"A Nation at Risk"

1980 to 2000 Bottom Line

The United States used to be the top economy industries country. However, the US started to lack in the business in the economy. Great Britain and Germany have been competitive with skilled experts and business success than the US. In 1980 to 1990 American public school where ask to complete in a business driven. They involve American public school with business involvement in helping improve the American economy. However, the American public school was during poor during that time. Politics and press started to American public schools a learning crisis making us rethink about our education system. President Reagan during the time titled “A Nation At Risk” commission by the US Dept of Education. He mentions during the meeting that “ the poor quality of American schools posed a threat to the welfare of the country”(Streep, M. page 185 ). They felt with the poor quality of American school they will cause an effect on future American workers to keep up with the competition.

With the commotion about the school system and my child getting the right education. In East Harlem education leaders wanted teachers to create smaller class size. At first, the teachers thought the education board was kidding about the small class size. They had produced about 20 schools in one building that have different teaching. The results that if the schools do good they will be a fund, but if the school does poor in the NYC they will be shut down. If the school do excellent, they will be offer funding and offer programs in art, sciences, and mathematics. However, the voucher program came in a place where students of low-income can attend private schools. The vouchers supporters believe that with students going to private school the competition will force the public school to improve for more funding. Now with this opportunity, low-income students have the same opportunities to go to school with high/wealthy income students.

Wisconsin was the first state ever to pass the voucher legislation. The voucher serves low income African American, Hispanic and poor white kids in the inner city of Milwaukee. With the coupons helping students go to private school to have a better education. Public schools in the urban area in Wisconsin have been offering small class size in elementary school, whose students graduated from high school at double standard rate for the city. Wisconsin study has shown that smaller class size would improve student learning. However, with the vouchers it not helping to improve public schools in the Wisconsin area.

After that other programs that come up to help improve the education for American schools like the EAI and charter schools. EAl was a program that allows public schools and help them to receive more government funding. The program supports public schools to improve test scores and remove teachers who did not have the proper education. However, they had cut back in music and art, and special education serves in half.  That was not a good thing taking out the creativity in school and cutting half on special education for students who need it the most. With the Charter school, they were another part of EAI program because they work together. Charter school where like a private school but have different teaching.

Overall American education has grown over the years from providing, equal education and rights. The school system was a big part of American History. The education system now teaches us education to help children to have a brighter future for themselves.

Reference

Streep, M. Tyack, D. B., Bernard, S. C., Mondale, S., & Patton, S. B. (2001). School: The Story of American Public Education. Boston: Beacon Press.

"Why Don't You Go to School with US"

                                                    1950 to 1980 Separate and Unequal

Why you don’t, you go to school with the US?

Because I’m a black child, who can not be around any white children in school, if I do go against the law I would end up being arrested or sent to jail or killed or hang. The US government feel that African American and Mexican children should be separated from white children in school.

American school where segregated were longer than 1950 to 1980 when watching the film “Teach Us All” on Netflix. It was sad and uncomfortable reading this character as African American. About seventeen states by law were students have to be segregated in school. Mostly the states have segregation was in the South. My grandmother was raised during segregation and faced the Jim crow laws in the south. African American parents were upset in some local areas that there are paying taxes to support the school where their children were not attending and not receiving an equal education. The school board felt that they were separate but equal.

 However, it turns out to be false there where separate but unequal in the school system. The modern fight for equality was in Topeka Kansas where the high school was integrated with African American and white attending class together, but any actives and sports were separate.  The Brown vs. the board of education comes up about have everything equal for all children in the community. A Topeka parent in the Brown case says “It wasn’t that we wanted our children to go to school with white children. That was not the gist of it all. We wanted our children to have a better and equal education, which we knew that they were not getting” (Streep, M, page 137). That show African American parents want their children to have everything equal for them what they did not receive when there were children.

African American has been fighting their whole life from slavery to the freedom of education, and equal rights.  During my grandma and her parents time people of color could not go to college because of laws like the Jim Crow laws that separate blacks from whites. However, now for my generation and time, we can go to college because of help from those who could not go in the past. I am taking the opportunity to continue my education as African American that was fought for so that I may have a bright future for me and show others the path as well.  

Reference

Streep, M. Tyack, D. B., Bernard, S. C., Mondale, S., & Patton, S. B. (2001). School: The Story of American Public Education. Boston: Beacon Press.

"You Are an American"

1900-1950: "As American as Public School" Reflection

The common school from 1900 to 1950 biased to immigrants, children, and race during the era 1900 to 1950 many immigrants from around the globe. The immigrant parent wanted their children to go to school to have that education to become Americaniza have a better life than them. Major cities school was getting over crowdy due to the 125 children applying each day after getting off the steamboat.
 
The school system was teaching immigrant children how to be American and teaching them how to have hygiene. Because Americans believe that immigrants were dirty and need to take a bath in school swimming pools. Something disagrees with was when the teachers put their hands on children for not doing anything wrong. On page 72 and 73 a Mexican was talking about speaking Spanish at home but when she was at school. The teacher spanked her hard for speaking Spanish in school to another and told her we only speak English here. Any teacher should not lay their hand on a student but back then it was different, but it was still wrong to hit a child for speaking another language. During that era school wants children to be more American where you only can speak English at school.

Although the school system biased to immigrant children; also American children was not taking the full advantage of school.  The late 1900s about 50 percent of American children were not in school most of them decide to find work. That was before child labor laws were in forced where children couldn’t work under age 12. Children should be in school, but they decide instead to be working to make money then going to school. A philosopher John Dewey believed that “if the school was anchored in the whole child, in the social, intellectual, emotional, and physical development of a child, teaching would be different and learning would be different, and schools would be very different, hospitable places for children”(). He applies that teachers and school should change their ways of teaching children to keep them engaged in school.  The progressive school system came in place in Gary Indiana that most students were physical involve with school learning actives. With the example from Gary, many schools started to do the progressive system to get children more effectively in school. However, many parents were against the Gary school system because they do not want their children to be getting ready to work in a factory.

During that time IQ test was applied in the school system after world war one. Students were being tested on their intelligence. However, their ethnicity affected their knowledge in the school system. That white American children have high or better IQ then Mexican children and African American children. IQ tests and SAT was unfair to some students because some student did not learn as other children learn at different school with better education. The school system in LA called Mexican children slow readers and retarded because of their QI scores. The test was given to them when there are in kindergarten and was held back. Students were prevented to study a particular subject was forced to do other things in class then the other students were doing.

Although the American school system changes little they still have a long road to go. The school system in 1900 to 1950 was different. They force children to be more Amerincize, making them speak English only. They were teaching children to be ready to go work in factors then further their education. Also, there was bias to immigrants and children of color forced to educate the children in a different way than white American children. 

Reference

Streep, M. Tyack, D. B., Bernard, S. C., Mondale, S., & Patton, S. B. (2001). School: The Story of American Public Education. Boston: Beacon Press.

The Common School Reflection

The Common School: 1770-1900

The common school was a public school; that provide education for children who could not go to private school. During that era, the school only offered to the wealthy where parents provide funds for their child to attend school.  The common schools were created in the nineteenth century; they used local taxes payers money and government aid to support the school. The school was free to all children but only for white children. All other children who were not white were not allowed to receive free education.

 

The first school was not an excellent school building to teach children the basic of education. The primary schools were overcrowded, have hardly light, heat, ventilation, hard benches, and no textbooks. The school seems like a prison for children with no good condition in the building. With the lousy condition of the school an educator name Horace Mann held a public meeting. He had proposed a new system called the common school; they will serve all boys and girls and teach them common knowledge to give them an equal chance in life. “It is a free school system, and it knows no distinction of rich and poor… it throws open doors and spread bounty for all the children of the states.”( Streep, M pg29) With the common school, the government had to fund the public school with tax dollars and impose more taxes on the citizen to support the school. The common was free education for all children but not the freedom of religion.

The freedom of religion plays a significant role during the common school era. The common school was mostly set by protestant. When religion was in public school, all the children have to read the same bibles, say the same prayers and their simple ideas were mostly for protestant. The teachings at the common school were much anti- Irish and very anti-catholic.  The Bishop John Hughes the Cathedral of St. Patrick’s in New York had launched a protest against the school system. He proclaimed, “We are unwilling to pay taxes to destroy our religion in the minds of our children”( Streep, M pg 33). With the uproar happening in New York City with citizen refusing to pay taxes. Thousands of children decide not to attend school and to run around the streets of New York because they do not want to be part of a bias system against them. The common school system decides to search through all the textbooks and remove any offensive things about the Catholics. Overall the Bishop felt that was not enough; he chooses to create his school system the Catholic schools because of the Philadelphia Bible Riots and burning of the church. However, the government was not going to fund the school, but the Bishop ask for outside funding.  Religion was not the only issue happening during the common school era race was playing a role in the school system.

 

During the common school era race was different back then; just from couple years after the civil war. African Americans who still lived in the south was free from slavery to having no access to education. The African Americans in the north were entitled to attend the public school. However, black children were mostly prohibited from attending school with white children. The African American children were restricted only to attend two schools. The parents of the children started to protest and went to Frederick Douglass in Boston. He wrote, “the point we must aim at is to obtain admission for our children in the nearest schoolhouse, and the best schoolhouse in our own neighborhood”( Streep, M pg41). With Frederick Douglass response he helps to tie the rights for African American education. It helps beings a quest for freedom, and education to excellence together. African American will be using knowledge as a part of freedom.

Overall the Common School era was a different time when everything started up for free public education. Many things happened during that time like with ending the civil war, abolishment of slavery and religious views. With many things happen during that period children have less access to education due to other religious beliefs and the color of their skin in the school system and the country. 

Reference

Streep, M. Tyack, D. B., Bernard, S. C., Mondale, S., & Patton, S. B. (2001). School: The Story of American Public Education. Boston: Beacon Press.