I recently read an article that contrasted Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin’s ideas about American public education. One of the more profound differences between the two men was perhaps that Franklin worked to ensure that education was accessible to all citizens, regardless of race, class, or gender. While Jefferson had professed his interest in educating the masses, he never actually worked toward educational equity and access for all. Whereas Jefferson appeared to harbor a kind of disregard for the potential and capabilities of common people, Franklin seemed to appreciate the range of skills and competencies of students across the social spectrum. In his view, students should be given the space and time to discover and develop the breadth of their talents, whether with their hands, minds, heads, or bodies. Jefferson displayed his elitist tendencies as he promoted the implementation of traditional or classical curriculums and preparation for those professions that the elites considered desirable. He espoused a level of intellectual arrogance that almost certainly delimited the opportunities and potential of many who occupied the lower classes of society.

The two views also reflect the existing foundational differences between those in education today who are traditionalists and want to maintain the status quo versus those who are reformers and are pushing for greater innovation, openness, and creativity in 21^st century schools. Although the competing visions for contemporary schools may not be defined in class, income, or gender terms, their underlying themes hearken back to the contrasting approaches that Franklin and Jefferson proffered. Franklin’s legacy is synonymous with those who want more innovation and creativity, e.g. education entrepreneurs, while Jefferson’s legacy parallels those who think education does not need to adapt to the demands of this century or the shifting education paradigm, e.g. educational elites and traditionalists. Even today, there is that group of educators who don’t seem to appreciate the breadth of aptitudes and abilities that young people possess and only want to utilize traditional curriculums. Conversely, the group of educators which recognizes that student competencies are intellectual, artistic, creative, and athletic is working hard to expand teaching and learning to reflect greater flexibility and relevance. Students deserve schools that accommodate their diverse career and vocational interests, not elitist assumptions from the adults in their lives that seek to force them into narrowly defined and traditional work and life choices that are not reflective of their own hopes and desires.