Sociology 201

1. Sociology 201 Chapter 16 Education

2. Beliefs About American Education • Democracy can only be upheld by educated citizens • Schools aid America’s economic growth • Historians suggest that education helps citizens improve their socioeconomic position • Although education has acted as a force of change & improvement, it has had other effects

3. The Revisionist Critique • Some historians point out the negative qualities of American education • The 19th Century “Americanization Movement” • Schools played an important role • Aimed at indoctrinating immigrants into the political order • Believed that education would help to head off political dissent and conflict • Thus, education functioned as a mechanism of social control, not to enhance democracy • Education can perpetuate class inequality • The poor often receive substandard education

4. Education as an Agent of Socialization • What do children learn in school? • Formal lessons- reading, writing, etc. • The “hidden curriculum” • Certain standardized ways of thinking and behaving • Charles Silberman found that docility is emphasized while outbursts of spontaneity, originality, & nonconformity are discouraged • The “organizational child” • One who is most comfortable when those in authority provide supervision, guidance, & roles to be fulfilled • Eventually leads to the “organizational adult”

5. The Political Impact of Schooling • Schools are used to legitimate existing power relationships • Children are taught simple forms of patriotism • E.g. respect symbols of authority such as the flag • Eventually abstract political ideas such as democracy are taught • The “Tooth Fairy Approach” • Students are taught slogans & rhetoric vs. substantive material • Research suggests that U.S. youth are limited in their political knowledge

6. Education and Inequality • Education socialized and performs the task of gatekeeper • Poor children tend to be reaffirmed in their poverty • Several factors keep the gatekeeper functioning • Expenditures on public ed. Differ from state to state • Local school systems rely on property tax • Teacher expectations • Tracking

7. History of Tracking & Testing • Mass public ed. Was introduced in the 19th century • Many children of the lower classes began to attend • Most left early to work • Laws were passed in the 20th century to keep kids in school longer • Higher grades that once served primarily upper class children were overwhelmed by those from the lower classes • Educators came up with the idea of tracking to accommodate these students • Vocational tracks were established for the poor while academic tracks were established for those destined for college

8. The Negative Consequences of Tracking • Assignment to a lower track carries a stigma • May create a self-fulfilling prophecy • Some may not see the value of school (lack of future payoff) • The emergence of a negative student subculture that is resistant to education • Perpetuate poverty & inequality

9. Analyzing Education as a Social Problem • Is it about power? Why or why not? • Everyone has different standards • Who sees education as a social problem? Why? • Who benefits and who is hurt? How? • What available theories explain the “social problem” of education?

10. The Link With Kozol • Provide me with a background • Does Kozol agree with the socialization process? • Does he agree with the gatekeeping function? • How have corporations hindered education? • Do the wealthy really care more about education than the poor do? • What happens to the poor’s taxes?