The first article in this series pointed out that one way to
address our problem of uneducated factory workers would be
revive the apprentice / indenture system. In return for
employer-provided education, young people would agree to work at
below-market rates for some period of time to pay back the
training cost. This centuries-old system fell into disuse when
governments took over responsibility for paying for children's
education. We also observed that the entirely-privately-funded
part of our education system works quite well. Kids who go to
private schools or attend public schools in wealthy areas where
parents elect school boards which supply quality education are
pretty well guaranteed to join the upper 10% if not the top 1%,
but many kids are stuck in abysmal public schools and end up
uneducated. The Wilson Quarterly explains how our public
education system originated: American public education traces
its origins to 1647, Gene Maeroff of Teachers College, Columbia
University, writes in School Boards in