The Miseducation of the Masses (Part 1)

In the kick off episode for a series on the education system in the
United States of America, we take a look at the Prussian education
system that was established after that country's devastating defeat
at the hands of Napoleon's military in 1806.  Decades after
that system was up and running, Prussia was a serious force to be
reckoned with in Europe.  The notoriety of their education
system had piqued the interest of an American, elite, Protestant,
politician named Horace Mann.  So much so, that Mann went to
Prussia in 1843 to see how this "Three Tiered System" worked. 
Upon his return, Mann (who was Secretary of the Massachusetts State
Board of Education at the time) pushed very hard to implement what
he had seen in Prussia.  The effects of which are still alive
and well in today's compulsory public school system. [Click to
Play]