Whatever Happened to Driver Education in Schools?

Beginning in the mid-1980s, corporate managers outsourced manufacturing jobs in steel to other countries and personal services to call centers located in the U.S. and abroad. School districts did the same with driver education. Mostly, private companies now provide driver training to teenagers than public schools do. How come? Higher graduation requirements and reforms that called for everyone to go to college combined with inexorable demands of local districts to reduce costs led states to cut their subsidies for driver education teachers and programs. What Problems Did the Driver Education Classes Solve? Traffic accidents and fatalities is the short answer. From the very beginning of the 20th century, cars killed pedestrians and passengers. By the 1920s, over 15,000 Americans died annually in auto accidents. Like most economic, political, and social problems in the nation, Americans believed that education–like water, alcohol, and acetone–is an all-purpose solvent for problems. So…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town