PBS - Jefferson and public education -- tonight

[Kenneth Bernstein <kber@earthlink.net>]

forwarding contents of a message my wife forwarded to me

Ken Bernstein

--


I just got the following from Monticello:

An episode of the series History Dectectives that includes a segment 
about a
Jefferson document, with scenes shot at Monticello and in the Jefferson
Library, will be aired at 9 p.m. tonight on most PBS stations. Please 
check
your local listings.

HW

Further info from the show's website:

JEFFERSON PLEDGE
AIRING: Season 5, Episode 3
THE DETECTIVE: Wes Cowan
THE PLACE: Charlottesville, VA and Washington D.C.
THE CASE:
In a forgotten corner of The Washington D.C. Public Library, a photo
archivist has discovered what may be a momentous piece of history.

It’s a list of signatures from public figures of the early 1800’s, 
including
President Thomas Jefferson, offering money for a seemingly humble 
proposal:
to build a simple pair of elementary schools. But Jefferson’s ultimate 
goal,
we learn, is far loftier. With this venture, he is quietly floating his 
plan
to launch the nation’s first public school system.

Eventually he would go broke through such acts of charity, but 
Jefferson’s
ideals of public education would transform the nation. Could it all have
begun with a modest $200 pledge?

History Detectives investigates the beginnings of public education in 
the
United States.




Kenneth J. Bernstein