The Prussian Model of Education
It is not a commonly known fact that the education system used in most of the world today is based upon a Prussian public education system, usually referred to as the Prussian Model, introduced in the early 1800s for producing obedient soldiers (Prussia was a former state of current day Germany).
Shortly after several crushing defeats by Napoleon at the beginning of the 1800s, Prussia’s political and military elite came to the bizarre conclusion that the independent thinking and the individualistic spirit among Prussian fighters and soldiers was in fact a root cause and major contributing factor to their defeat. Consequently, the Prussian elite began a programme aimed at reducing the 'aliveness', intelligence and independent thinking in the majority of the citizenry. The goal was to make the bulk of the population compliant servants rather than free individuals who could think for themselves, and create and enrich the Prussian culture. Such a perverse goal could only be accomplished via the mechanisms of education. American educator John Taylor Gatto provides a description of the reforms and the social transformation that resulted [1]:
The familiar three-tier system of education emerged in the Napoleonic era with one private tier and two government ones. At the top, one half or one percent of the students attended Akademiensschulen , where, as future policy makers, Prussians learned to think strategically, contextually, in wholes; they learned complex processes, and useful knowledge, studied history, wrote copiously, argued often, and read deeply, and mastered tasks of command.
The next level, Realsschulen, was intended mostly as a manufactory for the professional proletariat of engineers, architects, doctors, lawyers, career civil servants, and such other assistants as policy thinkers at times would require. From 5 to 7.5 percent of all students attended these 'real schools', learning in a superficial fashion how to think in context, but mostly learning how to manage materials, men and situations – to be problem solvers. This group would also staff the various policing functions of the state, bringing order to the domain. Finally, at the bottom of the pile, a group between 92 and 94 percent of the population attended Volksschulen or 'people’s schools', where they learned obedience, cooperation and correct attitudes, along with rudiments of literacy and official state myths of history.
This universal system of compulsory schooling was up and running by 1819, and soon became the eighth wonder of the world, promising for a brief time – in spite of its exclusionary layered structure – liberal education for all. But this early dream was soon abandoned. This particular utopia had a different target than human equality; it aimed instead for frictionless efficiency. From its inception, Volksschulen , the people’s school, heavily discounted reading because 'reading produced dissatisfaction', it was thought. Reading offered too many windows onto better lives, too much familiarity with better ways of thinking. It was a gift unwise to share with those permanently consigned to low station; thus was created a standard of virtual illiteracy formally taught under state church auspices.
Note to reader: Extensive information on the Prussian Model can be found in books and the world wide web. I recommend you do your own research to your complete satisfaction.
To better understand what are the principal causal factors behind the decline of Western education in the 21st century, read my article The Decline of Western Education in the 21st Century, and not only begin your own research into the matter, but find out what can be done about it, and what you can do as an student, parent or educator to ensure your children are properly educated.
[1] (2020) Collins, P.D. Invoking the Beyond: The Kantian Rift, Mythologized Menaces, and the Quest for the New Man, iUniverse, Bloomington:Indiana
