Horace Mann Middle School: The A-rated middle school is named for a man who championed public education as "essential to democracy."
By MICHELLE JONES
Published February 27, 2004
Horace Mann is known as the father of American public education, so it is fitting that schools all around the nation are named in his honor.
One of those schools is at 409 E Jersey Ave. in Brandon.
Horace Mann Junior High School was built in 1957 to serve grades 8 through 10. The home of the Raiders was converted to a middle school in 1996. Today, the A-rated school serves a student body of about 875.
Mann believed it was important to provide all children with a free education.
"Education to all citizens is essential to democracy." he said.
Mann was born on May 4, 1796, in Franklin, Mass. Educational opportunities were limited for the poor farmer's son, so he largely taught himself, reading in the town library. Mann's persistence paid off; he entered Brown University as a sophomore and graduated in 1819.
He then attended Litchfield (Conn.) Law School in 1821. He was admitted to the bar in 1823 and practiced law.
Mann became a representative in the Massachusetts legislature and was elected to the state senate. He helped enact many laws including creating a state board of education, the first in the United States.
In 1837, Mann was appointed secretary to the board of education and through this post was able to influence the school system in Massachusetts and throughout the United States. The board created public support for pay increases for teachers and improved their training through teacher-training schools. He also championed the abolition of corporal punishment.
He helped establish training schools for teachers and reinvigorated an 1827 law establishing high schools; 50 high schools were created during his tenure.
He addressed the 1852 graduating class of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he was president, and said to the class: "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."
