Guest Editorial by Tom Murphy

American Education: a 125-Year-Old Failure?

“It’s all screwed up.”

Whatever side of the aisle you fall on, we hear it from parents, experts and policymakers alike: The American education system is “broken.”

It feels like we’re all seated on a giant gondola, swinging back and forth on a carnival ride no one is really enjoying. We’ve now gone from sweeping reform movements to a nostalgic yearning to “get it back to what it was.”

But what if this “golden age” of education we’re trying to reclaim is more recent, and the system itself far younger, than we typically consider? What if the trend to “shake up” the system wasn’t a failed experiment but simply growing pains in a relatively new societal endeavor?

It Didn’t Start That Long Ago

The loudest voices currently declaring the system’s failures often come from the generations who experienced the post-World War II flurry of acts, court cases and reforms that shaped 20th-century education in America. Our current leaders (the Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, and Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980) grew up in this “peak” of what we’d consider mainstream education.

Before this, the Greatest Generation (born between 1901 and 1927) and the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945) struggled to live in a world still coming into the modern age. Few attended universities or post-secondary educational pursuits, let alone completed a comprehensive primary curriculum.

When putting the debate on a “broken” education system into context, perhaps the most vital point to realize is that this system has only been around for four to five generational cohorts, or roughly 125 years. In the grand scheme of recorded history, let alone the existence of human civilizations, that’s a blink of an eye!

The British monarchy has persisted in one form or another for almost 1,000 years.

The Roman Empire endured for nearly five centuries in the West, and more than a thousand years in the East.

Greece’s classical ideals stretch across 2,500 years of philosophy, politics and art.

Ancient Egypt’s dynasties thrived for over 3,000 years along the Nile.

Can something as young as the American education system even be considered a catastrophic failure at such an early stage?

Unifying Around Grace… for the Human Race

If we’re being honest, this whole “failed” system is barely an adult, let alone an ancient, crumbling edifice. We’re criticizing a 125-year-old experiment when, in the lifespan of major civilizations and societal institutions, that’s remarkably young.

The point is, perhaps it’s time we reframe the “it’s all screwed up” statement that seeks to blame and demonize one form or another. If the system is, relatively speaking, still in its adolescence, perhaps we shouldn’t judge it or each other too harshly. Perhaps we should step back and realize the early stage of development we’re in and offer both ourselves and those on opposing viewpoints some grace.

We’re all just trying to figure this thing out together. It’s not wrong to have high expectations of what schooling should look like in an ideal society, especially when we’re trying to ensure the best future for our children.

However, instead of looking at this whole thing like a colossal collapse, perhaps we need to reframe our recent stewardship of this young system and curb our rapidly evolving timeframe of what “success” looks like.
Perhaps we’re not in an irreversible decline, but just another early step in the development of a brighter future.

And even if everything really is “all screwed up,” look at the bright side—it’s only been about 125 years! So let’s make the next 125 count!

Tom Murphy, founder of Sweethearts & Heroes and an alumnus of Cooperstown Central School, is a nationally recognized speaker and leader in youth development, resilience, and social change. A former All-American wrestler, UFC competitor, and successful entrepreneur, Tom transitioned from a corporate career to full-time advocacy, bringing his message of empathy, H.O.P.E. (Hold On, Possibilities Exist), and action to millions of people nationwide. Through engaging workshops and powerful storytelling, he empowers communities to create lasting cultures of belonging and support.