Name: Andrew Valdez Roster # 26

Title: IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUATION

Religion and Authority in Colonial America

1. Briefly describe the difference of grammar schools and reading-and-writing (petty) schools.
Petty writing schools were primarily focused on elementary age students (ages 7 to 10) while
grammar schools were typically focused towards students a little older (ages 10 to 14). Petty
schools educated students how to read and write, while grammar schools instilled math, Latin,
and ultimately, prepared students for University. In Massachusetts, a 1647 law mandating that
towns with at least 50 households must institute a petty school, and towns with at least 100
households must have a grammar school.

Nationalism, Moral Reform, and Charity in the New Republic

2. What were the two basic philosophies in education during the 1830’s? Give a brief description
of each: Noah Webster’s and Thomas Jefferson.
The two basic philosophies of education during the 1830’s was Jefferson’s decentralized public
school philosophy and Webster’s centralized, puritan-based school philosophy. Jefferson sought
to decentralize schools, and he wanted local school districts about 5 or 6 square miles to have
control over schools. He felt that that a centralized education ran by the government was an
improper way to handle education. He believed that local citizens would know better how to
educate their youth than the government. Jefferson also believed that women should be allowed
to be educated in the classroom. Webster, on the other hand, was very much for education to be
mandated from the central government. Originally, Webster advocated for a version of the
Constitution that granted the federal government more power. One of those powers was universal
education that was based on a Christian background. Webster would go on to write several books
that would be the basis for education in the early 1830s until the McGuffey Readers replaced his
texts. Webster believed that women should be educated to be wives and to raise children, and
that they should be removed from the classroom once they have received a basic education.

Organizing the American School: The Nineteenth-Century Schoolmarm

3. Name 3 of the moral lessons used in the McGuffey Reader. How and why were they used?
All of my examples are coming from McGuffey’s Second Eclectic Reader.
Example 1: Henry, the Bootback. Henry is a young boy whose father is dead, and his mother
works very hard to try to provide for him and his little sister. One day, Henry finds a pocketbook
full of money, and instead of keeping all the money. He remembers what his mother taught him
and returns it to the owner. The owner gives Henry a dollar, and he uses it to purchase shoe
shining supplies. He makes his first 50 cents, which he gives to his mother to purchase food with.
This could be a common scenario for families in Colonial America. When the father of a family
passed, it put an almost impossible hardship on the mother to support the family. The lesson here
is to be honest and work hard.
Example 2: “Baby sleeps, so we must tread
Softly round her little bed,
And be careful that our toys
Don not fall and make a noise.
We must not talk, but whisper low,
Mother wants to work, we know,
That, when father comes to tea,
All may neat and cheerful be.”
This is a lesson in being well-mannered children. McGuffey is teaching the students to be quiet,
and respectful of their parents so that they may have a happy home.
Example 3: At Work. This lesson tells the story of a little boy who understands that there is a
time to play and a time to work. “At the end of his play, he would go home. After he had washed
his face and hands, and brushed his hair, he would help his mother, or read in his book, or write
upon his slate. He used to say, ‘One thing at a time.’ When he had done with work, he would
play; but he did not try to play and to work at the same time.”
I think the moral lessons McGuffey used are very similar to the parables one can find in the
bible. They’re short, accessible stories used to teach students moral lessons in a way that almost
fools them into thinking they’re not learning but they actually are.

Education as Deculturalization: Native Americans and Puerto Ricans.

4. What were the six methods of deculturalization used by the United States government?
1. Segregation and Isolation – This is when members of a particular race are separated from
the rest of the population.
2. Forced change of language – This is when students are forced to learn in a specific
language that is different than their native tongue.
3. Curriculum reflecting the culture of the dominant group – This is when students are
forced to learn ONLY about the culture of the dominant group.
4. Textbook content reflecting the culture of the dominant group – This is when students’
textbooks ONLY has information relating to the culture of the dominant group.
5. Exclusion of the dominated groups’ language and culture from curriculum and textbooks
– This is when teachers and textbooks IGNORE the dominated groups’ language and
culture.
6. A teaching force made up of members of the dominant group – This is when students’
teachers ONLY reflect the culture of the dominant group.

School and the New Corporate Order

5. Briefly discuss the following theories/theorists:
• Cooperative learning – John Dewey – Cooperative learning refers to the educational
approach that seeks to integrate classroom activities as both academic and social learning
activities. Dewey is considered as the “founder” of this idea as a part of Constructivism.
• Positive Reinforcement – Edward Thorndike – Positive Reinforcement is one of the cores
of Behaviorism. Simply put: by rewarding actions that are perceived to be “positive” you
are subconsciously training the person to continue those actions. Thorndike developed the
“Law of Effect” that states this.
• Social Interaction/Cooperative Learning – Colin Scott – Cooperative learning begets
social interaction in that in order to form cooperative learning groups students must learn
to interact socially.
• Lesson Planning – Johann Herbart – A German educator who developed a 5-step
teaching method, “Lesson Planning,” that was designed to teach students the most
efficient way.
Meritocracy: The Experts Take Charge
6. How did the concept of “Meritocracy” differ from the concept of “Equality of Opportunity”?
Meritocracy is the idea that through continued excellence, teachers are able to obtain a better
salary or position. Equality of Opportunity is the idea that all teachers have a chance to get the
same raise or the same position raise without the hindrance of the same obstacle. An example
would be “all teachers should be able to get a raise without the hindrance of gender
discrimination.” Take this as an example for how they differ. In a certain school district,
teachers’ raises are based on the amount of hours worked, REGARDLESS of time off (even for
maternity leave). This is a straight meritocracy system. This school district should incorporate
Equality of Opportunity, by including hours off for Maternity leave in the count towards a
teacher’s raise.

Education and National Policy

7. Tracking was a fundamental issue facing education after the start of the Cold War and during
the war on Poverty. How have the issues surrounding tracking affected education today?
In today’s world, I think one of the biggest issues affecting tracking is lack of parental support at
home. For example, at my high school we had the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. I
firmly believe that without proper parental support, it is nearly impossible to succeed as an IB
Student. The stress and workload that the more demanding tracks require serve as a barrier-to-
entry for even the smartest of students. With the rise of social media, cyber bullying has also
affected tracking. Students being bullied for being too smart or too dumb has always been an
issue, but whereas before the bullying was limited to at school, on the playground, or even the
bus. Now bullying can occur 24/7, and students can even feel unsafe at home due to cyber
bullying.

The Great Civil Rights Movement and the New Culture Wars
8. Briefly point out the main point in Plessy v. Ferguson. Briefly point out the main point in
Brown v. Board of Education.
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)– Establishes the “Separate but Equal” doctrine. The Supreme
Court ruled that it is legal for students to be segregated by race ONLY if segregated
facilities were equally provided i.e. there can be an all-white school ONLY if there’s an
all-black school.
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Overturns the “Separate but Equal” doctrine.
After nearly 60 years, the Supreme Court rules that separate is never actually equal, and
that states are to desegregate their schools “with all deliberate speed.”

Conservatism and the Culture Wars at the End of the Century

9. What was the concept of an “Open Classroom?” How affective do you feel it would be in your
personal teaching situation today?
An “Open Classroom” is the evolution of the one-room schoolhouse. It is essentially one large
classroom full of students of varying ages, and skill levels. Being that I want to be a high school
government teacher, I don’t believe utilizing an “open classroom” would be effective. I think if I
wanted to an elementary school or middle school teacher, this might be easier to wrap my head
around because those teachers are typically prepared to teach multiple subjects throughout a
single day. I think for certain subjects the “open classroom” may work better than others. For
example, I think it would be easier to teach history to a wide range of ages and skill levels than it
would be to teach math.