The Children Remember: Life at the Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children

Over its 60-year history, a total of 10,635 children attended the Minnesota State Public School, a state-run facility for children who were orphaned, abandoned, or abused. Beginning as a progressive institution modeled after a successful state school in Michigan, the MSPS was championed as an alternative to the era's privately run orphanages and poorhouses, and the school's extensive grounds--consisting of several houses, gardens, a gym, a farm, and a greenhouse--promoted a varied curriculum and a sense of self-sufficiency. However, as several former students attest through interviews in Kathleen Laughlin's The Children Remember, the school's daily agenda consisted of a strict regimen of schoolwork and chores; corporeal punishment was the norm, and the formidable house matrons allowed little leeway. In addition, contact with siblings was limited, and knowledge of, or contact with, parents was forbidden. As a consequence, love and comfort were rare commodities during these impressionable years. One astonishing revelation here is that only five percent of the children were actually orphans; poverty, mental illness, or abusive behavior caused many parents to abandon their offspring, permanently surrendering them as wards of the state (tragically, many parents didn't realize that this action was irreversible). Combining interviews, archival footage, photographs, and narration, this is a penetrating glimpse into an historical social experiment that didn't always live up to its promise. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)