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It is a pleasure for me to introduce to you Professor Katie Day from the Lutheran College

of Philadelphia in the United States, where she holds a professorship for church and society.

She received her PhD from the Temple University on urban religion, urban sociology, and is

ordained in the Presbyterian Church.

Her research on urban religion is of high relevance.

She has conducted major studies of faith-based community organizing, religious responses

to HIV, AIDS in South Africa, and religious social agencies.

She is involved as an activist in several urban issues, including gun violence, and

we all know what a burning issue this is.

In her paper she will explore the relation of public theology and public education in

the city, and I think this will be a very specific and central contribution to our overall

theme and what I have read in her abstract.

I know that it is a very, very conflict-near area.

She is dealing with the questions of a divided society and what it means for religious communities

to deal with it.

I'd like to welcome to you.

Good afternoon.

Where I come from, this is the dreaded time slot right after lunch.

So I have to, with my afternoon classes, move a lot and keep people awake.

So if you feel yourself slipping into a coma, let me know.

Public education in the U.S. has been part of our relatively new nation since its inception.

The construction of public education has been grounded in some of the lofty commitments

upon which our country was founded, particularly egalitarianism.

And universally accessible education has been considered critical to our democracy.

Yet today, public education is itself in crisis and stands in contradiction to the values

on which it was constructed.

In this paper, I will first give you a brief overview of the history of public education

in the U.S., then describe the realities and dynamics of urban schools, and finally go

on to map out the challenges for public theologians and possible strategies for our participation

in the public forum.

First, the origins of public education in the United States.

Those coming to what was called the New World, what became North America from Europe, brought

with them a high appreciation for the value of education.

Puritan settlers in New England particularly valued education as a means to read and interpret

the Bible as well as being essential to contribute to the common good.

By 1635 in Boston, the first public school was established for boys.

It continues to operate today.

Just seven years later, schooling became compulsory in Massachusetts, and soon thereafter, the

first school paid by local taxes was established in one of its communities.

The school was headed by a clergyman.

These early days of establishing schools, in other words, were often the result of religious

motivation and advocacy.

Funding came both from public and private treasuries out of an increasing recognition

that for this country to thrive economically and politically, an educated citizenry was

essential.

President John Adams wrote in 1785, the whole people must take upon themselves the education

of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it.

There should not be a district of one square mile without a school in it, not founded by

a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves.