The History of the Purpose of Schooling

The History of the Purpose of Schooling

by Sarah Fine & Jenna Gravel

A-326 Final Project

How to Read this BookBuilder Book - for Teachers

This BookBulder Book is designed to be accessible to a diverse range of learners by embedding several different supports into the text:

TextHelp Toolbar
The TextHelp Toolbar appears at the top right of every page. Select the text you want to hear read aloud and click the green triangle. Or, depress the first button on the left, and double click each sentence you want read aloud. Use the square button to stop the reading. This feature benefits students who are struggling readers, English language learners, and students who simply enjoy hearing text read aloud.

Spanish translation
The TextHelp Toolbar also features a Spanish translation button. Click on the icon farthest to the right for a definition in Spanish. This feature supports students who are English language learners as well as native English speakers who may be learning Spanish and want to increase their vocabulary.

Coaches
You will notice coaches at the bottom left of every page. "Kay" will prompt students to make connections between the past and the present as they read about the different periods of history. "Paul" will encourage students to consider different perspectives - other people's beliefs as well as their own.

Glossary
Words that are underlined with a dotted line are words that have been included in a glossary. Click on the underlined word for a definition. This feature benefits students who are struggling readers, English language learners, or who have limited background knowledge on the subject.

Student response areas
On a few of the pages, student response areas appear at the bottom right. These response areas are designed to activate students’ background knowledge on the various periods of history discussed in the book.

Captions and long descriptions
For every image, there is a caption as well as a long description (“D”). These features benefit readers with visual impairments who are using a screen reader to access the text and accompanying images. These features also benefit all readers by highlighting the critical features of the images.

How to Read this BookBuilder Book - for Students

This BookBuilder Book has many different features to support your learning:

"TextHelp" Toolbar
The "TextHelp" Toolbar appears at the top right of every page and will read the text aloud to you! Choose the text you want to listen to, and click the green triangle. Or, click the first button on the left, and double click each sentence you want to read aloud. Use the square button to stop the reading.

Spanish translation
The TextHelp Toolbar also has a Spanish translation button. Click on the icon farthest to the right for a definition in Spanish.

Glossary
Not sure of the meaning of a word? Any word that is underlined with a dotted line has been inlcuded in the glossary. Click on the underlined word for a definition.

Coaches
You will notice coaches at the bottom left of every page. "Kay" will help you to make connections between the past and the present as you read about the different periods of history. "Paul" will help you to think about other people's perspectives as well as your own.

Student response areas
On a few of the pages, you will notice "Student response areas" on the bottom right. These questions are designed to get you thinking about what you already know about the specific period in history.

Captions and long descriptions
For every image, there is a caption as well as a long description (“D”). The captions point out the important features of the image, so pay special attention to them! Also, the long descriptions help people who are blind or who have visual disabilities to understand what message the image is conveying.

Introduction

The purpose of schooling has changed throughout history. As education historian Patricia Graham (2005) states, "Schools in America have danced to different drummers during their long history" (p. 1). This book will take you on a journey through history in order to explore the different purposes of schooling:
 

    •    Assimilation (1900-1920)
    •    Adjustment (1920-1954)
    •    Access (1954-1983)
    •    Achievement (1983-present)

Assimilation: 1900-1920

History: 1900-1925

During the period from 1900 to 1920 more than 14 million people immigrated to the United States. In 1907 alone, more than 1, 285,000 people arrived. This number represents a record for the most number of people coming to the United States in a single year (www.pbs.org)!

The largest number of immigrants during this time came from countries in southern and eastern Europe. Many people from Mexico also started coming to find work building railroads and working on farms in California (www.pbs.org).

However, most immigrants lived in US cities. The city leaders in large cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, and Detroit estimated that 2/3 to 3/4 of the people who lived there were born in a different country or were children of people born in a different country (Graham, 2005).

Many of people coming to the United States were children, and immigration caused a huge increase in the number of children in schools. In 1900, about 17 million students attended school. However, by 1920, more than 23 million children were enrolled in school. With so many children from different countries attending school, school leaders began to think about what the purpose of school should be for them (Graham, 2005).

What's the Purpose? Assimilation

Because so many children from different countries were now enrolled in US schools, school leaders came to believe that they must help these children become Americans.

Therefore, the purpose of school during this time period is called “Assimilation.” This means that school was set up to ensure that students from different cultures learn to speak English and to “fit in” to American culture (Graham, 2005). 

The majority of the children’s lessons focused patriotism. Teachers hoped that these lessons would inspire all students to become good citizens. Many schools used textbooks called “McGuffey Readers” that told the stories of popular American heroes to help children understand the values and beliefs of American culture.  School leaders during this time wanted to help all students become honest, fair, and hard-working citizens (Graham, 2005).

Adjustment: 1920-1954

History: 1920-1954

During the 1920s, many changes took place in America. The nation become richer, greed and corruption started rising within business and government, prejudice against people of different races and religions began to spread, and values among Americans began to transform. Graham (2005) states, “With so much change in the air, ‘adjustment’ to the new times emerged as the new catchword ” (p. 51-52).

President Woodrow Wilson believed that World War I made “the world a safe for democracy.” But, many Americans believed that all the recent changes were not for the best. They thought that America was not living up to its potential as a democratic nation. During this time of change, school leaders needed to rethink their purpose of assimilation (Graham, 2005).

What's the Purpose? Adjustment

School leaders realized that the goal of teaching American values in schools was no longer in keeping with the times. There was a growing demand from parents, especially wealthy parents, for schools to adjust and to become more supportive of their children. Schools began to focus on the individual child and began to design creative learning experiences that would help students to develop their strengths and weaknesses (Graham, 2005).  

Therefore, the purpose of school during this time period is called “Adjustment .” This means that school was set up to make sure that all students were happy, confident, and had room to grow and mature (Graham, 2005).

John Dewey was an American philosopher and education reformer who became very popular during this time. He promoted the idea of “adventurous learning." Dewey wanted students to have hands-on learning experiences and “adventure” their way to discover new ideas. Instead of just reading about topics in a textbook, Dewey believed that children would learn better by interacting with the content (Cohen, 1988).

Access: 1954-1983

History: 1954-1983

The period from 1954 from 1983 was marked by major social change. The Civil Rights Movement took place during this time from 1955 to 1968. This movement aimed to end racial discrimination against African Americans. The period began with the historic Brown vs. Board of Education court case in 1954 which declared separate schools for African American children to be unconstitutional. But, even though the court made this important ruling, many Americans did not believe that African Americans students should be allowed in the same schools as white students. This court case started violent controversy (Graham, 2005).

This was also a time of increased access for students with disabilities. In 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was signed into law. This law allows students with disabilities to go to regular public schools. Before this law was passed, students with disabilities had to go to separate schools or did not go to school at all (Graham, 2005).

What's the Purpose? Access

Not surprisingly, the purpose of schooling during this period is referred to as “Access ” – the idea that school must “open doors” to everyone so that students who don’t have privilege have the chance to get ahead in life (Graham, 2005).

School leaders thought of access in terms of a range of students. African Americans, students from poor families, students with disabilities, and students who were learning English all needed the opportunity to learn to high levels. School leaders also considered high achieving students who may have had access to school but who were not challenged by their classes (Graham, 2005).

Achievement 1983-present

History: 1983-present

The period from 1983-present began with a report called A Nation at Risk. This report presented very alarming concerns about the state of education. The report found that too many students were not learning to high levels and that too many teachers were not prepared for their jobs (Graham, 2005).

This report was the beginning of an intense focus on student achievement. Most recently, the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by the Bush administration in 2001 added to this focus. This law says that schools are responsible for making sure that all students learn (Graham, 2005). 

Purpose: Achievement

The focus on student learning during this period marks the final purpose of schooling described in the book, “Achievement.” This purpose focuses on providing all students with the basic academic skills so that they can go to college (Graham, 2005).

As a way to measure whether or not students are learning, No Child Left Behind requires that all students take standardized tests . Then, schools are judged based on the number of students who are able to pass the tests.

Conclusion

This book has taken you on a journey through history to show you how the purpose of school has changed throughout the years. We have explored the four different purposes of schooling:

• Assimilation (1900-1920)
• Adjustment (1920-1954)
• Access (1954-1983)
• Achievement (1983-present)
  

The focus of schools has changed depending on the needs of the current time and will continue to change in the future. 

Resources for further exploration

To learn more about the Assimiation period, you can explore:

The Library of Congress's "Immigration: The Changing Face of America"

The New York Times's "Immigration Explorer"

To learn more about the Access period, you can explore:

PBS's "WayBack: Stand Up for Your Rights"

America.gov "Photo Gallery: The U.S. Civil Rights Movement"

References

Cohen, D. (1988). Teaching practice: Plus que ça change. In P.W. Jackson (Ed.), Contributing to educational change (pp. 27-84). Berkeley, CA: McCrutcham Publishing Corporation.

Graham, P. A. (2005). Schooling in America: How the public schools meet the nation's changing needs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

In the Mix: Teen Immigrant Stories. Retrieved December 4, 2010 from http://www.pbs.org/inthemix/shows/show_teen_immigrants4.html.