Coming of Age:

Chapter 4

Education in the Twentieth Century

• Now that we have discussed the roots of education in the U.S., we want to shift our focus to how schools continue to struggle to reflect a complicated, multi-layered society

• Prepare children to live in an increasingly complex global society

• In this chapter, we will learn

– how technology, – international events, – the rise of the global free-market economy, and– immigration

are changing our nation and how our schools reflect these changes.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

1. Technology is changing our culture, and that change is reflected in schools.

2. International events have caused Americans to become more aware of their cultural diversity.

3. Reforming schools is important to the education of our children.

4. Schools must react to the conflicting demands of an increasingly multicultural society.

BECOMING A TEACHER: WE ARE ALL AMERICANS

We are a diverse society.

I don’t want to deny my heritage, and neither do any of my students.

INTO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The question of how to include children from different races, genders, and social classes has remained dilemma for educators throughout this century.

Industrial growth created large numbers of jobs in cities across American, and thousands of agricultural workers left the land for better wages in

fast-growing urban areas.

Urbanization and Migration

• In Chicago, the population of African Americans more than doubled between 1910 and 1920

• Men were moving

north to find work.

• In addition, immigration

increased dramatically.

Smith – Hughs Act 1917

• Passed at the end of WWI to help educate secondary school students.

• Purpose: the federal government would give grants to rural secondary schools to develop programs in agricultural education and to urban secondary schools to teach vocational skills.

• Also encouraged programs in home economics.

The federal government continues to help secondary students through such legislation as the Perkins Vocational Act (1984) and through it’s amendments in 1990 and 1998.

• In 1918, the National Education Association form the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education to answer the question,

• What should secondary schools teach students so that they can succeed in a society becoming more urban and industrial?

• These are called the Seven Cardinal Principles of

Secondary Education.

1. Health –schools should promote a healthy lifestyle.

2. Command of fundamental processes. – Urban life requires more knowledge and skills that can be taught in 8 grades.

3. Worth home membership – students should be made aware of the qualitites and responsibilities required to participate in, and benefit from, family life.

4. Vocation – individuals must have a set of employable

skills and an understanding of the importance of work if they are to have successful lives and be productive members of society

5. Civic Education-should be taught so that students can become productive citizens of their neighborhoods, communities, states, and nation.

6. Worthy use of leisure – Education should not be just for work…use leisure hours productively.

7. Ethical character- while teachers cannot teach ethical character, they should model it – through proper

selection of curriculum, teaching methods, and social

contact with students.

School Reorganization

At the end of WWI, schools were typically divided in to grade schools and high schools.

Secondary Program Emphasis1. High School –differences in states

2. Basic courses in mathematics, sciences, history, and English

3. College Prep

4. Business Education

5. Vocation Education (urban) or agricultural (Rural).

6. General studies

• EDUCATION REFORM MOVEMENTS• Comprehensive Education – secondary schools should meet the needs

of all students, whether they were preparing for college or workplace.

• Progressive Movement – Dewey & Kilpatrick insisted that traditional schooling was much too regimented…believed teachers were more interested in having students memorize facts than helping students understand what the facts meant.

Progressivisms wanted schools to be child-centered.

Believed that traditional methods forced students to be passive participants in the learning process.

The Great Depression

• Caused schools and teachers to become more accountable for their actions.

WWII

• WWII was a breeding ground for the civil rights movement.

• Citizens from diverse backgrounds were able to see the racial significance of the war and began to envision full equality at home.

The Civil Rights Movement

• Changed American Schools by guaranteeing basic constitutional rights to all citizens.

• While Brown v. Board of Education was considered a victory for African Americans, it was also a victory for children with special needs.

• The educational reform movement of the 1980s addressed the concern that American industry would not be able to compete in an international market

• Esp. true if schools did not become more rigorous with regard to teaching academic subjects such as mathematics and science.