Struggling
for the "Hearts and Minds" of Americans. . .
There have always been
conflicts, disagreements and debate about the best methods for educating our
young people. While many of us like to
remember the "Good old days", back when we were united as a society
around our public schools and there was a common sense of purpose about
education, the reality is that there has never been consensus about many of the
questions that surround our efforts to educate students in our public schools. The history of public education is one of
constant struggle between different views about the purpose for our schools,
what should be taught in them, and who should pay for them.
During the colonial period and the time immediately
following the American Revolutionary War, education was primarily a private
matter. Children were taught in the
home, or in small groups. Instruction
focused on religious teaching as well as basic mathematics and literacy
skills. Education was not a vital tool
for most people. By necessity, more
fundamental survival and trade skills took prominence in a child's
education. Yet, even during these early
days, prominent thinkers like Thomas Jefferson recognized the importance of
some education for citizens. This was
communicated in 1787 to James Madison when he stated, "And say, finally,
whether peace is best preserved by giving energy to the government or
information to the people. This last is the most certain and the most
legitimate engine of government. Educate and inform the whole mass of the
people. Enable them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace and
order, and they will preserve them. And it requires no very high degree of
education to convince them of this. They are the only sure reliance for the
preservation of our liberty."
Yet, even early on, there was the idea that not
everyone was equal in the pursuit of education and that the knowledge and
skills that were gained by any individual could be parceled out based on their
social status, gender or ethnicity. To
quote Jefferson again from a communication
with Peter Carr in 1814, "The mass
of our citizens may be divided into two classes -- the laboring and the
learned. The laboring will need the first grade of education to qualify them
for their pursuits and duties; the learned will need it as a foundation for
further acquirements." This
division between the "laboring and the learned" excluded a
significant number of people from access to more intensive educational
opportunities.
The debates continued through the 19th Century as
the needs of our nation and its citizens changed. During the 1800's the Department of Education
was created, educator organizations were founded, local governments won the
right to tax their citizens to pay for public schools, and the groundwork was
laid for the public school systems that exist today. We also see the roots of the current
struggles becoming entrenched in our societal soil. Conflicts around the use of schools to
indoctrinate or educate, depending on one's perspective, Native Americans and
new immigrants to our nation arose.
Private funding of schools, especially in areas where citizens were
struggling to access educational resources became a source of support as well
as conflict. Debates over standards and
curriculum were common.
The 20th Century saw these conflicts continue and
new ones arise. A focus was put on
making sure that American schools could compete with their European
counterparts. By 1918 all states had
some form of compulsory education that was paid for with public money. WWI and the need to screen recruits saw the
introduction of standardized testing, a tool which was quickly adapted for
school use. Segregation of different
groups was common practice and "separate and unequal" was the norm
for most of our public and private schools.
Curriculum and the societal values that were to be taught in our schools
varied from community to community.
The history of public education mirrors other
aspects of our society in many ways. The
struggle to incorporate different ideas and groups, the conflicts between
public and private funding, the changes in our understanding of ourselves and
our world, all are found in the educational battles over the past centuries.
This historical context gives us a perspective on
our current situation. It shows us where
we came from, but also demonstrates why it is so difficult to build consensus
around our public schools in modern America. Schools have always been a strange
combination of tool and weapon. A tool
for promoting values, building knowledge and skill, and giving hope for the
future. A weapon for forcing conformity
and controlling access to wealth and power.
Who controls the schools and the dialog around education gets to decide
what purpose our educational efforts will serve.
There are many ways that we see education used as a
weapon in our current situation. While
often masked behind the rhetoric of "choice", "freedom" and
"equality", those who seek to dominate the debate around education
are returning to the values that Jefferson
expressed in his later years. The idea
that there should be two (or more) tiers of education is one that resonates
through our educational debates. We see
this in the effort to privatize our schools, to implement standardized
curriculum in some schools, but not in others, and in efforts to evaluate
schools, students and educators.
A year ago, the Common Core appeared set to sweep the
nation. Now, Indiana
leads the way in reevaluating state standards...but not without controversy.
The Heritage Foundation
Those who seek to use education as a weapon do so
for a variety of reasons. There are some
who truly believe that they are doing what is best for the majority of students
and families. They believe the rhetoric
around education "reform" and seek to improve our schools by buying
in to the ideas that are commonly expressed in the media and espoused by our
educational "leadership". It
is important that we work to get accurate information out to everyone so that
the public can make informed decisions about our schools.
monologuesofdissent.blogspot.com
If leadership is appointed and anointed by those in power,
than it can be revoked by those in power....
blogs.edweek.org
There are others involved in our educational
efforts who have less altruistic motives.
These are the individuals and groups who seek to actively control the
debate around education for financial or political reasons. They shape the discussion and attempt to
control the direction our educational efforts take by using combination of
political and financial influence. They
use their influence to perpetuate myths around our public schools in order to
build public support for the "reforms" that they garner huge profits
from.
New York, NY (PRWEB) February 20, 2014 Today Pearson
announced a collaboration with Microsoft Corp. that brings together the world’s
leading learning company and the worldwide leader in software, services and
solutions to create new applications and advance a digital education model that
prepares st...
Digital Journal
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose priorities
include global health and U.S. education, has made initiatives focused on
teacher quality a key dimension of its recent grantmaking strategy.
www.edweek.org
The results have not been positive for a majority
of our students and schools.
Superintendents in rural school districts say reforms are
needed to address problems with funding and retaining talented teachers.
Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel|By Astead Herndon
As always it falls to supporters of public
education to work to inform the citizenry of America about the reality that our
schools face, and to work to change the dialog around our public education
system.
Until about 1980, America’s public schoolteachers
were iconic everyday heroes painted with a kind of Norman Rockwell
patina—generally...
empathyeducates.org
The
Good, The Bad and
The
Ugly. . .
The Good . . .
It only takes a small number to make a big
difference.
If we can just help parents overcome their fear of saying No
to testing, their fear of what will happen if their school doesn’t make AYP, we
can end this all now. Only 10% of parents and/or...
buildbetterschools.com
I'm sure we all feel some significant sympathy for
our corporate educational "colleagues".
Rising restructuring costs and biting headwinds in both the US and UK education markets led to a
second straight year of falling profits for Pearson (PSON).
www.investorschronicle.co.uk
The Bad . . .
Ethics in our government only works if all sides
are ethical.
An order from the Wisconsin Supreme Court halting the John
Doe campaign finance investigation would directly affect the same organizations
that...
www.prwatch.org
As the November election gets ever closer, voters
need to think about whether Walker
really has done what he said he would do.
Latest estimates show job creation continues to lag,
although the unemployment rate has ticked downward and hiring outlook is
improved.
madison.com|By Lee Enterprises
Think about these workers when you are making
purchases in stores or on-line.
By hiring temporary workers, big companies can shield
themselves from complaints about poor working conditions.
Mother Jones
The Ugly . . .
Money and politics.
How about we hold a bake sale to pay for the next election
campaign? Oh, wait, it’s already cooked...
Upworthy|By Brandon Weber
Ignorance is not bliss, it's downright harmful and
scary.
Republican Congressional candidate Jim Brown thinks black
people lived the good life under slavery because 'Slave Owners Took Care Of
Their Livestock.'
Addicting Info
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