Back to the Future.

While concerns over literacy are common in contemporary times, similar concerns have been raised in other historical periods. Despite earlier predictions of American mastery of English, the Harvard Reports of the 1890s reflected anxiety over literacy among freshman college students from even "the best families in point of culture and breeding, and from the best schools." In addressing who was responsible for the problem, language critics and educators of the era engaged not so much in soul searching as in blame shifting. Preparatory schools took the brunt of the attacks. The students themselves were criticized for spending too much time in the lower levels of education. Other targets included "the home, the very cheap newspaper, the street" and even advertising, which was labeled an "acknowledged evil" and a "perversion of talent." The colleges themselves and their entrance examinations were attacked by critics. It is hoped that present-day calls for educational reform will seek out effective solutions and not just a revival of educational methods that do not work. (Fifty-eight references are attached.) (SG)