Evolution of Schools in America: Wealth, Access, and the Role of Government

1. An Overview of Schooling in America Chapter Three

2. Evolution of Schools • Consider: • Role of wealth, privilege, & social capital • Effect of geographic location on access • Goals of education • Effects of immigration • Transmission of values & beliefs • Roles of local, state, federal governments

3. “Social Capital” • Connections among individuals that give access to cultural & civic experiences • Kids get libraries, travel, concerts, museums • Parents know how to get the best education for kids (have info., negotiation skills) • First 150 years of our nation: • High-quality ed. only for rich white males • Few schooling options for girls, Native Americans, African Americans, the poor

4. Origins of Formal Education • Old Deluder Satan Act (Mass., 1647): • Why was it called that? • A town of 50 households: Must appoint & pay a teacher of reading & writing • 100 households: Must offer a grammar school • Result: The spread of Latin grammar schools • Forerunner of American high school • Run by town board • Financed by students’ families

5. Geography & Early Educational Access • Northern colonies: Mostly Puritans, town schools taught scripture, schools abundant after 1647 • Mid-Atlantic: Diverse population created range of grammar & private schools, apprenticeship programs • South: Tutors & travel for the rich, fewer schools

6. After Independence • Congress set aside land for public schools • One-room schoolhouses, multi-age class • Common schools: Public, tax-supported elementary schools (1820s) • Academy: Private secondary school • Broader, practical curriculum with electives • For rich, some open to girls

7. Rise of the Public School • Jefferson, Franklin, Mann: • Democracy needs informed citizens & an education system that promotes meritocracy • Immigration in 1830s-1840s created new tasks for schools: • Workforce training • Assimilation of “morally dubious” immigrants into dominant culture

8. “Normal Schools”: Teacher Education • Two-year programs in educational philosophy & teaching methods (1830s) • Catherine Beecher: Train women teachers • Booker T. Washington: Train African American teachers • Was your college or school of education first a normal school?

9. Key Events in American Education

10. “Essentialism”: William Bagley • Core knowledge is essential to person’s life in society, so schools should teach it • A.k.a. “back-to-basics,” the “three Rs” • Math, science, literature, history • America should have a common culture • “Teacher knows best”

11. “Progressivism”: John Dewey • Active learning through problem solving, projects, hands-on experiences • School = laboratory driven by student curiosity • Integrate subject matter & make connections to real life experience • Teach students to collaborate • Project-based learning

12. “Perennialism”: Mortimer Adler • Single core curriculum focused on the enduring ideas of the great thinkers • A.k.a. the “Great Books” or “great ideas” • Focus on classic Greco-Roman literature, history, art, philosophy, moral instruction • Curriculum inflexible and unchanging • Emphasizes Socratic method

13. Reform Philosophies • Goal: Improve society by transforming oppressive systems through education • Social reconstructionism: Curriculum promotes social reform • Critical theory (Paulo Freire): Students should challenge oppression • Existentialism (Søren Kierkegaard): Truth lies within individual, so students should choose subjects & learning methods

14. Philosophy in the Classroom • Watch the TeachSource Video Case, “Philosophical Foundations of American Education: Four Philosophies in Action”

15. Aesthetic Education (Maxine Greene) • Merges artistic expression with social justice • Learn by doing • Learn through inquiry (observation & analysis, the scientific method) • Focus: Equity, quality of school experience, use of imagination to break down barriers • The arts catalyze deeper understanding of ideas & critical engagement with the world

16. Addressing Inequities • Landmarks in quest for educational opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity: • Brown vs. Bd. of Education (1954) • Civil Rights Act (1964) • Bilingual Education Acts (1968, 1974) • Title IX (1972) • Equal Educational Opportunities Act (1975) • No Child Left Behind Act (2002) • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004)

17. Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA) • Federal $ to poorest schools (via states) • Still single largest source of federal $ for K-12 • Title 1: Better opportunities for disadvantaged • Early childhood education (Head Start) • Tutoring, other supplemental academic instruction • After-school centers • Computer labs for poor schools • Dropout prevention • Job training • Name changed to No Child left Behind Act in 2002 • Name Changed back to ESEA in 2010

18. Standards-based Reform • Content area standards for knowledge & skills set by grade level for pre-K–12 (1989) • National guidelines developed by scholars from each discipline (math, language arts, science, social studies, foreign languages, the arts) • No Child Left Behind Act (2002) • ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH STANDARDIZED TESTING • Race to the Top (2010)- to get big $ states show evidence of proposed reform to US Department of Education

19. Common Core State Standards (2012) • These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K–12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs (http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards).

20. Individuals with Disabilities Act • Free, appropriate education for all students with disabilities • Before 1975, such students marginalized in segregated classrooms w. inferior curricula • Various approaches: • Special education (students in separate class) • Partial inclusion (with gen. ed. for part of day) • Inclusion (class mixes students of all abilities)

21. Schooling Today • Structure & design influenced by: • Geography • Legislation • Demographics • Educational philosophies of past & present • Global events • Technology • We have many local & national standards but no standard student!