Features

Oakland’s original designation as the “Athens of the Pacific”—favorably comparing the city’s education system to that of the legendary Mediterranean civilization—was clearly somewhat different from Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan’s stated vision for a quality public school system. 

In her 1982 volume on Oakland’s history, Oakland, The Story of a City, historian Beth Bagwell noted that “from about 1860 until the turn of the [20th] century, Oakland claimed the title of ‘the Athens of the Pacific’ because of its schools.” 

However, Bagwell noted that at the time “this was not because of the public schools, however. It was because of the large number of private schools that attracted boarding pupils from all over the West and even Hawaii.” 

“Not everybody went to school,” in Oakland in the late 1800’s, Bagwell wrote. “Free public education was not yet the law, and there were plenty of people who did not believe in it. Others who wanted their children to go to school were turned away because of the overcrowding. Even in the 1890s, thousands of Oakland children had no school at all.” 

Bagwell concluded that while “Oakland, probably, deserved its early reputation as ‘the Athens of the Pacific’” because of the proliferation of quality private schools in the city during the late 1800’s, “it is well to remember that in Athens, too, the glory belonged to the fortunate few in contrast to the lot of the forgotten many.”