Annex Sociology Podcast

Adam Laats on Mr. Lancaster and the Origin of Public Schools in the US

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Dan Morrison (@danielrmorrison.bsky.social) speaks with Dr. Adam Laats (@adamlaats.bsky.social), Professor of Education and History at Binghamton University in New York. Laats is author of Mr. Lancaster’s System: The Failed Reform that Created America’s Public Schools, published in 2024 by Johns Hopkins University Press. The book offers a new account of the history of urban public schooling in the US, focusing on Joseph Lancaster’s unique system and its spectacular failure. Laats is an expert on the history and culture of US schools.