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In the face of massive immigration, progressives claimed that schools could help to preserve the American way of life. The new Gary (Indiana) curriculum reached into areas like health and hygiene that had little to do with the three Rs.
…Leaders of industry hoped that progressive education would socialize students and their families at a time of widespread labor unrest. “The argument is made that the reason there are labor riots and strikes is because the family can’t manage their [sic] budget,” explains Joel Spring, historian. “So home economics becomes a big issue. If the woman learns how to cook and the worker goes to work well fed and works hard, and knows that there will be a good meal when he returns home, he doesn’t stop at the saloon and he comes directly home. And we will have industrial peace through home economics. So the school was suddenly the panacea for everything that was going on in society.”
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