Taking the King’s ShillingnHistorically, the primary function of schooling has beennto teach the young how to live responsibly andnproductively in their own society. In our day, the notions ofncivic, familial, and vocational obligations have been virtuallynbanished from pedagogy. Today’s ethically and morallynbarren system of education has not only failed to fortify itsnstudents against perverse conduct (as is evident in the highnrates of crime, AIDS, and drug addiction), but has evennjoined those tragic blights as a social pathology for whichnthere seems to be no acceptable course of remedy.nIt is time to bypass the taboos of the reigning educationalnorthodoxy and probe some of the now-forbidden chambersnof the House of Intellect. Especially promising are thenarchives of that wisdom which used to inform and guidenAmerica’s schools and colleges in their remarkably successfulnsocialization of earlier generations of students. Thenconsideration of just one principle, now jettisoned butnpreviously treasured, will illustrate the value of what hasnbeen scrapped.nUntil the middle of this century, the educational professionnclearly recognized that the character of the educationalnservice was determined as much by the source of funding asnby the amount of money supplied. Above all, there was annaversion to having the federal government pay for America’snJohn Howard is the former president of Rockford Collegenand is counselor to The Rockford Institute.n20/CHRONICLESnFederal Aid to Higher Educationnby John A. Howardnnnschooling.nIn March 1945 the American Council on Education andnthe National Education Association issued a joint bulletin ofnalarm to the American people. The following are thenintroductory paragraphs from that declaration.nThe first purpose of this document is to warn thenAmerican people of an insidious and ominous trendnin the control and management of educadon in thenUnited States. Its second purpose is to proposenpolicies and procedures by which citizens may resistnthis dangerous trend.nFor more than a quarter of a century andnespecially during the last decade, education in thenUnited States, like a ship caught in a powerful tide,nhas drifted ever further into the dangerous waters ofnFederal control and domination.nThis drift has continued at an accelerated ratenduring the war. Present signs indicate that unless itnis sharply checked by an alert citizenry, it willncontinue even more rapidly after the war.nIt is the deliberate and reasoned judgment of thentwo educational commissions who join in the appealnwhich this document makes to the people of thenUnited States that the trend toward the Federalizingnof education is one of the most dangerous on thencurrent scene.n