Educational Unity in a Pluralistic Society

Can we formulate a unifying principle for the public school in a fragmented, pluralistic society? I shall argue that we can. This answer is radical in both the loose and strict sense of the word. In the loose sense it is so unfashionable-at least with respect to the literature in professional education-as to be shocking. But an affirmative answer is also radical in that it goes to the root of the matter, namely, the continued existence of an American public school. In an age when educational questions and answers are shrouded in clouds of administrative complexity and bureaucratic sophistication, perhaps most astonishing is the simplicity, almost simplemindedness, of the formula itself. This paper addresses itself to three topics, namely, the need for a unifying principle, the formulation of a principle for which a maximum consensus can be claimed, and a common curriculum that would implement the principle.