“Before the French Revolution,” said Ferdinand Buisson in 1911, “the principle of free instruction, that is, of education regarded as a public service, was unknown.” He added that of course the church had given free schooling to a few poor boys before 1789, and that the principle of free education was now well established in France “at least for the primary schools.” It is well known that free education in secondary schools, at the public expense, was not realized in France until 1933.

Public schooling has held a central place in the mythologies celebrating the assimilation of immigrants into American life. It is no surprise then to find that the historiography of schooling and immigration has been characterized by a good deal of polemic and a paucity of data. Depending upon their political persuasions, scholars have either described the schools as an immense success in providing opportunities, or as reactionary institutions designed to perpetuate the existing class order.

One could easily construct an argument that modern professional sports, played within the capitalistic atmosphere of competitive salaries and managerial techniques, provides the mass spectator with a sense of relief and adventure from the dull monotony and drudgery of our modern technological and urban environment. An extension of this argument would be that spectator sports by occupying the leisure time of the mass man dilutes his political consciousness and diffuses his feelings of rebellion. Within this framework sports could be considered one of the controlling instruments of our technological culture.