Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, was published in 1953. It describes a future dystopian American society in which books are outlawed, and firemen (an ironic term) are to burn any that are found in order to keep the general in ignorant bliss by not giving them anything to ask questions about.
At the time the book was published, schools in America were terrible. The average teacher salary was $4,000(vs. $39,000 as a starting salary in 2011), spending per pupil was around $215 (vs. $10,615 in 2010), and the percentage of the population over 25 with a high school diploma or higher was a mere 36.4%. 36.4%. This isn’t even the worst part. That was only for the white percentage. The percentage for black America in the 1950’s was 13.7%.
Before