American Education By Joel H Spring In Detail Concepts PDF

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American Education (Joel H. Spring) Part 1 (Chapters 1-4) Chapter 1 Thinking Critically About History Joel Spring wrote this book with the intention of combining a particular approach with a more comprehensive perspective of the whole idea of history education. We the readers will be given a variety of historical interpretations and issues and we must decide which interpretation is the right one. Why must we interpret history? Many historians agree on dates and personalities involved in many historical events, however they have a hard time agreeing on the motives behind everything. Numerous questions embody the issues debated in the writing of history. Some of the questions debated throughout the course of history are: Were public schools established so that all people would be able to protect their political and economic right? Were they established to protect the power of the upper echelon of society who control the economic and political ideas taught to students in schools? Were they established to assure the dominance of the Protestant Anglo-American culture over other considered "inferior" cultures such as Native American, Irish American and African American cultures? Finally, were public schools necessary to guarantee the education of all people? Many of the answers to these questions have important implications for a person's future in choices that one makes and the actions of how they handle him/herself. The answers help form impressions and feelings about the past for each individual person. Many people do not remember details of history, however they do develop feelings about past events. Thinking about history involves both intelligent contemplation of contradictory translations, issues surrounding schools, and reflections of how one feels about past events. A person's knowledge, impressions, and emotions regarding the past have forced future actions. Individuals often make decisions based on what they feel were the historical purposes and goals of an institution. Many interpretations will be presented throughout the book enabling the reader to form an opinion about past events and think about future responses.

IDEOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT AND THE CULTURE WARS

A central issue in public schools history is the attempt to be sure the Protestant Anglo-American culture is the dominant culture in the United States. The struggle of cultural domination began with the English immigration to the United States during the sixteenth century and continues in today's society in the debate over multiculturalism. Throughout history different cultures have had problems. English colonists declared they were superior to the Native Americans and tried to force their culture on the Native Americans. The Native Americans found the English culture to be exploitative and repressive, and they resisted the attempts to transform their culture. The hope of the newly formed English colony was to establish a national culture that would be united around Protestant Anglo-American values. One of the main reasons for the development of the public schools was to ensure that the values of the Anglo-Americans dominated over all other cultures. Irish immigration, Native Americans, and African Americans then challenged this dominance. Public schools however, became defenders of these Anglo-American values during each new wave of immigration. During the twentieth century these "culture wars" have continued. We see this through Americanization programs, civil rights movements demanding representation of minority cultures in public schools, and the multicultural debate. Cultural perspective is important for understanding the cultural wars. Some examples sited in the chapter are: late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Native Americans decided literacy might be an important tool for protecting their tribal lands and culture but many whites felt that educating Native Americans meant help in acquiring Native American lands and transforming the Native American culture. Then in the nineteenth century, the Irish Catholics believed the public schools were out to destroy the Catholic faith. Finally, in the twentieth century, many educators felt the development of separate curriculum tracks in high school helped serve individual differences. However, many African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans felt these tracks were just another way of giving them an inferior education. Mr. Spring feels these culture wars are one aspect of ideological management. This involves the creation and distribution of knowledge in society. He feels schools play a central role in the distribution of a particular knowledge to a society. Public schools were created to distribute knowledge to children and youth. Since knowledge is not neutral, a continuous debate has existed about the political, social, and economic content of schooling. In today's schools the debate continues over the content and purpose of multicultural education in public schools. A major debate has also developed during the 1990's, that being the role of the public school in providing equality of opportunity. Recent interpretations have stressed the importance of the influence of differing political and economic groups on the content of knowledge and the cultural values covered by schools. Political and economic pressures also influence the knowledge

and cultural values distributed by sources other than educational institutions. Ideological management refers to the effect these two forces have on the ideas distributed to society. Mass media along with public schools are important managers of ideas and cultural values distributed to our children and youth. In the twentieth century media is now considered the third educator of children along with schools and their families. Schools and media currently compete for influence over children's minds and our national culture. In closing, many ideas will be discussed throughout this book. Many tough questions will be brought up and debated about ideological management. Should we have one culture or many cultures creating the public school curriculum? Should the United States be united by a single culture or be composed of distinct cultural traditions? Finally, do you ever wonder what the United States would be like today if the English colonists had adopted the cultural values of the Native Americans? It really makes you stop and think.

Chapter 2 Religion and Authority in Colonial Education In the year 1629 the colonists of Massachusetts Bay decided to do the just and proper thing for the Native Americans. As Christian following people they were to fix the natives of this land by granting them a proper education. Get rid of their "heathen" and "uncivilized" lifestyles, and replace it with the correct way of living, the English way. This type of original educational theory is, the author believes, the downfall of modern public school education. Joel Spring believes that this attitude of the colonists, that schools are the answer to social and religious ills, still effects the schools today. In essence the author believes that you can not legislate morality. It did not work in the 1600's and it still does not work on the doorstep of the year 2000. You would think we would have learned.

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN COLONIAL SOCIETY Education served an important role in Colonial times. A proper education was considered vital, especially the skills of reading and writing, to maintaining the

authority of the Government. The proper education included the scripture of God, rules of the church and the laws of the state. A Colonial education was also a means for improving social and material prosperity. Such things as college and the languages of Latin and Greek were for the Social Elite. With the proper education you could possibly become a member of this group.

AUTHORITY AND SOCIAL STATUS IN COLONIAL NEW ENGLAND Because of the apparent neglect of the parents the Massachusetts Bay Colony felt it necessary to pass the Massachusetts Law of 1642. This law required parents to educate their children in the principals of religion and the capital laws of the colonies. If the parents were found to not properly prepare their children, an investigation into why should take place. Five years later the theme of religion in schools was stressed even more with the passage of the "Old Deluder Satan Law". This is a landmark law because it required communities to establish and financially support schools. Any community with fifty of more homes was required to hire a full-time teacher. If the community has one hundred or more homes then they were required to establish a grammar school. The Puritans of Massachusetts believed they were the leaders and trend setters of education and proper societal habits for this new land and beyond. As one Puritan leader, John Winthrop, put it in 1630: "We must consider that we will be a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people will be upon us" (page 7). They intended to create a good society, a society steeped in religion and God to be used as a model all over the world. In colonial times, children were either sent to what was called a Read-andWrite School, Grammar School, or they were apprenticed. An apprenticeship required that the children work for and learn a skill-trade from a master. The master was also required to teach the child to read and write, so that the Bible and laws could be followed, but in reality many of the children never did learn to read and write from their masters. These were times of a great labor shortage and the apprenticeships were often shortened, and the basic skills were skipped. Generally the apprenticed were taught to respect the authority over them. Usually only the children of the poor were apprenticed. The Grammar Schools were generally reserved for the children of the rich. These seven year schools were considered to be preparation for college and other leadership roles. A typical goal of the Grammar School was stated by

the Hopkins Grammar School in 1684: "the education of the hopeful youth in the Latin tongue, and other learned languages so far as to prepare such youths for the college and public service of the country in church and commonwealth". The Read-and-Write Schools primarily taught religious conformity and laws of the colony to students who were not college or leadership bred. Also known as petty schools, the instruction often took place in households, churches and schools. The students were taught from a hornbook. A hornbook is a piece of wood carved with a layer of horn showing the letters of the alphabet and a prayer. Another form of the petty school was known as the Dame School. The Dame school was considered to be a prerequisite to be accepted into a grammar school. The main focus of the Dame schools was reading, writing and mathematics. The New England Primer became the primary text of these Dame schools. Besides a spelling guide these books emphasized religion and obedience of authority. Out of The New England Primer students were forced to memorize the following statements: I will fear God, and honour the KING. I will honour my Father and Mother. I will obey my Superiors. I will submit to my Elders. A wise son makes a glad Father, but a foolish son in the heaviness of his Mother.  Better is little with the fear of the lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.  Come unto Christ all ye that labour and are heavy laden and he will give you rest.

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The New England Primer also contained a set of questions and correct answers to be memorized. According to Rush Welter, this method of teaching was not used for students to form opinions or to analyze. They were to be accepted by the students as unquestionable fact. Merle Curti claims education is a struggle between the "haves" and the "wants". In Curti's book, The Social Ideas of American Educators, she proposed that education was used by the powerful and elite (the "haves") to maintain their social, financial and political standing. The elite included planters, clergy and lawyers. At the same time, the common masses (the "wants") tried to utilize education to improve their conditions. In the end, traditions and norms of education worked to maintain the status quo of all people. The agenda of the ruling class and that of the religious leaders was very similar, resulting in education serving this existing power structure. To further emphasize the agenda of the ruling class to maintain the status quo,

the author points out that one of the first acts of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was to create Harvard College (1636). New England's First Fruits clearly states that the goal of the new college was to "ensure an educated ministry of the colony. It was feared that no replacements would be forthcoming for the religious leaders who had led the colonists from England. Thus the goal of Harvard College was to guarantee continuity in the social organization and leadership of the colony" (page 13).

COLONIALISM AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY Many times the purpose of the colonies actual existence played a role in what form their regional education took. Massachusetts Bay Colony existed as a selfsupporting community with the purpose of practicing a particular religion. Therefore schools became a tool to achieve the goals of the colony. In contrast, Virginia was formed for a completely different purpose. The goal was to make money for England-based companies. For this reason very few schools existed, and those that did were for the wealthy. In other situations, schools failed to accomplish their goals. During the settlement of Pennsylvania there was a major clash between German and English speaking settlers. Under the leadership of William Penn and Benjamin Franklin, the English established a policy to "anglicize" the feared Germans. The Germans were the most feared of all immigrants. They were so feared that the 1727 General Assembly passed a law requiring a German males to swear an allegiance to the British Crown. But instead of being "anglicized" the Germans many times refused to attend the English-speaking schools and maintained the integrity of their culture.

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ACADEMIES In the seventeenth centuries, an intellectual trend began in education. The idea that the freedom of thought is essential to the development of a society took hold in many places around the world, including England and its colonies. The struggle for free thought in England took the form of Dissenting Academies. These schools emphasized ideas and skills useful to the practical side of life and even encouraged students to search out new information about the world. They emphasized practical skills versus the traditional religion and obedience. Robert Molesworth published the book Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692. In his work, Molesworth concluded that in order for education to contribute to liberty and freedom, it must be secular and separate from religion. He believed that the seemingly indivisible connection between church and state caused

people to forget that government was the product of human actions. With the connection, people assumed government actions were more like divine intervention, and to disobey the government was to commit the unthinkable -disobey the church. As a result of discussions concerning Molesworth's book, two friends wrote what has been called Cato's Letters. John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon published their widely debated essays between 1720 and 1723. The essays defend freedom of thought and speech as essential parts of economic and social development of any new nation. Without freedom there can be no progress in invention, wisdom or economic development.

EDUCATION AS SOCIAL MOBILITY North American Academies were shaped after the English Dissenting Academies. The American academies were considered to be more a social ladder for the average citizen. Academies in North America were often called "People's Colleges". Benjamin Franklin was a proponent of the academies. His interest in education was deep rooted. Franklin led the model life for getting ahead in America. Born in 1706, he was sent to a grammar school at the age of eight to prepare to become a minister, but when Franklin's family's finances no longer enabled him to attend grammar school, he returned home to a reading and arithmetic school and was also apprenticed. Franklin believed the exposure of all the forms of education enabled him to climb the social ladder. He had gained practical skills through his apprenticeship and reading, along with "cultural skills", such as debating, through his formal education. He believed all of these skills were necessary for advancement in the world. Benjamin Franklin's work in 1749, Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania, produced a model for many academies in the colonies. Franklin believed the New World would emerge behind the lesson of history. "For Franklin, history was a vehicle for teaching morality, oratory, geography, politics, philosophy, human affairs, agriculture, technology, science and invention" (page 23). These academies eventually became the model for modern public high schools. The opening of a non-boarding academy, English Classical School, in Boston in 1821 was a major development for high schools. Within a few years the school became the first high school in the United States, being renamed the English High School.

THE FAMILY AND THE CHILD Other major shifts in educational theory occurred. Over time in colonial America the standing and functions of families, women and children changed. Lawrence Cremin described the changing role of the family. From a business arrangement to a welfare institution. But through it all the family remained the main educator in socialization. Women were educated in reading and writing for the purpose of maintaining religious control over them. Women needed to be able to read to learn the Bible. Although it is ironic that many women become the educators outside of the home at Dame schools. Many people believed during colonial times that children were considered to be born evil or sinners. The primary responsibility of the parents was to change them and raise them to live in accordance with God's commandments. Parents had the obligation to ensure their children were good. Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau disagreed with the original sin ideas of the colonists in his book Emile (1762). Children are not born evil, they are just born without the ability to reason. He also believed that a child can not learn what is truly important from memorization or oral instruction. What children need is "negative education", which means learning from experience and necessity. Rousseau's theories are loosely built on the ideas of another philosopher, John Locke. Locke published one of his works in 1693 entitled Some Thoughts Concerning Education. In this work Locke proposed the idea that children were essentially blank slates. The adult is a product of his or her education and that this education is a result of rewards or punishments received during childhood. Locke stresses the most important part of an education is the development of good habits, which are developed by these rewards and punishment. He considered the best reward for a child to be esteem, and the worst punishment to be disgrace. Locke's philosophy that a child is a clean slate is the basis for modern day education. Political and educational leaders still believe that a better society and culture can be created through education.

Chapter 3

The Ghost Dance and the Schooling of Native Americans Part 1 The Cherokee Ghost Dance represented a desire to restore tribal lands to their conditions, prior to the invasion of Europeans. The message for the Cherokees from the Great Spirits included education to adapt to the Europeans conquest. Before the European invasion many of the tribes were able to live off of natural resources such as fish, game and traditionally grown crops, but because of the invasion and the many diseases that the Europeans brought to this country, a large proportion of the Indian tribe was destroyed. "It is estimated that ...