Arthur Levine is an avid supporter of technology and digital applications in classrooms within the United States. These opinions are often paralleled to public school systems of K-12 throughout the country. Levine explains that students are responsible for their own growth and the usage of the technology available to them whereas Common Core standards explain that teachers and school administration must provide each and every student with what they need to get through school (Fraser, 379).
One of the largest critiques of Common Core standards, which are implied to be agreed upon by Arthur Levine, is that the standards are too broad. These broad standards are specifically to "improve the academic content taught in schools" (Urban, 356). Levine seems to point towards technology needing to be the focus of this improvement within the public education system in the United States.
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11/25/2019 A Nation at Risk: Why the United States Must Regain its World Power Through EducationRead NowWhen analyzing the educational system in the United States in the 1980s, it was obvious that there was an issue. The United States had begun to lose its world power and dominance in areas where we had never been challenged. As stated in the report written by the National Commission of Excellence in Education in 1983, "our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world" (Fraser, 333). This showed how our greatest challenge within education now was to always stay ahead of all of the other nations of the world. This dominance is shown to reflect the safety of our nation and is heavily critiqued by the report titled: Choosing Equality: The Case for Democratic Schooling written in 1985.
Terrell Bell served as the first Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan and had to work hard to ensure that the recently created department wasn't abolished by the president or sabotaged from within the department itself. In 1981, Secretary Bell appointed a commission to analyze the, "alarming decline in educational standards and achievement"; two years later the National Commission of Excellence in Education issued the report titled: A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform which explained that there was a crisis within American education and that, finding a solution to that educational crisis should become the major educational objective of the era" (Urban, 318-319). This report was issued by the organization that had been appointed by the federal government, and therefore knew what the were saying when discussing this topic. Within schools throughout the United States, those who were classified as handicapped students, as well as their families, wanted to be integrated into classrooms. This new law did just that for those students by providing "a free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs" (Fraser, 324). This statement in the law established roles for paraprofessionals as well as individualized education plans (IEP's) for each special education student.
At the time, desegregation was still being opposed in schools throughout the United States. This included all different minority groups, including handicapped children. In response to this, the federal government pushed financial penalties upon districts that made policy to oppose integration in schools (Urban, 289). This federal enforcement showed that the entirety of the United States was pushing for full integration in the schools following the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was the law that specifically targeted those who needed special education within the public education system. 11/7/2019 Tinker et al. v. Des Moines Independent Community School District: Students Fighting For What Is RightRead NowThe events that lead to this Supreme Case were fairly straightforward and understandable based on the feelings of the United States at the time. At a time when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been passed, many groups in the nation believed that they too could band together in the name of a cause. In this instance, three students banded together in opposition the the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school. When the school administration found out about this movement, "they met and adopted a policy that any student wearing an armband to school would be asked to remove it, and if he refused he would be suspended until he returned without the armband" (Fraser, 312). Following this, the three students that wore the armbands were suspended from the school, so they took the school district to court with the claim that their First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech had been violated.
In the 1970's, President Richard Nixon was able to lead the United States in a new and more conservative direction. "By winding down the Vietnam War, he was able to neutralize one or more volatile issues that had sparked the youth rebellion of the 1960's" (Urban, 283). This showed that the Tinker et al. v. Des Moines Independent Community School District case led to some action being taken. The youth of America were actually seen by the executive branch of the government, and action was taken to aid in their sentiments. 11/6/2019 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka: Why Did the Supreme Court Rule That Segregation Was Illegal?Read NowThe 1954 United States Supreme Court did two things that were extremely unusual when ruling on the Brown v. board of Education of Topeka case. First off, they overturned the previous ruling in the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson. Secondly, the Supreme Court made this ruling unanimously, something that almost never happens, even to this day. "The plaintiffs contended that segregated schools are not 'equal' and cannot be made 'equal', and that hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws" (Fraser, 278). This statement from the plaintiffs of the case were found to be correct in their reasoning by the Supreme Court and were directly quoted later by many of the justices of the Supreme Court.
In the Plessy v. Ferguson case, the Supreme Court had ruled that facilities could be segregated given that, "facilities were equal". When a decision was reached in the Brown v. board of Education of Topeka case, it sparked the Civil Rights Movement including the Montgomery Bus Boycotts in 1955, the Greensboro sit-ins in 1960, and most notably; the March on Washington DC led by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 (Urban, 284). The Supreme Court at the time knew of the importance of the Brown v. board of Education of Topeka case and they knew the impact that it would have on the nation, and that is speculated to be one of the reasons that they ruled unanimously on the decision. Following his first year of teaching, Herbert Kohl wrote the novel Thirty-Six Children which accounted for a harsh, yet realistic view into education as of 1967. He was presented with 36 African-American students, who were just as terrified as he was to be a first-year teacher. He tells the story that on his first day, students were asking questions about volcanoes and he went to congratulate a student for his response and that student flinched in response. This was the moment that he realized that both him and his students were afraid of each other, and specifically doing the wrong thing (Fraser, 257).
The reason that so much pressure had been put on new teachers to be good at their job was in response to the Soviet Union launching the Sputnik satellite. This advance in scientific discovery by the Soviet Union made Americans feel as though they "had lost its scientific and technological lead" in the world (Urban, 260). teachers felt enormous pressure to educate their students well, primarily in the natural sciences and mathematics. 11/5/2019 Ladies' Talk: Thoughts of Margaret Haley, Ella Flagg Young, Grace Strachan, and Cora BigelowRead NowIn regards to teaching, Margaret Haley believed that teachers should organize in order to obtain, "increased salaries, job security and pensions, an end to overwork in overcrowded schoolrooms, and recognition of teachers as educators" (Fraser, 210) Similarly, Grace Strachan points out that the definition of the word salary uses the words, "a person", without differentiation to male or female (Fraser, 216). In addition, Cora Bigelow explains that the current problem at hand won't diminish unless teachers are given time to join forces and advocate for what they need within their own democratic system (Fraser, 219). These women believed in uniting teachers into groups to advocate for proper salaries and other proper teaching conditions and compensations for their hard work.
On the other side, Ella Flagg Young believed that teachers and school administration should solve their issues within their own system and shouldn't be too broad in their aims for themselves as teachers. In 1920, Warren Harding promised a "return to normalcy" (Urban, 211) and Ella Flagg Young believed that this normalcy was the internalized construction and repair of the system. This would include small groups of teachers discussing what to teach their students and would have almost no interaction with school administration. 10/21/2019 Russian Jewish Immigrant Students: Experiences in Schooling and How to Help ThemRead NowThe experiences of schooling are different for all, but especially for a Russian Jewish immigrant in the early 1910's and Mexican-American students from the 1940's. As a Russian Jewish immigrant, Mary Antin was extremely excited for her first day of school. However, she quickly learned that if she were to talk during the Lord's Prayer ( a Christian prayer) she would be punished. She explained this incident by saying, "all Miss Dillingham knew of it was that two of her pupils whispered during morning prayer, and she must discipline them" (Fraser 178). This example of a situation described by Mary Antin shows how her Jewish religion wasn't protected and she was forced to recite something from the Christian religion.
As a teacher during this time trying to aid a young Russian Jewish immigrant, I would do anything in my power to help especially because World War I was just starting in Europe and Americans were trying desperately to not be dragged into the fight. In order to prepare for the war, the American government, "pledged to help conduct the war effort as vigorously as possible" (Urban 209). This movement towards the war effort included many teachers, however I would stand up to the movement. I would fight for the right to educate the students of our country because education is vital to the ensured success of our future. When discussing education for all in 1959, James Bryant Conant explains that high schools have "become known as a 'comprehensive' high school in contrast to the 'specialized' high schools which provide vocational education" (Fraser, 166). Even though this quote is from 1959, it still pertains to high school education today. Schooling in today's high schools where the focus isn't solely on academia, but also on business and other aspects of life outside of school including metal shop, auto tech, and more.
In the early 1900's, it wasn't just the education systems that promoted comprehensive education. The Boy Scouts of America, established by Lord Robert Baden-Powell in 1912, promoted "competition, achievement, outdoor adventure, and individualism" (Urban, 197). The ideals that were instilled within these young men helped to make them into stronger, and more well rounded individuals which aligned with the general principles of spreading out the topics taught to the youth in the United States at the time. 10/2/2019 The Value of Literacy as Seen by Frederick Douglass, and its Application to 21st Century AmericaRead NowFrederick Douglass is often seen as one of the greatest abolitionists of slavery in the early-mid 1800's. He came upon these views as a result of his desire of learning, specifically reading and writing. Douglass strived to become educated so that he could one day be free from his master, and in this pursuit, he often bribed or challenged young boys near the wharf to teach him how to read and write (Fraser, 100). The use of challenging boys to writing contests or bribing them with bread shows how determined Douglass was to learn what he thought would be important for him in his future.
Literacy skills were one of the most common skills desired by employers in the early-mid 1800's. To account for this, laws were created in "many Southern as well as Northern states", that required masters to arrange for "instruction in literacy as well as job-related skills" (Urban, 120). This desire for members of the workforce to be educated in literacy showed that the United States wanted growth in the mind of its' citizens. Similarly, this is seen in 21st century America's society within government standards for education that requires students to learn about literacy and many other subjects in order to grow their mind and prepare them for the workforce after their schooling. McGuffey's Readers were some of the first textbooks used in the common school system in the United States that taught subjects such as the alphabet, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, articulation, and morality to students in grades one through six. When describing the writings in McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader from 1836 and its teachings, the textbook tells that all students must have "a distinct articulation, which is the first requisite for good speaking" (Fraser, 76). This statement shows the emphasis that these textbooks had on teaching the youth of America how to be great speakers.
William Holmes McGuffey, the original author of the McGuffey Readers, adopted the ideas of Horace Mann when creating a common curriculum for all students within his textbooks that included stories from the Bible in order to please those who wanted their children to have a formal education that included their faith and talked of God. Members of the North in the United States, "Democrats and Whigs, workingmen and capitalists, and country folk and urban dwellers joined forces...to create what many consider to be the indispensable institution of American democracy" (Urban, 105). McGuffey's Readers played a massive role in uniting these Americans to support the idea of a common school in the United States. Horace Mann had an extremely unique style of education that he heavily advocated for in the state of Massachusetts: the common schooling system. Mann served as the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education while advocating for this style of education. Common school values included curriculum that would "embrace a variety of educational innovations" (Urban, 93), as well as provide the same level of education to all children in the state of Massachusetts, no matter income level.
Alongside this notion that all children should be taught the same as each other, Mann also used the Christian religion to convince citizens of Massachusetts to send their children to school. Mann used Christianity to explain that God places a right of education for every child that is born into the world (Fraser, 45). Due to the state of Massachusetts having such a high Protestant population, many people bought into this idea presented by Horace Mann, and therefore helped to establish what he sought out to create in his home state: a common school. 9/10/2019 Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Rush, and Noah Webster: Educational Planning (1770-1820)Read NowThree of America's most influential men in the foundation of education in the United States believed in strong academia for citizens of the country. They supported education for all, no matter their race or gender (mainly women, Native Americans, and African-Americans) although the majority of the country disagreed with this opinion (Fraser, 20). Webster produced works that helped create a general understanding of language, Jefferson pushed for state schools and public libraries, and Rush was a founding member of the Young Ladies' Academy.
When it came to Enlightenment ideals, Jefferson believed that after their victory during the American Revolution people would support those ideals. On the other side, Rush and Webster believed that it would take time for the people of the United States to adopt those ideals to follow with the change in government following the American Revolution (Urban, 66). The change from being British colonies to an independent nation was drastic for all involved, and affected people differently. 9/4/2019 Colonial governments taught different literacies to Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans.Read NowDuring the settlement of the Americas between 1620-1770, different colonies of people were formed through the land, however, Europeans forced their influence upon other groups of people such as the Native Americans and the Africans. In the Americas, Europeans built schools and designed them in order to ensure that all people in the colonies were inducted into a common culture (Fraser, 1). This common culture is in reference to educating everyone in the European ways and attempting to turn them towards the Church.
Those who resided in the present-day southern United States lived in a culture where slave-owning was extremely common, especially the owning of African slaves. Even though those in the south believed that men were supposed to educate the children in their own home (Urban, 19), they also believed that slaves couldn't have too large of an understanding of freedom because they would be entitled to their own freedom from their owners. To keep their slaves' knowledge minimal, slave-owners didn't allow their slaves to read. |
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