Lawson: 3 Interesting Facts (I did not already know)

Being somewhat of a history buff, I was intrigued by the interesting historical facts:

1) It was hard to believe that correspondence education goes back as far as 1892, when no less of an esteemed institution as the University of Chicago began offering a correspondence course. By the 1950s commercial correspondence schools engaged in fraudulent practices spurred the federal government to withdraw financial support and establish regulations governing them. I seem to remember advertisements in the back of magazines enticing consumers to sign up for correspondence courses. They certainly seemed a little shady.

2) Also surprising was the fact that the first educational radio license in the US was granted to the LDS University of Salt Lake City in 1921. I am not sure if this was the precursor to BYU. In a perfect example of the federal government doing what it was designed to do, in 1914 the Department of Agriculture developed a network of extension education activities utilizing radio to support farmers. In my imagination, I picture thousands of farmers across the heartland of America almost a hundred years ago, tuning in to their radios to advance their skills (kind of like us COMETeers on Wednesday evenings).

3) In the 1980s television became the medium of choice for distance education as PBS and local cable companies partnered with colleges and universities to broadcast telecourses. However, much earlier than the 1980s, I distinctly remember that in the sixth grade we would turn on the (black and white) television at a certain time each week to learn Spanish.