John Swett (July 31, 1830 – August 22, 1913) is considered to be the "Father of the California public school" system and the "Horace Mann of the Pacific".JoinCalifornia, Election History of the State of California, John Swett page
Biography
John Swett was an only child born July 31, 1830, in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, to Lucretia (born French) Swett and Ebenezer Swett, who were Congregationalists.First Congregational Church of Pittsfield, HANNAH (LANE) FRENCH 1772-1854, Biographical research and written profiles by Larry Berkson, Historian, Pittsfield Historical Society He died August 22, 1913, in Alhambra Valley, near Martinez, California. He married Mary Louise (Tracy) Swett on May 8, 1862, in Sonoma, and they had 6 children.RootsWeb John Swett individual page During his life he was a close friend of Sierra Club co-founder John Muir. Swett arrived in California in 1853 to mine gold but quickly sought work as a teacher in San Francisco.Martinez Historical Society, John Swett In 1862 he became a Freemason, joining San Francisco's Phoenix Lodge No. 144.Phoenix Lodge #144, Our History FAMOUS FREEMASONS By WILLIAM R. DENSLOW Volume IV Q – Z
In 1863 he was instrumental in founding the California Educational Society, which would become the California Teachers Association, the largest teachers' union in the state of California. Running in 1862, during the Civil War, as a National Union Party (Republican) candidate he was elected California State Superintendent of Public Instruction and served until 1867.California Dept. of Education, Historic Documents, History of Education, Part C - Historical Documents, THE “DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION” BEFORE 1921Public education in California: its origin and development by John Swett. My Final Biennial Report. pg 196 Other positions he held were Deputy Superintendent of the San Francisco Public Schools (1870–1873), Principal of the Denman School (1873–1876) and Girls High School (San Francisco) (1876–1889); the School Board there was dissatisfied with his administration because he had taken no steps toward its accreditation by the University of California and because no women had been sent to the university since 1884.JoinCalifornia, Election History of the State of California, John Swett page"Swett's Resignation," The Daily Examiner, San Francisco, July 16, 1889, page 4
In 1890 he was elected superintendent of the San Francisco Public Schools on the Republican and Reform Democratic tickets."John Swett: A Sketch of One of San Francisco's Earliest Teachers," The Morning Call, Sam Framncisco, October 24, 1890, page 7"Complete Official Count," The Examiner, San Francisco, November 30, 1890, page 5
In 1895 he retired to his estate, Hill Girt Ranch.Martinez Historical Society, John Swett
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction (1863-1867) His most important accomplishment was making the California school system free for all students. In his report for 1866–67, he stated: "The school year ending June 30, 1867, marks the transition period of California from rate-bill common schools to an American free school system. For the first time in the history of the State, every public school was made entirely free for every child to enter."California Dept. of Education, Historic Documents, History of Education, Part C - Historical Documents, THE “DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION” BEFORE 1921
Criticism In his 1878 book The Poison Fountain Zachariah Montgomery criticized, among other things, Swett's autocratic style. He states the following on page 111: It must be remembered that Superintendent Swett maintains the proposition that parents have no remedy against the teachers, and that: "As a general thing the only persons who have a legal right to give orders to the teacher are his employers, namely, the committee in some States, and in others the directors or trustees. If his conduct is approved by his employers the parents have no remedy as against him or them." (See Swett's Biennial Report, 1864, page 166.)
And we must not forget that this same superintendent has said that: " The vulgar impression that parents have a legal right to dictate to teachers is entirely erroneous."
In his 1876 book, History of the Public School Systems of California, Swett becomes one of the first Californian educators to specify that mature children actually belong to the state or society, writing:
"Children arrived at the age of maturity belong, not to the parents, but to the State, to society, to the country."John Swett, History of the Public School Systems of California, San Francisco: CA, Bancroft, 1876, p. 115
Tributes John Swett Award for Media Excellence, awarded yearly by the California Teachers Association John Swett High School in Crockett, California John Swett Elementary School in Martinez, CA John Swett Unified School District in Contra Costa County, California On the day of his funeral (August 25, 1913), nearly every school in California closed in honor of Swett.JoinCalifornia, Election History of the State of California, John Swett page
Books and other works His papers have been donated by his children to the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley: Guide to the John Swett Papers, 1853-1913, Bancroft Library Staff, University of California, Berkeley Also donated to the Bancroft Library were the papers of the Tracy family (Swett's wife's family): Tracy family papers (ca. 1800-1888), Collection Number: BANC MSS Z-Z 107 History of the Public School System of California, by John Swett Methods of Teaching, by John Swett
See also George H. Atkinson, Founder of the Oregon Public school system
References
External links
Mountain View People webpage describing John Swett's grave site at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California). He is interred with his daughter Helen Swett Artieda and her husband Gregorio Artieda. "Early Vision of Semple, Swett Realized in Broad, Firm Educational System", by Will C. Wood, State Superintendent of Public Instruction "John Swett and the Politics of Public Education in Frontier California", by Ruth E. Sutter "John Swett (1830-1913)" , JiffyNotes.com The Bay of San Francisco, Vol. 2, Pages 526-527, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892. (San Francisco County Biographies, Genealogy.com) "John Swett, Public Education in California" (New York: American Books, 1911) (from http://www.encyclopedia.com) John Swett's entry in various editions of Who's Who: Who's Who in America, Volume 3, edited by John William Leonard, Albert Nelson Marquis Who's Who in America A Yankee Patriot: John Swett, the Horace Mann of the Pacific Nicholas C. Polos History of Education Quarterly Vol. 4, No. 1 (Mar., 1964), pp. 17-32