It has been a very long and winding road since the original Elementary & Secondary Education Act was signed into law in 1965. I was in 10th grade then and certainly did not have a clue that ESEA would become such a major part of our education landscape (as well as a major fixture in my professional life). In the coming months no doubt there will be many articles written about the blessing and curse of ESEA as we approach its 50th anniversary. I will be sharing some thoughts in this space in the months ahead.
For now I just want to share one nostalgic touch. Over the weekend while in Texas for the wedding of Luke Kohlmoos and Eva Boster (my son and daughter-in-law who are both educators) I happened to visit the Lyndon B Johnson ranch. There just a bit east of the legendary “Texas White House” is Junction School, the one-room schoolhouse where LBJ first went to school way back in 1912. And it is the site LBJ chose for the signing of ESEA. Check out these pics of the signing ceremony with LBJ and his first teacher and of the school house as it looks today.
