Sharif El-Mekki, has criticized what he sees as hypocrisy among those who oppose school choice for Black children while simultaneously exercising choice for their own children.
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El-Mekki argues that many middle-class individuals exert significant effort to ensure their children receive the best teachers and educational opportunities, even threatening to remove their children from schools if their demands are not met. Wealthier families can afford tutoring, trips, camps, and other experiences to supplement their children's education. Others choose their schools by selecting affluent neighborhoods or criteria-based schools that often exclude Black children.
El-Mekki contends that those who criticize charter schools while supporting magnet and criteria-based schools that are difficult for Black children to access are engaging in hypocrisy. He points out that these schools often have fewer children in poverty, fewer students with special needs or ELL support, and screen applicants rigorously. He argues that charter schools that are open to any child are more public than these selective schools.
El-Mekki believes that many who claim to be anti-school choice are, in reality, pro-choice for their own children. He urges those who benefit from educational choice to advocate for the right of all families to choose a public school that works for them.
The debate over school choice is further complicated by the rise of school privatization schemes, which some argue are detrimental to public education. Critics contend that these schemes divert resources from public schools, leading to underfunding and declining outcomes.
In states like Florida, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, voucher programs have been criticized for increasing costs, benefiting families who already send their children to private schools, and lacking accountability. Some studies have found that students who use vouchers to attend private schools perform worse than they would have in public schools.
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Opponents of privatization argue that it exacerbates inequality by creating separate and unequal education systems. They contend that public funds should be directed towards strengthening public schools rather than subsidizing private education.
Philosophical Perspectives: Nietzsche's Critique of Mass Education
The concept of "anti-education" also has a philosophical dimension. Friedrich Nietzsche, in his lectures "On the Future of Our Educational Institutions," presented a critique of mass education and argued for a more elitist approach.
Nietzsche believed that true education should be reserved for a small elite of potential geniuses and taught only by geniuses. He argued that the purpose of education was to nurture natural talent and assist these individuals in reaching their full potential. He saw these exceptional individuals as essential for the greatness of a country.
Nietzsche opposed the expansion of educational institutions, believing that it led to unqualified individuals becoming teachers and students graduating with a false sense of being educated. He feared that this would result in a decline in the quality of education and the rise of mediocrity.
Nietzsche's views on education were closely tied to his elitist philosophy. He believed that only a few individuals were capable of greatness and that the state depended on these people for its progress. Therefore, he argued that efforts should be focused on identifying and nurturing these potential geniuses.
Nietzsche's ideas on education are complex and open to interpretation. Some scholars view him as advocating for a radical overhaul of the education system, while others see his critique as more of a philosophical commentary on the nature of education and the importance of individual genius.
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