It’s common to believe that education makes people socially mobility. The more education one receives, the more job prospects one will have. There are whole economic theories that explore the relationship between education, productivity, and earnings. Because of this commonplace assumption, education is believed to reduce inequality.

But what if the power we commonly place on education is misplaced? What if the story is more complex than what our neat theories of the economy and society tell us?

This is where history comes in.

My guest today is Cristina Groeger. She’s recently written The Education Trap: Schools and the Remaking of Inequality in Boston. Cristina explores the history of work and education in Boston between 1880 and 1930 and finds legacies that continue into the present.

Cristina Groeger is an Assistant Professor of History at Lake Forest College.

https://freshedpodcast.com/groeger/

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