Sonia Nieto was an activist for multicultural education. In her early days, she felt as if she was looked down upon and left aside from other student due to her Hispanic background. This can likely be attributed to the fact that her class and teacher did not understand her culture. She was strongly focused on race, ethnicity, and language. In Fraser it says, "Although I believe it is imperative to include other differences, for me it is necessary to approach and understanding of multicultural education with a firm grounding in these areas.” On the other hand, Schlesinger did not believe that multicultural education would positively impact the school system. He took the viewpoint that different cultures should not be forced together and being required to know about cultures other than the one that person possessed was not important enough to most individuals. He likely disagreed with the bilingual movement that appeared in the 1960s. In Urban it says, "It was a response to the comprehensive problems that Mexican Americans and other Spanish speaking youngsters confronted in schools with an all English curriculum.”
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The United States Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools are separate but not equal. It changed the ideals of the past case, Plessy vs. Ferguson that ruled separate but equal was okay. Brown vs. Board of education was a unanimous decision prompted by the fourteenth amendment and the physical schools and facilities. The fourteenth amendment was adopted in 1868. In Fraser it says, "It covered exhaustively consideration of the Amendment in Congress, ratification by the states, then existing practices in racial segregation, and the view of proponents and opponents of the Amendment.” In some states, education of Negroes was almost nonexistent, and a majority of the race was illiterate. The next step toward education of African Americans would be to give them their own school with separate facilities. These facilities were worn down, dirty, and seen as equal before this case due to the fact that they had the same facilities and resources despite them being barely comparable white schools. In Urban it says, “[Each school system] had to be fought locally, proving time and again in each individual school district what seemed obvious to all, but the legal system-that blacks had separate facilities that were far form equal.” This is important because despite the change in U.S. constitution aiming to provide African Americans with “equal” opportunity to learn, they were somewhat cheated and still had more work to do to in order to truly get an equal chance in school systems.
John Holt, author of the book “How Children Fail” written in 1964, started the series of books that gave his viewpoint as to why it wasn’t possible to reform public schools. One of his main arguments was how schooling only provided a small part of learning for children despite how large their capacity for leaning was. In Fraser is says, “John Holt’s How Children Fail was the first of a series of books from an author who eventually came to believe that public schools could not be reformed.” This is important because Holt publishing his opinions eventually allowed him to gain exposure and give him a larger voice. Within the book, Holt brings up the role of curriculum. In his opinion, the typical curriculum did not challenge children to think independently and explore their interest and curiosity. In Urban, Holt states, “Most of what a child learns in school will be found, or thought, before many years, to be untrue.” This adds value to his claim because if children are not taught in ways that help them reach their full potential of learning then the system is not fully benefiting students.
One different vision for high schools came from Boston. The idea in Boston was to expand opportunity for enrollment for high schools to everyone. In Urban it says, “Boston, which had from colonial times provided for public writing schools as well as English and Latin grammar schools, also led the way with the introduction for the first formally organized public high school in the United States.” This was a big movement because of the impact it had on other cities and their development with offering public high school to everyone. Within this idea was another new vision for the opportunities these high schools would offer. In Fraser, when discussing the free high schools, it says, “Such a high school has become known as a “comprehensive” high school in contrast to the “specialized” high schools which provide vocational education, or which admit on a selective basis and offer only an academic curriculum.” This is important because it was one of the first opportunities that allowed for becoming specialized in specific trades.
Many reasons can be cited to why Frederick Douglass came to value literacy. One of the reasons I inferred from reading Urban came from the idea that Douglas enjoyed helping out his fellow citizens. In Urban it says, “Douglass soon had twenty to thirty young men meeting with him on Sunday afternoons. Their eagerness to learn impressed Douglass.” This quote is meaningful because one of the things that inspired Douglass’s work was the impact it had on the people around him. Another reason why Douglass valued literacy was because of the connections he made. In Fraser he said, “After that, when I met with any boy who I knew could write, I would tell him I could write as well as he … In this way I got a good many lessons in writing, which it is quite possible I should never have gotten in any other way.” This quote accurately shows the appreciation Douglass for using reading and literacy to connect with other people and ultimately make a positive contribution to society.
The opinion that the McGuffeys Reader was the ideal textbook for the schools of the nineteenth-century America can be supported with a multitude of reasons. First, being that there wasn’t a standard and uniform way to educate children on important lessons not always learned through childhood, McGuffeys Reader first publication to do so. In Fraser it says, “Just as the schools were growing a textbook came along that fit the culture, the morality and the patriotism of the institution and the times.” This is important because a textbook that appealed to a majority and sufficiently represented society at the time was critical for raising well rounded scholars that could go on to build a better America. Not only did it educate children and teach them how to read and communicate better, it also educated them on how to better treat others and conduct themselves. In Urban it says, “For many, perhaps most, of the students who learned to read by advancing through the McGuffey series, the excerpts provided in these books were probably the only exposure they had to polite literature.” This is meaningful because the more experience children had on how to act and treat others, the better off America would be as a whole.
Many factors can be cited that show how unique and forward-thinking Horace Mann’s work and proposals were. To begin, Mann’s strong opinion about the power of education and schooling systems is partly what made his voice so well heard. In Fraser Mann says, “Without undervaluing any other human agency, it may be safely affirmed that the Common School, improved and energized, as it can easily be, may become the most effective and benignant of all the forces of civilization.” This belief in how valuable the school system was which hadn’t really been seen before is what helped Mann gain trust and support from the common people. Another important point made by Mann was how institutions should be organized. In Urban Mann says, “It is dangerous to let one man stand for an institution, even if he was its most famous advocate.” This point is very notable because it highlighted the importance of organization of school systems and distributed leadership in order to maximize effectiveness of schools to prepare citizens to function in society.
When reading through the opinions of Jefferson, Rush and Webster, all three effectively highlighted the need to properly educate citizens in the new nation. The main benefits received from schooling addressed by the leaders included literacy and computational skills as well as a more uniform and peaceable government. In Urban it says, “…Webster was in full agreement with Jefferson and Rush regarding the need for an educated citizenry as well as an educated leadership class.” One area where Jefferson, Rush and Webster might disagree was who specifically should be educated. In Fraser it says, “Jefferson seldom included women in his definition of citizens.” This goes against Rush’s opinion stated in his lectures published in “Thoughts Upon Female Education” where he explains the importance of educating women to help prepare them to be fit partners for their husbands and fit mothers to raise sons. Webster’s ideas were slightly different from the opinions of Jefferson and Rush due to his focus on education being the foundation of good order in society. Webster noted that all citizens should be educated to avoid immoral character by prepossessing the mind with good principles.
A multitude of reasons can explain why Benjamin Franklin’s education was ultimately a success despite dropping out of formal education. Franklin’s focus on education based on learning from experience rather than learning at institutions is one of the factors that fostered his appreciation for expanding his own knowledge. Stated by Urban, “As Franklin made himself clear, his ambitions and his accomplishments were the direct result of his determination and ability to learn from experience.” This determination is what led Benjamin Franklin to become one of the most knowledgeable and respected men of his generation. Had he not decided to take responsibility for his own education and forge his own path, his contributions to society including knowledge sharing and knowledge discussion groups may not have come as soon.
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April 2019
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